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Home > Student Placement

Year in Industry

  [Sandwich Course Managed Placement]

Currently, Symmons Madge Associates place around one hundred students per year in employment, under the Year-in-Industry [YiI] initiative - from two universities. The work placement takes place during the students’ third year at the university. The students will be studying for either a BEng or MEng degree.

 The Aim of the Year-in-Industry

In the UK, less than 30% of students undertake work placement - contrast this with the European average of 55%, France 70% and Germany 80%.

Those employers who do provide an opportunity for students to undertake a year in industry have a very positive attitude to the concept. Sandwich courses are widely respected by contractors, consulting engineers, manufacturers, health authorities, hospitals, local authorities, government departments and professional bodies such as the Institutions of:

Employers recognise the mutual benefits to be gained by giving students the chance to learn within a working environment before they graduate and begin their full-time careers.  Many students secure their first full-time employment as a result of their performance during a sandwich course training period.

Where supervised work experience is an integral part of an engineering degree course, it affords the opportunity to gain a more balanced perspective of the chosen profession.

The main benefits to be gained from a well-balanced and effective YiI period are:

For the employer:

Cost effective sourcing of high quality staff  - who are highly motivated & committed

  1. Provides flexible labour management
  2. Opportunity for an extended assessment of a student before committing to subsequent full-time employment
  3. A student employed once graduated will be come an effective contributor much faster than a graduate who is completely new to the organisation
  4. Utilising the students’ un-fettered thinking
  5. Reduced time & resource commitment before employee achieves professional qualification
  6. Opportunity to influence course content by constructive feedback during the visits by the YiI tutor.

For the Student:

  1. Opportunity to be able to step-back and reflect on the relevance of their course
  2. General maturing process takes place
  3. Opportunity to receive a reasonable salary – and off-set debts
  4. Valuable opportunity to get a realistic practical “taste” of the chosen branch of engineering
  5. Enhanced prospects of employment once graduated and potential for speedier promotion
  6. Opportunity to develop awareness of the link between academic and practical skills
  7. Enhanced self-confidence and team member skills

How long is the “Year” in Industry?

Under normal circumstances, the placement should last 48 weeks. It is though recognised by the universities that a flexible approach is sometimes necessary. Consequently the duration of each placement is open to discussion.

Salary?

There is no charge to the employer for SMA managing the preparation, organising the placement and the subsequent monitoring and visits - but during the time the student is employed they are paid a salary. Payment varies widely – the average during the last academic year was £14000/ year equivalent.   

Starting dates?

The placement can start any time between the end of academic year – early June to the end of September. There is a caveat though - no student is allowed to start the YiI until they have attended the health, safety and welfare briefing and successfully completed their second year examinations. Whilst as mentioned above, 48 weeks is the ideal length of placement, it can last longer by mutual agreement between student and employer. 

University Monitoring of Placement

Prior to taking up the placement, students are required to complete certain forms which keep the University informed of the location of the placement and the contact details of the person responsible for their training. 

Some two to three months after the student has started work, SMA will arrange for the student to be visited by one of our YiI tutor, at a time and place agreed with the student’s line-manager. During this visit, the tutor will discuss with both the student and his/her line manager the student’s performance. A second visit takes place towards the end of the placement. At the start of the placement the YiI tutor sets the student a number of questions, to be answered during the placement.  

The student is expected to:

 

The two universities referred above are:

       and         Swansea University Blue

 

 

CARDIFF UNIVERSITY

 

 

At Cardiff University, we place students studying on the following 11 courses:

 

 

 

 

SWANSEA UNIVERSITY

Swansea University Blue

 

Similarly, at Swansea University we place students from the following 8 courses:

 

All students we place will be studying either for a BEng (4 years including the YiI) or MEng (5 years including the YiI) Degrees and will have completed two years of study prior to undertaking their Year in Industry.  

The Architectural Engineering, Civil Engineering and Civil & Environmental Engineering courses are accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Structural Engineers. The three courses have a common Civil Engineering base and are taught together for most of the time, particularly in the first two years. In the Architectural Engineering course, emphasis is put on Structural Engineering, while in the Civil & Environmental Engineering course environmental issues are emphasised.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (formerly the Institution of Electrical Engineers) accredit the courses in Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering and Computer Systems Engineering. In addition, the Computer Systems Engineering Degree is also accredited by the British Computer Society (BCS).

All Mechanical Engineering courses listed above are accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The University also has a Monitored Professional Development Scheme (MPDS) available for the students to work through during their Year in Industry.

We are interested in placement opportunities through-out the UK and further afield.

If you are interested in exploring this opportunity of employing a student for the next academic year, please contact:

Anna Dusza on 01446 775959 or  anna@symmonsmadge.co.uk

 

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