Experiences and expectations of Placement Students and Graduate Interns at Sheffield Hallam University

Abstract

Evidence suggests that the completion of a work placement as part of an undergraduate degree is of positive benefit to both graduates and employers, particularly in an era that stresses the economic contribution of the United Kingdom in higher education through developing graduate employability (Wilton, 2012). This benefit is twofold: first, work placements positively contribute to the development of generic employability skills; and second, placements provide a ‘head start’ for graduates at the outset of their careers. Currently, there are 54 placement students / graduate interns employed at SHU. Although, it is acknowledged that these employees are employed like any other member of staff to perform a role, this category of employee is specifically engaged in developing their future employability, thus it is important to ascertain how these employees perceive their development. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand the perceptions of placement students, graduate interns and their line managers in collaboration with the Human Resources (HR) department, and data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed the following main themes: expectations; feelings; how the placement student / graduate intern worked; skills; personal development and working relationships; reflection on experience; thoughts about the placement student / graduate intern and views about their placement student / graduate intern. Within each main theme, various subthemes were also found. This research highlights aspects of the placement student and graduate intern experiences at SHU. Additionally, it can facilitate greater use of SHU as an employer in providing these types of opportunity in order to promote recruitment to these posts.