School of Engineering (ENG)

Year in Industry / Placement Year

A Placement year gives you the opportunity to explore your career plans and find out what your chosen path is really about. You get the chance to meet people in the business and you even get paid. In addition students who successfully complete a placement in a relevant field to their degree will be awarded a Diploma in Industrial Studies (DipIS) when they graduate.

Companies hosting our students:

Why undertake a placement year?

• Real experience with graduate level responsibility
• Try out a career path
• Improve your graduate employment prospects
• Opportunity to earn a salary

Who is eligible?

Industrial placements are predominantly offered to penultimate year students, but this may vary with the pathway you are following. The opportunity to take up a placement is encouraged for all pathways.

How long is the placement?

Industrial work placements last a minimum of 36 weeks (excluding holidays). Sometimes called sandwich placements, internships or industrial traineeships, these are offered mainly by the larger graduate recruiters who see placements as an extended trial period before entering a graduate position with the company. Smaller companies also find benefit from offering placements as it extends the workforce and helps develop new markets.

How does my placement help my career prospects?

Many companies now retain more than 70% of their work experience recruits, many companies also will not consider interviewing a new graduate who is not able to demonstrate practical work experience.

Students' experiences

"I find the work interesting, and it shows me the career path I want to follow."
"I am enjoying the variety and challenge of the job."
"I enjoy being involved in the design process, and participating in management decisions."
"I am enjoying the role as well as the work involved."
"I have been exposed to many new areas of technology that I have never worked with before, the experience is very rewarding."
"I am enjoying my placement, the people I work with are great!"
"I am very happy in my job and I am respected by my supervisor and other 'real' engineers."

Other companies which have hosted our students:

• Apollo Fire Detectors, Havant
• Cognito, Newbury
• Corporate Communications, London
• DSTL, Porton Down
• Golfbreaks, Windsor
• King Edward VI School, Southampton
• Lonza Biologics Ltd, Slough
• Marketing Department, University of Portsmouth
• Marshall SDG, Petersfield
• Nimbus, Rowlands Castle
• Oxford University Press, Oxford
• Quantum, Reading
• Sperry Rail, Havant
• St John's School, Marlborough, Wilts
• Tube Lines, London
• TUV, Fareham
• Visteon, Chelmsford, Essex
• Wildern School, Wildern
• Xyratex, Havant