The benefits of work placements.

Just a short posting this time in response to a press release that I was delighted to see. It relates to a study at the University of Leicester into the benefits of work placements. The study purported to show that there is a clear correlation between students going on work placements and degree outcomes.

Many people have been calling for an increase in the number of placements available and undertaken. Apart from the improved degree results the students gain enormous maturity and transferrable skills, and the companies gain access to students and a very capable resource to tackle key problems and issues.

Evidence from the 25 years of Year in Industry (YINI) also supports these findings, even though most YINI students are pre-university. We have often talked about this as one of the benefits, so it is good to see this supported by a more robust piece of work.

With the increase in tuition fees, I believe the case for a work placement year becomes even more compelling, particularly pre-university; and not only for the students. The whole dynamic regarding university and degree subject choice will change in the coming years, and I think there will likely be a lot of unintended consequences emerging, some good and some bad. But student and company perceptions about the value for money of a degree (or specific degrees) will undoubtedly alter.