Work placements and employability
Graduate Development Programme
We are very committed to ensure our students are fully prepared for their future careers. Our unique Graduate Development Programme, adapted to the needs of specific courses and industries, is an integral part of all courses. It aims to develop students as fully rounded individuals, with the right attitudes and competencies for the world of work. From the second year of study, the programme focuses on employability skills in preparation for a potential placement sandwiched between years 2 and 3 of the degree.
Taking a placement year
We also encourage all our undergraduate students to take up the optional placement year. This is an integral part of the degree, linked to their discipline of study, which allows students to really put into action what they have learnt during the first two years of their course. We know that students that choose this option return to their studies with greater maturity and motivation, are more likely to gain a better degree classification and are more likely to be employed in a graduate level job at a higher average salary than students who do not take up the placement year.
Partner employer consortia
We work closely with a group of around 50 key employers representing the various industrial sectors we serve. This is to ensure we are developing the right sort of graduates, with the skills and competencies needed by the market. These employers provide help and advice in ongoing development of our curricula. We in return help our partners to identify, meet and ideally employer placement students and graduates. Employers engage with us by participating in one or more of the following partner consortia:
Engineering and Computing Consortium
Planning and Architecture Consortium
Register your graduate vacancies with the UWE Careers Service
Page last updated 27 September 2011