Could your organisation benefit from the support of bright and motivated University of Birmingham students?
The Professional Skills Module enables Arts and Humanities students to develop their professional skills, knowledge and confidence by undertaking a work experience placement as part of their degree.
Professional Skills module - for Employers
How can my organisation benefit?
- Students can provide extra capacity, perhaps working on a project you may have otherwise been unable to fulfil.
- They can contribute creativity, energy and a fresh perspective, and help with strategies for engaging young people. In fact, employers often ‘reboot’ their processes based on ideas or innovations from placement students.
- Through their degree studies, students have developed a range of skills that can benefit you, such as research, persuasive communication, team working and organisation.
- This module typically attracts driven, ambitious and inquiring students, keen to enhance their commercial awareness, sector knowledge and career focus.
- Students have taken roles in a diverse range of fields, such as: blog-writing; research; impact reporting; project coordinating; bid-writing; social media curation; web editorial; oral history research; video editing, business development; relationship management; event and activity-planning; and magazine editorial.
Download the Professional Skills Module Example Placements leaflet to explore the many ways that students have supported organisations in the past.
"This has been a brilliant opportunity for our organisation and we encourage other values-driven organisations to provide quality, co-designed opportunities to talented students." Lisa Stepanovic, Social Ark
"Having students on placement offers the opportunity to gain new and fresh ideas in the business and to gain support in so many different areas from young people who are driven, enthusiastic, and full of initiative to help your business succeed." Ameesha Green, The Book Shelf Ltd
"This is a fantastic way to gain a little extra capacity whilst helping the next generation of employees or entrepreneurs gain the experience they need in industry. The students brought us different perspectives: they might not have had prior experience in what we were asking them to do, but we found this to be a healthy and fresh way to look at what we do." Sally Taylor, Bearwood Community Hub
How does it work?
- Students work for a minimum of 70 hours (10 days) between late June - December.
- Placements can be full or part-time over summer, or part-time during the autumn semester.
- Placement roles offer students ownership and responsibility for a project or focus under your supervision and you can recruit more than one student to multiple projects/roles.
- Students apply for bespoke placement roles through our Placements Bank; we collate the applications and forward them to you for selection.
- The module is open to students of Art History, Creative Writing, Drama & Theatre Arts, Film Studies, English Literature, English Language and Linguistics, History & Cultures, Music, Philosophy and Theology & Religion.
- Employers can also opt into the new Confirmed Interview Scheme, which provides specific encouragement and support to candidates from under-represented groups.
How can I take part?
For further information, or to arrange a meeting, contact Lesley Griffiths, College of Arts & Law Placements Officer: calplacements@contacts.bham.ac.uk