Work Experience
In today’s competitive job market, work experience can help you to enhance your employability and develop the key transferable skills necessary to succeed.
Why Undertake a Work Placement?
Most employers place more value on work experience and a positive attitude than they do on the class of degree obtained. Students who undertake a placement may well obtain a permanent position with the employer after graduating. Research indicates that employers make job offers to more than 70% of work experience recruits.
In 2009, 54% of Marketing and Management students who completed a 12 month placement after second year obtained a first class degree. Research by the Marketing and Management Degree Programme Director, Stuart Challinor has found that undertaking a work placement can add at least one degree class to most students.
Placement Opportunities
You will be given many opportunities to undertake a work placement and gain valuable experience whilst studying with us. This could be on a full time, part time or voluntary basis. Please see details below of the types of placements that you could be involved in:
(Please note: This page will be updated on a regular basis when new work experience opportunities become available)
12 month Placement
As you will be aware, many of our degrees offer a 12 month, full time work placement within an organisation which is usually undertaken between stages 2 and 3. For more information, please see the '12 month work placement' section.
Project Based Placement
A number of our programmes give students the opportunity to undertake a live project with a real client. One of these is the Marketing Consultancy Project which is offered to those students undertaking BA Marketing and Management, BA Business Management and BSc Marketing. The projects are undertaken as an alternative to the more traditional dissertation.
This year, the companies involved include;
- Northumbria Police
- Flexible Text
- Hardy and Greys Ltd
- iSuki
- Culcruech Castle
Read more about the Marketing Consultancy Projects
Career Development Module
This module gives you the opportunity to use your work experience, volunteering activities or part time job to count towards your degree.
There are a range of opportunities and routes available with the Career Development module:
- Student Tutoring - helping learners in schools, colleges or community-based organisations.
- Student Volunteering - volunteering through the University Student Union Society or SCAN
- Learning from Work - for those who wish to develop their skills using existing part time term-time work on or off campus
(You will need to check which of these routes are available for your particular degree programme)
All modules are worth 20 credits and start in Semester One and conclude in Semester Two. You will have some discretion over when to complete the practical component of the modules, which involves 70 hours of placement visits/ work related learning.
To find out more about the Career Development module and how to get involved, visit the Careers Service website at www.ncl.ac.uk/careers/develop/cdm.php
Business Enterprise Module
This is a 20 credit module completed over two semesters that will provide you with an opportunity to work in a team and run your own business.
For more information, please visit the Careers Service website at www.ncl.ac.uk/careers/develop/bem.php
Read about Business School graduate Lauren Skerritt's successful business venture that began on the Business Enterprise module
The Newcastle Work Experience (NWE) Scheme
The NWE offers paid work experience opportunities in local small and medium sized companies to bright and enterprising students. These placements are open to all Newcastle University students (both undergraduate and postgraduate), please see the link below for more information on the types of placements that are currently being advertised:
Further details on the NWE scheme and the placements currently advertised
ncl+
The ncl+ scheme is all about helping you to improve your skills and prepare for life after university, whether that is work, further study or travel. The ncl+ partners offer a range of work experience opportunities for all our students such as student volunteering in the local community, writing for The Courier, becoming a Sports Coach volunteer or working for the Union Society.
For more information about ncl+, please visit the website at www.ncl.ac.uk/nclplus/
Read about Business School winners at this years ncl+ Awards
Further information
For more information about the types of placements available and details of how these can be of benefit to you, visit the Careers Service. Further details on programme specific placements can be found on Blackboard.
