Interested in that all important and exciting chance to have a year out in industry between your second and third year?
Your next chapter…
Interested in that all important and exciting chance to have a year out in industry between your second and third year? Be it Europe, the UK, or anywhere in the world the Creative Careers Talk about Placements session in early October provided excellent advice about ways to go about starting your work placement process.
Why go abroad?
Sunny Ibiza? City break in Paris? Or what about a year long placement abroad to make that all important wow statement on your CV. Giving you a safe way to live abroad, developing your industry skills and possible language skills. You don’t have to be a linguist to go abroad, most of the positions are in English, unless of course you want to practice your language skills and take on something completely different. Even if you don’t speak the language now, more than likely with the odd language lessons whilst you are in the country as well as just being exposed to the language, you will be able to progress at your own pace in the language. Again, another added bonus to your CV.
How will I afford to live abroad?
At the moment you can still take part in the Erasmus+ Programme although this only runs until 2023. In fact, you will be the last year of students who can make use of this amazing opportunity as the funding runs out on 31 May 2023. This does not mean you can only do a placement until then, but you would only receive the grant until then. You have to do a minimum of 2 months work experience in order to gain this grant but the best thing is that it is non-repayable.
Say you gained a work placement in industry in the Netherlands for 10 months you would get 470 Euro per month so 4700 Euro over the 10 months, 80% at the beginning and 20 % at the end. Top ups available for disadvantaged students as well as those with special needs. Whatever your circumstances contact Dan Wightman at Exchanges and Study Abroad Team for further details.
The Turing Scheme will hopefully replace the Erasmus scheme which enables you to travel worldwide for a minimum of 4 weeks. However, watch this space, as further funding past 2021 is yet to be confirmed.
Once you have found a position abroad then you must speak to Creative Careers to get the placement endorsed. Remember just because you are abroad you remain part of the University of Portsmouth and maintain all the support that you would if you were here for the year.
So, funding sorted, CV elevated and support from University of Portsmouth continues … still not convinced, then let’s look at the statistics which prove if you take part in the work placement scheme you are 20% less likely to be unemployed; 10% more likely to get into "graduate" level jobs within 6 months of graduation and 7% higher average wage earners within 6 months of graduation!
Kick start your work placement search
Creative Careers are here to help you kick start your work placement search. From the very beginning with consolidating your CV and portfolio so they are fit for purpose, as well as assisting in the all-important applications. In short, we are your “go to” for anything related to the work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd year. So instead of coming back to University of Portsmouth in September 2022, if you decide to go down the full year work placement route then you would be starting an industry placement anytime between June and October 2022. If you decide, for whatever reason, a full year out in industry is not suitable for you, there are always other options that you should consider to ensure you gain some form of industry experience before you graduate - short term work experience or placement, relevant freelance or a summer internship instead.
Such fabulous opportunities are available at huge industry giants such as Disney, NBC, Gym Shark, John Lewis and once your CV and portfolio are ready by all means apply to these amazing companies. However, it is important to remember that it is about developing your skills and it really doesn’t matter if you get a placement in a large, a medium or small company as long as you are learning and developing throughout your work placement. Remember there is no given number of applications that you will have to make, just apply for as many as you can - making sure that every vacancy you apply for is one that you would like to accept if you were offered it.
Next step...
So, you have it in a nutshell, work placements come in all shapes and formats, to suit everyone and anyone. In order to start your journey, the all-important thing is to register at Creative Careers because once you are registered you will receive email notifications of vacancies, upcoming events and newsletters. You will also be a click away from our support and advice throughout the process. Struggling with CVs, portfolios or vacancy searches as well as application jargon and interview practice - we are here for you just contact us at Creative Careers.