WORK EXPERIENCE
Find a career you’ll love and strengthen your CV with exciting and meaningful work experience opportunities.
Our dedicated teams are here to help you find them.
We work in partnership with many employers, in many different sectors, including organisations both locally and in the city of London where we work closely with leading legal and financial employers.
In addition students are provided with opportunities to participate in employer programmes to support specific career pathways such as Teaching and Investments.
Why do it?
Nowadays, all employers – from the multinational to small businesses – value candidates who have work experience. It’s a fantastic way to:
- Develop skills like problem-solving, communication and team work
- Learn how to prioritise your time as you balance studies with everyday responsibilities
- Connect with people in your chosen industry and create a network for future jobs.
It will also look great on job, apprenticeship or university applications. Students have been offered holiday work and even part- time jobs. Some are offered full-time jobs by their placement provider for when they finish College. Everyone gets some kind of feedback or reference from their employer.
I’m studying for a professional qualification – do I have to do work experience?
Yes! A big part of taking a professional route is building your confidence in the workplace. You’ll need to:
- Do at least 30 hours of work experience placements per year – this could be a couple of hours a week or a whole day, depending on your timetable
- Be prepared to pay for some aspects of your placement, if they apply – for example, a DBS check if you’re working with children or vulnerable adults or transport costs to/from your placement. Talk to Student Services if you think you may be eligible for a bursary.
Some of our professional courses, such as Health & Social Care, Early Years and Animal Care include extended placements. These involve working one or two days a week for a longer period of time.
What if I’m doing A-Levels?
You can of course still do a placement if it fits in with your studies. Simply talk to our Work Experience team in the library at the Seevic or Palmer’s Campus. They’ll find out more about what you’re interested in and help you to find suitable opportunities.
WE ENGAGE WITH MORE THAN 1750 EMPLOYERS IN RELATION TO WORK PLACEMENTS, INDUSTRY PLACEMENTS AND RECRUITMENT FOR TRAINEE PROGRAMMES.
USP FUTURES
Give something back to your community. Gain valuable skills you can’t get in the classroom. And have fun along the way. Our USP Futures coaches can help you find some inspiring opportunities.
Why volunteer?
Like work experience, voluntary service offers you the chance to build your skills and get a taste of different professional sectors – ideal if you’re not sure about what career you’d like to do. It’s also a great way to look beyond College and see that there’s more to life than just getting good grades. By helping others, you can find out more about the world, understand the difficulties people face, and be part of an important community.
USP Volunteers
Our USP Futures programme runs from September to May. During this time:
- You will need to commit to a minimum of 30 hours within an agreed timescale. It could be a couple of hours a week, a morning, an afternoon, or a whole day a week, or a week during College holidays, or a combination - whenever you have free time on your timetable. You can also choose to undertake more than one placement in an academic year.
- You will need to complete a work readiness check prior to the start of your placement.
- Your USP Futures coach will provide you with ongoing support during your placement and help
you create a LinkedIn profile. You will also receive a certificate of achievement on the successful
completion of each placement.