• Helps you to identify talent early on, supporting future recruitment
• Students can bring new perspectives and ideas when undertaking projects and tasks
• Raise your company profile with students and academics, supporting potential future collaborations

Students on the following degree programmes are eligible to take a year in industry:

• Aerospace Engineering 
• Civil Engineering 
• Engineering Design 
• Electrical and Electronic Engineering 
• Mechanical and Electrical Engineering 
• Engineering Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering

• We advertise and promote placement opportunities to students
• We provide you with an opportunity to present on your organisation and available placements to students
• We can support the administration process once placements are confirmed

We are responsible for approving placement opportunities.

To be approved, placements must:

• Meet the university's Intended Learning Outcomes for the Year in Industry programme and associated assessments. 
• Be salaried at a minimum rate of the National Living Wage (from April 2024, the National Living Wage has been set as £11.44 per hour) 
• Be full-time for a minimum of 9 months and a maximum of 12 months
• Allocate the student a supervisor, who is responsible for the student's work, professional mentoring and wellbeing during their placement
• Ensure students are employees and subject to the terms and conditions of the company, and employment and health and safety laws

We are happy to discuss placements with you and answer any questions you have.

• Contact us at engf-yearinindustry@bristol.ac.uk with details of your placement opportunity (i.e., a  detailed job description)
• We will review and approve your Year in Industry placement opportunity prior to advertising it to our students. All placement opportunities must meet our minimum placement requirements for approval.
  
• Students apply to your opportunity and you arrange interviews
• Once a student has been offered a placement and that offer has been accepted, you issue the student with a contract of employment.
• The University will conduct due diligence checks for each placement offered. This will involve health & safety and insurance checks (and requests for supporting documentation) in addition to issuing a letter of engagement for you to sign.  

We would recommend that you advertise your opportunity between September 2023 and May 2024.

We anticipate interviews and job offers will be conducted in a similar timeframe. The University will conduct checks on all placements offered in this time with an aim to complete these at least one month before a student starts their Year in Industry placement.

We recommend to not hold interviews during revision and assessment periods. These fall between 8 January 2024 - 19 January 2024 and 7 May 2024 - 31 May 2024. University term dates can be viewed here.

Students can start their placements from mid-July. We recommend that they begin their placement before the end of September. Placements can be extended if agreed between the company and the student. Students are required to have finished their placement by September when they return to university.

Before the placement begins:

• Return the required details and paperwork in a timely manner. This will include:
  • Confirmation that the Year in Industry placement meets the University's placement requirements
  • Health and Safety contact details
  • Copy of employers liability insurance
  • Copy of the company's EDI statement
  • Signed and dated letter of engagement (issued by the University)
• Allocate the student an industrial supervisor/ line manager. They are responsible for the student's work, professional development and wellbeing during their placement
• Provide an induction for the student

During the placement:

• The academic supervisor will visit the student and industrial supervisor/ line manager at least twice during the placement. These visits will be either virtual or in-person and are linked to the student's Year in Industry assessments
• Both the student and company maintain contact with the university during the placement

Year in Industry Assessments:

Students will write and present two short reports. These will be assessed by their Academic Supervisor, with input from the industrial supervisor:

• Mid-November / six to eight weeks after starting: a two-page report describing the company, the student's intended work, and identifying potential training and mentoring needs
• Mid-May / shortly before completion of the placement: a 3,000 word report describing the work undertaken and its likely impact for  the company, plus personal development activites

Students will also submit a Personal Development Plan (PDP) in March to review their progress and development during their year against UK-SPEC Competences. 

As the placement provider, you will be required to undertake a review of the students' progress on a regular basis throughout the placement.