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Article
Publication date: 1 June 2004

Peter J. Smith, Jennifer Dalton and Robyn Dolheguy

Using a sample of 446 secondary students who had participated in a vocational education and training in school (VETiS) program, compares the experiences and perceptions of students

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Abstract

Using a sample of 446 secondary students who had participated in a vocational education and training in school (VETiS) program, compares the experiences and perceptions of students who had undertaken a work placement with those who had not. Shows that students who had participated in work placement enjoyed the VETiS experience more than those who had not, and that the work placement had assisted them in their decision whether to stay at school or not. A factor analysis of results showed a factor associated with self‐confidence about employability, and a factor associated with assistance in achieving specific post‐school employment. Students who had completed a work placement were significantly higher on both these factors than students who had not. Results are consistent with other research in the field, and it is argued that the work placement experience plays a considerable part in developing student agency in the decisions and the journey that they make in their transition from school to work.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 46 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 November 2022

Michael McCann and Michael Hewitt

There is strong evidence that year-long work placements make students more employable and produces better academic performance. Despite this, UK participation rates remain…

Abstract

Purpose

There is strong evidence that year-long work placements make students more employable and produces better academic performance. Despite this, UK participation rates remain stubbornly low. The authors examine the influence of academic performance on students' willingness and ability to complete work placements.

Design/methodology/approach

This study’s novel conceptual framework distinguishes students by their intentions regarding work placements indicated at enrolment as well as whether they completed a work placement. The authors use a sample of 226 business and economics students, employing propensity score weighted multiple regression to analyse the influence of academic performance.

Findings

The results indicate that academic performance has a significant influence on the decision to include a work placement option at enrolment. For those students who do pursue work placements, first-year academic performance had a significantly positive impact on their ability to secure a placement job. Finally, completion of a work placement was beneficial to final year academic performance.

Practical implications

Work placements are beneficial. Since low academic performance deters students from pursuing such opportunities, universities may need to communicate the benefits better to encourage greater interest. Further, universities need to realistically manage the expectations of students with low academic performance who want to do work placements and provide targeted support during the application process. Furthermore, alternatives to work placements should be provided.

Originality/value

This research adds to the literature investigating the influence of academic performance through academic self-concept on students' investment decisions to include a work placement in their degree study and in students' ability to secure a work placement.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2013

Francis D. Walsh and Seán Byrne

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors relating to retention of employers on an undergraduate work placement programme in a third level institution.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors relating to retention of employers on an undergraduate work placement programme in a third level institution.

Design/methodology/approach

An action research methodology involving problem diagnosis, intervention planning, action and evaluation is employed. The diagnosis involved a survey of 130 employers that had taken students on placement during the first two years of the placement programme. The action research also involved workshops with the work placement team and the making of an intervention with respect to enhancing the placement process through the introduction of a Priority Partner initiative for 26 of the employers.

Findings

The survey findings reveal differences in the ranking of importance of college selection criteria by employers, as well the impact of the placement manager's characteristics on the placement process. The intervention findings show that the employer retention percentage increased for the Priority Partners but remained the same for the other employers.

Research limitations/implications

The study reports qualitative findings in the context of a placement programme in one institution which limits external validity.

Practical implications

Employer retention would seem to be improved with the development of a customer relations management orientation with employers. The role of the placement manager is pivotal to enhancing the retention of employers as is the quality and professionalism of the work placement service.

Originality/value

New empirical data extends the very limited understanding of company retention on work placement programmes.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 55 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 May 2021

Anne Marie Thake

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate short-term, unpaid placements offered to students reading for a degree in public policy. They provide added value to their tertiary…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate short-term, unpaid placements offered to students reading for a degree in public policy. They provide added value to their tertiary education experience. Elective placements were offered in 2012 and became a mandatory requirement for students reading for a three-year bachelor of commerce degree in public policy in 2018. To date, no research has been carried out on these placements and this may serve as a model for a post-evaluation assessment.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from students who undertook placements, embedded in the public policy undergraduate programme. A document analysis of selected student and placement provider's reports was carried out to complement the students' responses to an online questionnaire.

Findings

Placements are of value to students as they served as an introduction to the working world. They enable students to establish connections with the course content and carry out research. They were exposed to real-life situations, developing their knowledge, acquiring soft skills and learning new tools, sought after by employers. These placements were valued as a route to graduate employment tailor-made to the degree's requirements. Students were able to embark on a soul-searching, introspective discovery and journey which made them mature and shed light in the direction of future work prospects.

Research limitations/implications

Placements give students the opportunity to gain insights into real-work environments and are able to link theories learnt in the class-room with real-life situations. Placements have positive implications on students adjusting to their work life easily after graduation. The limitations are that the sample size was small and that the reflective reports which were randomly selected may not have necessarily been representative of the full complement.

Practical implications

The practical implications are that the placements system and process can easily be implemented and replicated in other academic disciplines and universities as a compulsory component of their studies.

Social implications

Placements gave students the opportunity to reflect on their learning, develop non-technical skills and enhance their confidence levels. They were also able to network and communicate with different employees.

Originality/value

Placements provided exposure to relevant organisations and personal enrichment in terms of acquiring skills, autonomy and independence. Students with placement experience are also more likely to secure future employment, relevant to their undergraduate degree.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 11 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 October 2014

Matt Edwards

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between work placements and employability, through an analysis of the impact of a work placement on students’…

2831

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between work placements and employability, through an analysis of the impact of a work placement on students’ self-efficacy.

Design/methodology/approach

The basis of this paper is a large-scale work-based learning module at the University of Birmingham, the “Professional Development Module”. Students completed questionnaires both before and after they undertaken their placements and the results from the questionnaires were compared. These results were then combined with the results of semi-structured interviews undertaken with students.

Findings

The paper's findings support the view that a work placement has a positive impact on students’ self-efficacy, especially in relation to their confidence in making applications and/or attending interviews, and in articulating their skills and strengths.

Research limitations/implications

While the relatively small sample size means that the paper's conclusions must remain provisional, it highlights the need for careers practitioners to encourage students to engage in critical self-reflection. The paper suggests that it is important for careers practitioners and researchers to engage in more collaborative projects in order for a fully rounded picture of the relationship between placements and employability to emerge. The paper shows that more research is needed into the relative impact of short- and long-term placements.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates the value of assessing students’ views both before and after their work placements so that these views can be compared directly.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2017

Trevor Albert Stanley

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the perspectives of employers who participated in a 100-hour, for credit, unpaid, work placement programme in accountancy.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the perspectives of employers who participated in a 100-hour, for credit, unpaid, work placement programme in accountancy.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study method is used involving an interview-based, qualitative approach.

Findings

The study highlights the potential benefits and costs of the programme with strong themes applicable to the real-world accounting work environment and the interaction with people as essential elements of why students do a work placement; the importance of tasks in the student’s learning; the significance of relating theory to practice; the nature of the costs involved in providing the work placement; the mutual reciprocal benefits obtained by both students and employers involved in the work placement; and the importance of work placements in accounting education prior to graduation.

Practical implications

This study provides evidence about the nature and value of work placements in accounting from an employer’s perspective, and based on this research, other universities should be encouraged to implement an accountancy work placement programme.

Originality/value

Little research has been done on the employer perspectives of work placements in accountancy, and the exploratory case study of this intervention, based on sociocultural learning theory, provides an insight into their perceptions.

Details

Accounting Research Journal, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1030-9616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2000

Arthur Morgan and David Turner

This article reviews the opportunity provided by the work placement year for human resource management students to gain professional membership of the Chartered Institute of…

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Abstract

This article reviews the opportunity provided by the work placement year for human resource management students to gain professional membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD). A case study approach is used to reflect on findings related to the first two cohorts. It concludes that the benefits of the opportunity to gain a separate professional qualification are twofold. First, it ties in closely with what appears is a more strategic career decision‐making process on behalf of the student and, second, the CIPD qualification provides a robust framework for the placement period during this important stage of student studies.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 42 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 February 2018

Louise Manning and Patricia Parrott

The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of a workplace placement on the student participants’ self-reported entrepreneurial attitude (EA).

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of a workplace placement on the student participants’ self-reported entrepreneurial attitude (EA).

Design/methodology/approach

A review of relevant literature informed questions incorporated in the university’s annual feedback questionnaire completed by students (n=461) on return from a work placement of between 44 and 52 weeks.

Findings

The study has shown that both gender and entrepreneurial legacy influence baseline and post-placement EA (p<0.05). The interaction between EA, social learning, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms and perceived relational support was also considered.

Originality/value

This research provides context for further qualitative work in this area, especially the influence of gender and entrepreneurial legacy on reported baseline EA and EA post work placement and will inform pedagogical development in terms of embedding entrepreneurial teaching in future curriculum development at the university.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2012

Nayna Patel, Willem‐Paul Brinkman and Jane Coughlan

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and understand whether students who complete a work placement as part of their degree course achieve a better classification of degree…

1886

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and understand whether students who complete a work placement as part of their degree course achieve a better classification of degree than those students who do not include a placement.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted by extracting the profiles of computing students from the database of a UK based university. Data collected included the marks and academic performance throughout the course of the students’ degree, educational background, age and gender. In total, the profiles of 290 students were analysed to understand the impact of a work placement on their degree.

Findings

The results show that 58 per cent of those students who had been on a work placement achieved an upper second or first class degree, whereas only 37 per cent of non‐placement students achieved the same academic standards. Furthermore, this study also established that this result is not because work placement students are academically more capable to begin with, as originally believed by many researchers.

Practical implications

Direction for further research would involve investigating different cohorts of students and in different subject areas. However, the initial findings from this study could be used as a starting point in an attempt to encourage students to include a work placement as part of their degree.

Originality/value

Rather than simply performing a comparison of degree classifications between the placement and non‐placement students, this study goes further and investigates student performance during their entire three or four year degree course. Furthermore, this study also considers influences such as age, gender and educational background on the results.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 54 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2017

David Messer

In the UK, concern frequently has been voiced that young people lack appropriate employability skills. One way to address this is to provide work based placements. In general…

Abstract

Purpose

In the UK, concern frequently has been voiced that young people lack appropriate employability skills. One way to address this is to provide work based placements. In general, previous research findings have indicated that young people find such placements useful because of help with career choice and relevant skills. However, most studies are retrospective and involve sixth form or degree students. The purpose of this paper is to extend previous research by collecting information before and after the placements.

Design/methodology/approach

This investigation involved questionnaires with nearly 300 14-15 year-old students who provided a pre- and post-placement self-reports about their employability skills and their work-experience hosts provided ratings of employability skills at the end of the placement.

Findings

There was a significant increase in student ratings of their employability skills from before to after the placement, and although the employers gave slightly lower ratings of some employability skills than the students, the two sets of ratings were reasonably close. In addition, the students had high expectations of the usefulness of the placements and these expectations were fulfilled as reported in the post-placement questionnaire.

Originality/value

These positive findings, extend the knowledge of the effects of work based placements, by focussing on the opinion of the young people themselves, using a pre- to post-placement design, by validating student self-reports with host employer ratings, and by focussing on a younger than usual age group.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 60 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

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