Placements and Work Experience

  1. High Quality Teaching /
  2. Applied /
  3. Placements and Work Experience

Placements and Work Experience

All placements and work experiences are integral to the courses in which they are offered and are credit-bearing within their taught module. Students should be encouraged to engage with enrichment and/or extra curricula activities to bolster their potential for graduate success e.g., summer / winter internships, part-time employment, Hallam Award or Employability related activities.

There are several distinct forms of placement and work experience at Sheffield Hallam and the suitability and design of these has been agreed during Curriculum Development. The format and design of placements and work experiences are intrinsically linked to the type of course, learning outcomes and curriculum structure. The different types and key features are included below and are relevant to which ‘Scheme’ your course aligns to.

Note: For professional courses, these placements are exclusively those required by the associated training plan for the course leading to a professional qualification and/or registration.

Scheme A: Undergraduate Sandwich courses

 

Each course offering a Sandwich placement route has been designed to enable student success in completion of a Sandwich degree as the default qualification for all students. This also includes the credited Applied Professional Diploma which students complete as part of their time on placement. The placements and work experiences modules should aggregate from Levels 4-6, therefore the specific form of work experience and application of learning should be chosen to reflect the graduate employment students can access given the skills, knowledge and experience gained during their course. The content below provides a summary:

Applied Projects

 

Students will work in groups to complete real-life project briefs set out by, and working directly with, local, national, or global employer(s). Suitable from Level 4.

 

Enterprise Residency

 

Students engage in a self-initiated and self-directed business idea or project, which relates to enterprising and/or entrepreneurial skills development activity. Delivered individually or in groups. Suitable from Level 4.

Work-integrated Learning (WIL)

 

Immersive experiences providing significant employer exposure in Level 5, before a Sandwich Placement. Flexible models available to suit various LTA requirements. Inclusive of block placements and similarly immersive work experiences.

 

Sandwich Placements

 

A minimum 24-week, full-time work experience within a dedicated Placement Year between Level 5 and 6 studies. Students will source their own placement and will be directly employed by an organisation, working toward achieving an accredited Applied Professional Diploma.

Consultancy / Employer-led Research

 

Students will undertake real world inquiry, investigation, and/or discovery through the exploration of a specific research topic, project, or consultancy within a relevant field. Suitable at Level 6.

 

Semester Study Abroad

 

Students who undertake this immersive global experience are exempt from completing the Level 5 Work Experience requirement due to this experience providing the equivalent value in developing employability skills.

Further information on this topic is available for SHU staff on SharePoint. Sheffield Hallam’s Employability Offer documentation includes detailed descriptions and includes an LTA framework.

Scheme B: Taught Postgraduate courses ‘with Work Experience’

Courses ‘with Work Experience’ are distinctive routes with longer course durations and should prepare students for work experience in the broadest sense, over and above the full-time version of the course. The LTA of the course should focus on the preparation of students to understand the UK employment market and secure their own placement work experience with an aim to apply learning during a pre-defined placement period within the academic calendar of 6- or 12-months, or to their first graduate employment.

6-month Placement / 12-month Placement

 

Students will source their own 6- or 12-month placement and will be directly employed by an organisation, working toward achieving an accredited Applied Professional Diploma.

 

Note: PGWE routes should be September starters only and must comply with the key dates and institutional deadlines to secure placements set within the Academic Calendar.

Detailed guidance is available for SHU staff on SharePoint.

Scheme C: Initial Teacher Training; and Health & Social Care

These courses have specific Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body requirements which extend to the types of placements on these courses.

Training plans for these courses encompass placements in the overall context of the course calendar and are allocated to students based on strict criteria by Professional Services and supervised by teaching staff.

Initial Teacher Training (ITT)

Initial Teacher Training programmes are designed to provide trainee teachers with a broad range of school placements across the relevant age and phase range of training. Placement experiences fulfil the statutory criteria for accredited ITT providers and ensures trainees have access to expert mentors who understand the ITT criteria and training curriculum. Placements calendars are designed to meet minimum time requirements and to enable trainees to meet the Teachers’ Standards by the end of the course.