Placements FAQ
Programme Leader FAQs from the Faculty of Science and Technology – 2016-17
The Faculty Placements Team is comprised of Placement Coordinators and Placement Development Advisors. While the PCs are housed on campus, the PDAs are home workers due to their extensive travelling schedule. In addition, each faculty has a designated Careers Advisor from the central Careers and Employability team.
1. Placement Coordinators –Julie Gill (LES & AAFS), Donné Homer (Psychology), Hetty Nicholson (Comp), Georgie Blake (Creative Technology), Manne Garon (Design & Engineering)
a. Provide placement support for short and sandwich placements during Level 4 and 5 (First and Second Year) by: establishing MyCareerHub/placement microsites, preparing students for their placement search, informing students about opportunities, etc.
b. Planning and delivery of Placement and Employability Skills (PES) unit to all Level 5 students
c. Recruitment and management of Placement PAL
d. For long and short placements, students are able to book a one-to-one appointment with their PC. They are able to see their PC to obtain the necessary support, as often as they wish.
e. When necessary, process work placement agreements in conjunction with Legal Services (mandatory in France and Spain).
f. Coordinate BU overseas travel insurance for students abroad on placement.
g. Placement details forms are processed by PCs once job descriptions have been obtained, these are either agreed by PCs or Placement Tutor dependant on department requirements.
h. Process sandwich year opt-in and opt-out forms and collate lists
i. Organisation of placement assessment boards and post-board documentation including publishing results lists.
j. Encourage students to sign up to the SciTech Placement Facebook Group - Aimed towards Level 5, Placement and Level 6 students, this is managed by PC’s and PDA’s and aimed towards students.
2. Placement Development Advisors - Andy Blackburn, David O’Neill & Dave Walsh
a. Once students have registered their placement on MyCareerHub and it is approved, they are allocated to a PDA. The PDAs will try and establish contact before a placement starts (or within the first 4 weeks).
b. Students receive two official pre-booked placement review meetings; one where they are visited at their office, the other via telephone, in addition to ongoing email and telephone support.
c. The PDAs will check (amongst other things) that the placement is relevant, that the student is applying course knowledge, set goals and self-reflection, check placement coursework.
d. Encourage students to sign up to the SciTech Placement Facebook Group - Aimed towards Level 5, Placement and Level 6 students, this is managed by PC’s and PDA’s and aimed towards students.
3. Careers Advisor and Central Employability Team
a. Provide employability workshops during Level 6 (Final year).
b. Based in the Edge by the Library, career advice and support is available every week day.
c. Can provide information on the Central team activity; MyCareerHub queries, graduate recruitment, etc.
4. Programme Administrators
a. Provide information about academic course details and academic dates, etc. sending all information to the student University email address.
b. Coordinates information for final year options choices for sandwich placement (P) students
Suitable Placements - It is expected that all placement employers will follow the BU Guidelines for Employers, listed below for your reference.
You can also find the information at: https://mycareerhub.bournemouth.ac.uk/Uploads/Attachments/Guidelines-for-Employers-taking-a-student-on-Placement.pdf
Guidelines for Employers taking a student on Placement, as listed on the BU website
We would expect employers to;
ü Treat the recruitment of placement students in the same way and using the same procedure as for any other staff, e.g. in drawing up job and person specifications, contracts of employment, thinking through appropriate remuneration packages, considering Health & Safety, and complying with all relevant UK employment legislation including working-time directive, holiday time entitlement, payment of national insurance, tax.
ü Provide the student with a copy of their written contract of employment. The contract should detail hours of work, salary paid, holiday allocation, period of notice from employer (and notice to be given by the student) and any other details pertinent to their employ and subject to employment law requirements.
ü Ensure a suitable staff to student ratio. We consider this to be normally a minimum of one full-time staff member to every student employed. This is to allow appropriate support and development for the student and business contingency for the employer. Consider appointing a mentor.
ü Provide full induction and training including Health and Safety issues.
ü Note that in the UK, employers have full legal liability for students as employees.
ü Know that, in the absence of any written contract of employment, UK employment legislation will be applied, in particular for aspects such as notice period required from a student. See (ACAS) www.acas.org.uk for further information.
ü Pay the student. During the placement year the student is an employee of your organisation; they are expected to work the same hours as other staff and are paid a salary. The majority of our placements in the UK are paid, with the salary dependent upon location and industry, degree of responsibility and hours worked. However, for some charity organisations or voluntary work, it is possible that the student may be provided with reimbursement of travelling costs if a full salary is not available. The actual amount is a matter for negotiation between the student and employer.
ü Provide feedback – this could be a reference, statement, company appraisal or university feedback form on the conduct and performance of the student.
ü Communicate with both the student and university representatives in order that all parties get the best from the placement.
There is more information regarding the BU Placement Scheme on the Frequently Asked Questions link: https://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/business-services/files/2013/07/bu-placement-faqs.pdf
Placement Tutor Contribution List
The current placement tutors are Sofia Meacham (Computing), Sarah Palmer (Design & Engineering), Andrew Watson (Creative Technology), Andrew Mayers (Psychology), Mark Maltby (AAFS), Rick Stafford (LES).
To achieve a successful collaboration and best support the student experience, we strongly encourage and advise for you to familiarise yourself with the following:
1. Approval of placements -
Sandwich Placement Form – Students MUST upload the sandwich placement form on MyCareerHub for the placement to be officially recognised and approved. Only when the sandwich placement is approved does it actually count towards the placement requirement. Sandwich placement students need to provide a job description which is approved by the Placement Tutor. Once the job role has been approved the PC is able to approve the form on MyCareerHub.
Short placements – again, student MUST complete the short placement form on MyCareerHub to facilitate recognition and authorisation by the Placement Coordinator – with subsequent approval by the Placement Tutor for any job description which might be considered more diverse.
2. Placement Logbook / Report/ Assignment–This document needs to be reviewed by you each year and forwarded to the Placement Coordinators to be included in the Handbook for the outgoing students.
3. Keep all communication channels open between PDA / PC / student / and PA if necessary. Should issues arise, the PDA should be made aware and vice versa.
4. Encourage students to attend all Placement & Employability Skills Talks
5. Be familiar with the criteria for passing the year / placement experience.
· Short placements – Complete the minimum required weeks and the necessary coursework.
· Sandwich placements – Must complete a minimum of 40 weeks (30 hours per week) without holiday. Submit a Company Appraisal form together with their coursework, due in October. For multiple placements, they must hand in one Company Appraisal form per organisation as evidence of their employment.
Final Year Tutor Contribution List
6. Give Dissertation / Final Year Project / Final Year Option Information – Please be able to answer students with PDA on copy. If suitable, send out a final year option confirmation email to students once confirmed.
Programme Leader Contribution List
7. Serve as a contact for employers should they want to further engage with the University, ie. guest lecturing, industry panel, networking opportunities, etc. as these topics can arise during PDA visits.
8. Email names of Students with Exceptional Circumstances to the PDA. This information will help the PDAs be aware of students that may require extra attention whilst on placement.
9. Support the PDA when dealing with an employer situation where the input from you as the PL has been deemed necessary. While this occurrence is rare, it does unfortunately happen.
10. Encourage your students to attend all Placement & Employability Skills Talks.
11. Be familiar with MyCareerHub – As Programme Leaders you have access to the student’s placement details. Please note that all placement information will be listed on MyCareerHub, and not on myBU. To see the specific microsites on
12. MyCareerHub which PCs set up for SciTech students go to MyGroups and then select the appropriate placement group.
You can also access the system here: https://mycareerhub.bournemouth.ac.uk/students/login and see what is available to students. They can:
· Book face to face, telephone or skype appointments with careers advisors
· Access and apply to a range of local, national and international job vacancies
· Book onto employer events based on campus throughout the year
· Access a comprehensive range of online employability resources to help with career planning, the job hunt and job application process
a. Placement Search – There are placements and work experience opportunities uploaded on a daily basis, not to mention helpful guides on interviews, CV, assessment centres, etc.
b. Key documents with essential information include: Placement Preparation Guide, Sandwich Placement Handbook, Placement Logbook/Assignment Brief, and slides from Placement & Employability Skills lectures
c. Employer visits / Graduate Employment Fair – All dates of upcoming employer visits are listed on MyCareerHub
d. International and Study Abroad – Find information on international opportunities and related funding.
13. Be familiar with the criteria for passing the year / placement experience.
a. Short placements – Complete the minimum required weeks and the necessary coursework.
b. Sandwich placements – Must complete a minimum of 40 weeks (30 hours per week) without holiday. Submit a Company Appraisal form together with their coursework, due in October. For multiple placements, they must hand in one Company Appraisal form per organisation as evidence of their employment.
14. Encourage students check their University email account to avoid any confusion or unexpected / unwelcomed surprises and the resulting consequences.
15. For Tier 4 students, they must comply with the regulations and the process as advised by Migrant Reporting. Failure to do this may lead to their Visas being revoked and BU could be fined as an institution.
There is an additional Visa Tier 4 placement details form on MyCareerHub that must be completed so that the student is not in breach of their visa. The PC sends a letter to the employer before the student starts the placement and the Home Office needs to be informed (for both UK and overseas placements – short and long).
16. Refer students to the SUBU Advice Centre if they need advice and support with housing, employment law, personal, legal, and finance issues. http://www.subu.org.uk/advice; Main Office: 01202 965779
17. If your student has any disability or ALS concerns, please refer them to the ALS office for additional support and encourage them to speak their PDA. Email: , Office Tel: 01202 965663
18. For concerns about student’s wellbeing, the BU Student Wellbeing Centre offers help in finding and accessing support on a wide range of issues. Tel: 01202 965020, Email:
19. For continual academic research and reading, students on placement still have access to the BU Library.
20. Require any additional support for placement events or programme activities, contact your Director of Operations as the Placements Team Line Manager.
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