Placement Years
Placement Years
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Feel free to scroll through the page, or use the table of contents below to jump straight to what you want to know.
Can I do a placement year?
Can I do a placement year?
The option of doing a placement Year is available to all Economics students on undergraduate courses. The only requirements are that it:
takes place between your second and third year
lasts at least 38 weeks in duration, and a minimum of 30 hours per week; OR
if the placement is 30-37 weeks the student will need to commit to undertake and reflect on appropriate additional work-related activity to make up the shortfall e.g. work related virtual experiences - Top-Ups; OR
if the placement is 24-30 weeks the student will need to find an additional placement to be undertaken to make up the shortfall in experience
is an appropriate job for a student: It should meet certain criteria such as offering genuine opportunities for skills development and is paid sufficiently for the work being undertaken.
The first step is to consider your reasons for doing a placement year. They're a great way to help develop lots of skills, as well as decide what to do after graduation and secure a graduate job, but there are lots of other opportunities as well.
Depending on your placement, you might have to move to a new city and get used to the "9-5" routine. You may also need to dedicate quite a bit of time into finding the right one and completing recruitment activities. Look for opportunities to talk to other students who have done a placement year, as well as members of staff, to help you decide if it's the right option for you.
There is a lot of support on the university's page for placement years, which you can find here.
What type of placement can I do?
What type of placement can I do?
This is completely up to you - as long as it meets the three requirements outlined above. It doesn’t have to be directly related to your degree programme or what you might do in the future and it can be in the UK or abroad.
If you’re not sure what you’d like to do, think about the types of areas that interest you (e.g. marketing, HR, project management). This could be based on previous work experience, a particular module you’ve enjoyed, or your hobbies/interests.
What are the various names used?
What are the various names used?
Different organisations and employers use various terms to describe placement opportunities. Don’t dismiss an opportunity just because it has a different name; it could still provide the skills and experience needed to boost your career.
Various names of placement years include:
Industrial placement
Year in industry
Sandwich year
Work placement
How do I find opportunities?
How do I find opportunities?
The How to start applying page is extremely useful in taking you through preparing your CV, Cover Letter and Excel Tracker for your first applications, to make sure you are as ready as possible to be successful. There are even separate pages for your CV and Cover Letter tips, as well as creating your tracker.
The page on the application process talks you through the potential stages you will encounter, and provides tips for wherever you are in the process.
If you want to do a graduate scheme, you'll have to find opportunities to apply for. Luckily, there are several websites you can check:
Gradcracker / brightnetwork / Target Jobs / Ratemyplacement (making an account helps)
Trackr (don't need to make an account)
Career Connect (Log in with your Uni email)
LinkedIn – more and more employers are using this platform to advertise opportunities.
Use your contacts – More and more graduates are finding jobs through speaking to their contacts. This could be friends, family, their friends and family… as well as other Sheffield graduates and people at a careers event or talk.
Set up your preferences to get alerts for placements in particular industries or locations. Also look out for the SEED newsletter in your email inbox that will contain vacancies that might be of particular interest to Economics students. You can find past editions in the SEED newsletter archives. Once you've found a placement you'd like to apply for, check out the "how to start applying" section for advice on how to write good applications and prepare for interviews.
When's the best time to start looking for placements?
When's the best time to start looking for placements?
Employers usually start advertising placement opportunities in October/November for the following year - some may do this slightly earlier or much later (particularly if they are a small business). Advice from previous placement year students is to spend the summer thinking about what type of placement you'd like to do and set up your email alerts, so that you're ready to start applying in the autumn.
Many students are surprised to find out that applications to some of the bigger, well-known employers close by Christmas. This doesn't mean that if you haven't decided by then you won't find one, but if you have your heart set on working for a Top 100 company then you need to be prepared to apply within the first few months of your second year.
What do I need to do to get my placement approved?
What do I need to do to get my placement approved?
Once you have received an offer for a placement year from an employer, you must then have it approved by the university before you can begin.
1) Firstly, you need to add your placement information to the "Student Placement System."
2) The faculty will then review and approve your placement through the "Student Placement System"
3) The faculty will then notify you that the placement has been approved and will notify the department that they have approved the placement year for one of their students.
4) Once you hear your placement has been approved, you will then need to complete a Change Of Programme (COP) form, which can be found via this link.
How are placement years assessed?
How are placement years assessed?
Placement years are assessed on a pass/fail basis. The assessment usually consists of:
Skills analysis:
Choose four skills to develop, analyse and reflect upon (one of these must be Commercial Awareness or Professionalism)
Poster:
To be presented at an event (upon return to university)
Do I have to pay fees?
Do I have to pay fees?
Yes - but it’s significantly reduced (you can find the current fees from this web page). Placement year students are able to apply for a tuition fee loan if they are eligible for these usually - maintenance loans are assessed on individual circumstances (such as whether you'll be living at home for the year).
Why do placement students have to still pay tuition fees?
It allows you to remain a registered student at the University
You’ll receive support from the School throughout your placement (including semi-frequent 1-1s with your placement tutor)
Do I have to find my own accommodation?
Do I have to find my own accommodation?
Yes - if your placement is not in Sheffield or in your home town. Some placement providers will support you to find accommodation, often this is with other placement students. However, not all employers can and will offer this so you may have to find something yourself. Previous students have recommended trying SpareRoom to find vacancies in existing flat shares.
What if I am an international student?
What if I am an international student?
You are permitted to undertake a work placement if:
The placement is an integral and assessed part of your course
It constitutes no more than 50% of the course duration (unless there is a statutory requirement for it to do so)
Before you start your work placement, you must obtain a letter from your academic department to give to your employer confirming that your placement adheres to the student immigration rules. You can do this by contacting SEED@sheffield.ac.uk
Where you are adding a work placement/year in industry to your degree after registering at the university, you will need to apply for a visa extension.
Fancy More?
Fancy More?
Follow this link to read more about working in the Financial Services:
Follow this link to read more about working in the Civil Services:
Can I hear from previous placement students?
Can I hear from previous placement students?
Three students have written up mini-blog style posts about their time undertaking their placements. Explore below to get started.
Josh Kenyon – What I gained from my placement
Harry Rose – Life in the Civil Service
Isabella Hardwick – A month in the life of a Civil Service placement student
Click here to find examples of previous placement assessment posters.
Think this page is missing something? Contact us at seed@sheffield.ac.uk, and let us know.
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