Work Experience, Placements & Working with Employers

An Employability Theme Page

Getting Started with Work Placements

What is a Work Placement?

The University regards the key features of a work placement as being:

An activity supported by the University (i.e. the placement is only available to the student by virtue of being a student at Cardiff)
An experience which includes an element of externality (i.e. the student is required to engage with an organisation external to the University or undertakes an activity external to their programme of study)
An activity that involves a student commitment of at least 35 hours

Why Does Work-Based Learning Matter?

The University recognises that experience acquired via work-based learning supports students to transition into the world of work, and is committed to at least 50% of undergraduate students undertaking a work placement during the course of their studies. Placements and wider work-based learning can be undertaken on both a curricular and extracurricular basis.

In fact, in the Education and Students Sub-Strategy 2018-2023 (Recast during Covid-19), the University commits to:

Sourc[ing] a wide range of domestic and international placement opportunities in all sectors, available in traditional, virtual, and blended formats. This will include hosting student and graduate placements within the University, expanding our alumni mentoring and placement opportunities, and providing placement opportunities with Welsh SMEs to support the local economy and ensure the retention of graduate skills in Wales.

Student Futures staff can work with Schools to discuss embedding placement into the curriculum and there is a range of paperwork and support available for the process of embedding available on the Intranet and created by Registry.

Creating Work Placements for My Students

Student Futures staff can collaborate with you to envision what will make the best placement for your programme.  We can liaise with employers to embed employer activity within the curriculum, enhancing both learning and teaching, and student employability.  Employer engagement activity is hugely diverse, ranging from work-based learning, internships and placements, to employers providing case studies, guest speakers, mentors, knowledge exchange, consultancy projects and career insights.  Employers can provide real world examples, research projects and opportunities for authentic assessment within the curriculum, enabling students to better understand how their subject and its methods are applied in practice. 

Employers and alumni can provide invaluable insights into the range of career pathways available to students, the knowledge and skills students will need when they transition into the world of work, and some of the key trends and challenges facing specific industries. 

Increasingly, employers are aiming to increase the diversity in their workforce and looking for opportunities to work with universities in a more bespoke way.  Student Futures have an extensive network of employers and alumni, and a dedicated engagement team with a wealth of expertise to support schools to embed employer activity within the curriculum.  

In addition to Insights and short internships, which can be completed during each semester, students can access career mentoring with an employer or alumnus and undertake a paid placement on a part-time or full-time basis.  More tailored and flexible work experience is available for under-represented groups of students who may face barriers, or lack employability skills or networks.

Case Study: Inclusive Work Experience

I have supported a student with neurodiversity via Career Confident (formally GOWales scheme). A generic email was sent out by Careers Confident asking staff to offer work experience. I met with the programme coordinator to see what was required and what I could offer. We worked sensitively with the student, who then agreed to meet me to see if they could work with me. We discussed options until we had something that they were happy to participate in. Most of my team are part time and don’t work on a Friday so the student chose this day to come in, as the working environment was quieter. I booked one of the smaller labs so the student could work alone, quietly and without lights. I made sure I was available, and always provided support when they asked. Dr Sarah Youde

Study Abroad Guidance

Access the Study Abroad Intranet pages, to find the following policy documents and paperwork:

Study Abroad Policy
Collaborative Provision Risk Assessment for the Introduction of Study Abroad
Study Abroad Module Description template
Study Abroad Partner Application Form
Learning Agreement for International Exchange Students

Placement Policies and Paperwork

Access the Placements Intranet pages, to find the following policy documents and paperwork.

This includes links to:

Placement Learning Policy
Risk Assessment Form for the introduction of Placements
Risk Assessment Guidance

Working with Employers for Curriculum Enhancement

Employers are keen to work with Schools in the design area of developing a curriculum and are also often happy to have a presence in the curriculum in the form of guest lectures, or panel events. The Employer Engagement Team in Student Futures is a good first port of call to contact when thinking about contacting employers. Alternatively, Schools often have their own contacts that help them develop content.

Below are some examples of the varied ways in which employers can support curricular and extra-curricular activities in Schools. Please set up a discussion with your College Student Futures Business Partner, if you want to develop this thinking in programme design or through revalidation.

The Student Futures Advisory Board works at a strategic level to discuss employability development in Cardiff University
Cardiff University’s Strategic Partnerships with organisations, or the University’s Civic Mission projects, can provide opportunities for varied co-curricular or extra-curricular activities.

Examples of employer input into curriculum activity:

⭕ENGIN: Babcock International run a mock assessment centre for students (organised by Student Futures).

⭕CHEMY: the new BSc in Medicinal Chemistry are hoping to access data from a pharmaceutical company for students to use to work on real-world calculations in a sandpit (this is a work in progress, but the concept of using real employer data in the curriculum is growing in popularity).

Case Studies

The Opportunities Zone team in the Business School is part of Student Futures and includes a placements team who source, manage and promote placements in the School, supporting both curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Opportunities include an integrated five-month work placement and both an undergraduate and postgraduate placement year, as well as live business projects. Assessments have been co-created where these opportunities are curricular.

Student Futures collaborates with an Academic Lead in JOMEC to deliver an optional Year 2 module ‘Employability: Knowledge, Skills and Experience’ MC2634.  This module includes a compulsory placement which students source for themselves, with the support of the Student Futures team.  Teaching is delivered in the autumn and most students complete a placement during spring semester.  The module handbook contains guidance for students on how to approach sourcing a placement, and a placement clinic with the Student Futures team is held in one of the seminars, to highlight the wide range of opportunities available for Cardiff University students.  Additional support is available for any students who may face barriers to accessing work experience.

The placement team in the School of Psychology keeps a database of employers to support students with sourcing placements for the placement year in the Applied Psychology course. Students are provided with a placement handbook with a list of contacts of previous employers of Cardiff University placement students. Input from Student Futures includes workshops on applications and interviews and CV clinics at key times of the academic year.