University students in the workplace strategies for successful industry placement experiences

Abstract

Purpose

Increasing numbers of university students in USA, UK and Australia are undertaking industry placements to gain workplace experience. However, outcomes are not always as expected. This paper aims to identify challenges for universities and host organizations in delivering quality student industry placement and presents strategies to achieve successful learning outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The reflections, evaluation and feedback data received from stakeholders, namely, university students, host organizations and faculty mentors in a large Australian university were used to formulate strategies.

Findings

Lessons learned from the authors’ experience in industry placement programs over 5 years with 180 students in 127 organizations indicate that careful planning and management of placements is needed to achieve successful learning outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

Further research into the application of these strategies in other universities would be valuable.

Practical implications

Lessons learned and recommendations offered provide strategies to assist in planning and management of industry placements.

Originality/value

Given the growing popularity of work experience in university programs, this should be of interest to faculty and organizations.

Citation

Burdett, J. and Barker, S. (2017), "University students in the workplace strategies for successful industry placement experiences", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 15-18. https://doi.org/10.1108/DLO-11-2015-0090