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Summary of HEFCE Quality Assessment Reports for Work Placements
1. It is obvious from the individual reports (see below) that very few Institutions of Higher Education in England have structured work placement arrangements for their students during their year abroad.
2. There seems to be a wide divergence of opinions as to what constitutes a work placement.
3. Some institutions include assistantships as work placements.
4. Most institutions do not mention whether the work placements are paid or not; clearly, they should be remunerated.
5. Very few institutions successfully incorporate and implement the four chronological stages in connection with work placements:
i selection, preparation and briefing
ii monitoring, supervision and visiting
iii debriefing
iv assessing and evaluating.
6. The roles of Placement Tutors and Industrial Supervisors are not clearly defined.
7. The questions of accreditation, assessment and accountability have been addressed by very few institutions.
8. The enhanced career prospects of students who complete industrial placements are seldom referred to.
9. The financial benefit of work placements, in times of increased financial hardship for students, are rarely highlighted.
10. The involvement of business, commerce and industry in that area has not been stressed sufficiently nor given the recognition it deserves.
11. There seems to be a generally held belief that procuring, cultivating and retaining work placements is a labour-intensive and money-consuming activity, not suited to academic practitioners.
12. At the same time it is often the practice in English universities that industrial placements are reserved for the best students.
13. The whole concept of students’ suitability for placements needs to be explored in greater detail.
14. The overwhelmingly positive response by students to paid work placements abroad should convince many institutions in England that structured work placements abroad are an excellent way of improving students’ linguistic competence, increasing their cultural awareness, affording them financial support, developing their transferable skills, providing useful work experience in an international business setting and in the process enhancing their employment prospects both in the UK as well as abroad.
Finally, I would like to add the following observation based on personal and professional experience: As someone who has been actively involved in industrial placements for twenty years, who has published widely on this subject and who has close contact with employers and careers advisors both abroad and in the UK, I can state that work placements undoubtedly greatly benefit all parties concerned:
- the sending institutions (SI)
- the receiving enterprises (RE)
- the participating students (PS)
- the prospective employers (PE).
Relevant paragraphs from the QA reports
NB: "Q../.." refers to the reference number of the original
institutional report.
Q27/96: French
The year abroad is spent in French-speaking environments, and may take the form of a work placement, work as a teaching assistant, or study in a university or equivalent institution.
Q115/96: German
Integration is supported by the year abroad, which may be at a university, as an English language assistant in a school, or in a work placement. The year abroad includes project work supervised from Aston according to staff interest in fields corresponding to the curriculum.
Q241/96: Modern Language (Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese,
Spanish)
The year abroad is overseen by a placement officer from the Business School. The Department is to be commended on the preparation given to students before they go abroad, both in terms of personal preparation, and the advice and support provided for making contact with potential employers.
Q37/96: Modern Languages French, German, Russian, Spanish)
In France and Germany, the majority of students take up work placements, usually involving some TEFL role.
Q41/96: Modern Languages (Dutch, French, German, Iberian Studies, Italian)
The certificate level is the designated basis for student work placements abroad, but the structure of programmes in other departments means that some students are not able to reach an adequate level of achievement for placement in the country where the target language is spoken. The responsibility for student support during study or work periods abroad rests with the host department and the quality of that support varies.
Q171/96: University of Cambridge
Modern Languages (French, German, Iberian studies, Italian, Other languages, Russian and Eastern European languages and studies, Linguistics)
Year three is spent abroad in one or two countries, during which time students read in preparation for Part II while teaching, in another employment, or following university courses. The year abroad is not fully integrated into the curriculum.
Q222/96: Modern Languages ( English for international business, French,
German, Iberian studies, Italian, Linguistics)
Those studying the English for Business Enterprise module have briefing sessions to prepare them for work placements, and post-placement careers advice; these are viewed positively by the students concerned.
Q107/96: Modern Languages (French, German, Spanish)
The aim is to adopt an integrated approach to language study, to maintain a balance between written and oral proficiency, with an emphasis on practical language use, and also to develop socio-professional skills by the study of vocational language and practice and by work-based learning placements in French or German-speaking countries.
A significant feature of the undergraduate courses is the extended work-based learning (EWBL) placement, which students of French and German normally undertake for eight weeks in the country concerned. This enables skills already practised by students to be used in a work-related environment.
The College pays particular attention to the employability of its graduates. Employers are involved in creating the placements for students of modern languages. The learning contracts between the department and employers, which govern students’ learning and work activities during placements, have been devised with the help of employers. The emphasis placed on general skills by French employers, which comes to the fore in work placements, is not reflected in a co-ordinated way in the rest of the curriculum. The department provides students with particular support for getting appropriate EWBL places abroad.
The EWBL is well thought-out and allows for creative links between employers and the College and Department.
Q199/96:Modern Languages (French, German, Iberian studies, Italian, Russian)
The language programmes for joint and engineering degrees enable students to spend a period of study or work abroad. Preparation for the period abroad is adequate; tutors provide written guidance on essential aspects of this important course element.
Q168/96:Modern Languages (French, German, Spanish)
There is a wide variety of arrangements for residence abroad, co-ordinated by the part-time placements officer. The placements handbook gives the students a range of information about residence and work abroad, and they may make their own arrangements or may be put in touch with a suitable employer by the placements officer.
Q178/96: French
The year abroad plays a major role in the learning process. Students may spend the year as assistants in schools, in other work placements, or on an approved course of study.
Q208/96: Modern Languages (French, German, Spanish)
At more advanced levels, Business School students are provided with specific elements to enable them to work in a business environment in or with the target language. This is strengthened by a work placement in the relevant country, followed by a report of that experience, a proportion of which must be written in the target language.
Support for finding work placements is limited to advice on procedures to be followed and provision of contact addresses.
Q113/96: German
All students, except those taking joint honours with another language or on the Combined Languages degree, are expected to spend a year abroad, usually in Germany, working as a language assistant, studying at a university or in an industrial / commercial placement. The majority of these students receive at least one visit from a member of the department during this time.
Arrangements for the year abroad are generally appropriate, with the considerable thought given to the suitability of particular placements for individual students. Members of staff take responsibility for the options available to students during their year abroad, such as teaching assistantship, university study, industrial placements and independent employment.
Q229/96: Iberian Studies
A year abroad, whether studying at university, working as a language teaching assistant or in some other form of employment, is a compulsory feature of the language curriculum and takes place during the third year of study. Students maintain regular contact with staff of the Department whilst they are away, and most are visited by a member of staff.
Q24/96: German
Staff of the Section have a number of established contacts with institutions in Germany, which not only provide firm places but also measure of local pastoral support. The section’s staff keep in regular contact with the students abroad.
Q141/96: Modern Languages (French, German, Italian, European Studies,
Linguistics)
The year abroad is an integral part of four-year degree programmes. Students are offered a choice of spending this time at an institution of higher education, on a work placement or as a language assistant. Most students study at a foreign university.
Q136/96: German
Part-time support is provided by a native German speaker for students requiring business placements.
Q139/96: Modern Languages (Iberian Studies and Italian)
Links with employers are mainly with companies in Italy/Spain, where students undertake their work placements. Students following main language Italian/Spanish undertake a three-month placement in the second year and a six-month placement in the forth year. There is a clear link between the two placements. These placements are intended to present students with the experience of living and working abroad and the acquisition of competence in marketing or human resource management. This experience is generally viewed positively by both students and employers. It is evident from projects seen, and from feedback by students and employers, that students regard the work placement as a very formative experience, as well as academically rewarding. Placements were commented as a useful and valuable experience. However because of the timing of the second placement in the fourth year, students will have completed most of the second stage- modules . Because of this they are unable to reflect this experience in their academic work.
Students are encouraged to try and find their own placements, but the two Section assistants give a hand should placements prove difficult to find.
Q11/97: Modern Languages (French, Spanish)
The experience of spending a year at a foreign university or in a work placement makes an important contribution to meeting the Department’s aim of producing graduates ‘with linguistic competence and expertise to enable to operate successfully in international organisations’. Special arrangements are made for the year abroad to ensure that there is a tutor to monitor student’s progress, and students are visited in their placement location.
Q96/98:Modern Languages (German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian,
Arabic)
The period of residence abroad makes a substantial contribution to the achievement of several of the objectives of the undergraduate programmes. Students spend six months in each of two countries or one year if they are studying a single language. Most take a work placement. The period abroad contributes to the fulfilment of the Department’s objective of developing undergraduates’ awareness of the history, contemporary culture and society of the countries whose languages they are studying.
Students reported that residence abroad is highly effective in developing their ability to communicate effectively in a foreign language, and gives them the opportunity to develop the transferable skills that are required for success in the world of work. Graduates report that work abroad helped them to build on the initial course in word processing which all students in the Department are required to take.
Graduates report that the knowledge and skills required during residence abroad, especially in work placement, have helped them to obtain employment.
Departmental support for students in connection with their period abroad is exemplary. The Department has negotiated a large number of work placements with major firms in western Europe. Students receive a Residence Abroad Guide which provides advice and country-specific information. They are put in contact with those who have been on placements in the previous year. Students are visited in at least one of the countries in which they spend time, and employers are invited to submit a written report once the placement is complete. Students expressed very considerable satisfaction with this support.
Q108/96: Iberian Studies
A small number of students take up a work placement as language assistants. Business students have the option of study or work placement during the semester abroad, but the experience of current students is that their desire for a work placement is rarely met. Whilst the assessors recognize the difficulty in finding work placements in Spain, it is a source of disappointment to students, particularly as employers of graduates with this experience have found significant value added in the skills and knowledge gained abroad. The year abroad is successful and makes a significant contribution to the student’s learning experience.