Year in Industry Student Handbook 2025-26: Benefits

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This Handbook will provide you with all the relevant info about the Year in Industry programme at the School of Economics and Finance. No paper copy will be issued, so please refer to these pages.

3. Benefits

A year spent on a placement has a number of benefits for participating students, and many return to university with a new sense of purpose, focus and motivation. Benefits include

Academic benefits

In terms of your studies, your placement year will help you contextualise the learning that you have done in the first two years of study in the workplace. This will ensure that you are enthusiastic about the subject area and will help you adopt a more sophisticated level of understanding to your studies when you return to college for your final year of study.

Skills and personal and career development

A year in industry will help you to develop a range of skills including those directly related to your job as well as more transferable skills, such as communication and teamwork. It is also a great opportunity to learn more about your strengths and explore your career aspirations further. You will improve commercial awareness and have an opportunity to meet useful contacts. By the end of the placement you should have a clearer idea of the skills you have to offer employers in the graduate labour market and a more developed understanding of the career you would like to pursue.

Employability

When it comes to making applications for graduate jobs it helps to have something that makes you stand out as a highly employable candidate combining excellent academic training with an extensive and relevant work experience. Relevant experience and the ability to articulate this is very attractive to employers. In fact, many employers use placements as a way of testing out the potential of candidates for future employment so play your cards right and you may find you get a long term job offer out of it!

Increased confidence

Through the process of applying for placements you will also have developed your ability to market yourself effectively and gained practical experience in completing CVs, cover letters, applications and attending interviews – all very useful for when you are applying for graduate jobs.

Salary

The rate of pay for placements varies depending on the employer, the nature of their business and the geographical location. However, you will get paid a salary, often at a very competitive rate, so your year in industry can also help ease the financial burden of being a student.