EMPLOYER GUIDE TO INDUSTRY PLACEMENTS Science Occupational Specialism: Laboratory Sciences
Thank you for your consideration in providing an Industry Placement opportunity for our students. Industry placements give young people studying towards a T Level technical qualification valuable practical experience, helping to prepare them for the workplace. Employers like you are helping to grow the talent of our future workforce by developing their technical and employability skills and building their confidence.
This guide will provide valuable information on the Placement process including: • Taking the first step • Who, what, how, why and when • Creating a job description • Selecting the right candidate to meet your needs • Grofar • Setting learning objectives • Support throughout the placement • Expectations and responsibilities
Taking the first step You may be concerned that the process of setting up an Industry Placement is complicated and time consuming but this simply isn’t the case. You will be assigned a dedicated Work Placement Officer (WPO) to guide you through the whole process and can be as involved in the selection process as you want to be. The first step would be for one of our WPO’s to get in touch to: • Discuss your business needs • Confirm health & safety responsibilities • Agree a placement schedule of dates • Outline the job description • Introduce you to Grofar, our interactive digital placement platform
The who, what, how, why and when? Who are the students we are placing: • Primarily 16 –18 year-olds, living in and around the Harlow area • Studying T Level in Science (at Level 3, equivalent to A Levels) • Students skilled in working in a laboratory at forefront of technology to carry out both routine and one off laboratory testing and perform a variety of support functions across the organisation • Looking to progress to an Apprenticeship or University
What should students experience on their placement: • Observe the day to day running and maintenance of a laboratory • Practical laboratory work • Assist in supportive tasks using laboratory tools and equipment • Opportunities to participate in appropriate meetings • Working with others with different skills, expertise and experience
How have Harlow College prepared the learner for work readiness: • Growing wider employability skills and workplace behaviours throughout the course curriculum • Developing technical skills through practical tasks • Facilitating varied employer encounters throughout the course curriculum • Providing careers information, advice and guidance
Why this benefits you as an employer: • Extra resources for your projects and day-to-day operations • Addresses current and future skills shortages in your industry by growing your own workforce • Fresh ideas from young people • Inspiring the next generation to work in your industry • Strengthen your recruiting pipeline and increase diversity • Give your employees the opportunity to develop management and mentoring skills • Support the vision of becoming a learning organisation, build brand value and corporate reputation For all industry placements starting before 31 July 2022, an employer may receive up to £1,000 per placement. (Terms and conditions apply)
When does the placement take place: • 315 hours (approximately 9 weeks) during the two year course • Hours can be in a block or spread throughout the year • Placement can be split between two employers • Schedule can be shaped to meet employer needs
Creating a job description Defining the placement role will help ensure we match you with a student who has the right skills, development needs and career aspirations to suit your business need. Our Work Placement team will work with you to create a bespoke job description that will include: • Objective of the role • Typical activities • Prior skills and knowledge required • Technical skills development opportunities
Selecting the right candidate to meet your needs We can be as flexible as required when helping you select your candidate. You may wish to shortlist and interview several students or it may suit you to be less hands on and leave us to match the right student to the role. We can also arrange for short ‘taster’ placements if you wanted to work with a student prior to agreeing a longer placement. Either way, we will manage the process efficiently and with the minimum of fuss.
Grofar Grofar is an Industry Placement management platform that allows us to plan, track and assess placements simply and efficiently. As a placement provider you will also have access to the system which will allow you to: • Receive clear communications and directions for delivering work placements • Save time by responding to College requests for information through simple e-forms • Submit all applications and supply Health & Safety documents online • Validate all student hours weekly using a simple online form • Engage more with the work placement process
Your designated WPO will guide you through the simple set up process and explain the functions of Grofar.
Helping students meet their objectives Performance outcomes will not be formally assessed at their Industrial placement. However, there are course outcomes that students are required to meet. To help us align these objectives with the workplace, we have provided a table of skills that students are required to achieve through their occupational specialism. Please refer to the table on the next spread.
Occupational Specialism: Laboratory Sciences Performance outcome
Work safely in a laboratory, maintaining excellent housekeeping whilst following appropriate safety and risk management systems
Prepare and perform for laboratory tasks using the appropriate scientific techniques Standard operating procedures and methods
Produce reliable, accurate data and keep accurate records of laboratory work undertaken and results
Knowledge acquisition • The foundations of health and safet including responsibility for health and safety under Health & Safety at Work Act (HASWA) • Risk assessment and control including Control of Substances Hazardous to Health assessments (COSHH) and Safety Data Sheets
• Internal regulations pertinent to the sponsoring company and relative specialism in which they operate e.g. Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Good Documentation Practice (GDP)
• Labroratory Techniques: - Weighing - Measuring - Titrations - Crystallisation - Distillation - Chromatography
Skills acquisition
• Comply with Health & Safety policies and procedures including HASWA, COSHH, risk assessments, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), manual handling, emergency procedures
• Adhere to internal and external regulatory requirements e.g. GLP, GMP, GDP
• Prepare for, and perform, laboratory experiments, tests or tasks following any specified methodologies to provide reliable, accurate data e.g. weighing, pipetting, filtering, spectroscopic techniques, chromatography techniques
Performance outcome
Analyse, interpret and evaluate data and identify results requiring further investigation seeking advice of senior colleagues as appropriate
Recognise problems and apply appropriate scientific methods to identify causes and achieve solutions
Knowledge acquisition
• The principles of Laboratory Information Management systems (digital or paper based) • The principles of root cause analysis
• Scientific equipment management including maintenance e.g. cleaning, calibration, recognising equipment faults and when to escalate
Skills acquisition • Demonstrate technical competence in the use of specified instruments and equipment • Keep accurate records of laboratory work undertaken and results • Contribute to the preparation of reports
• Address non-routine problems with samples and instrumentation, within defined areas • Evaluate data, recognise and call attention to anomalous or unusual result
Support throughout the placement The College will provide support throughout the placement for you the employer, as well as the student. Your designated WPO is always available to answer any questions or discuss progress. Attendance and progress is recorded and monitored through Grofar, our digital placement platform which will also provide a direct communication channel to flag any concerns. During the placement the College will complete two monitoring visits at a time convenient to you. This is an opportunity to review the progress being made towards completing the agreed learning objectives. Once the placement is completed there will be an opportunity to evaluate the experience and hopefully plan your next Industry Placement!
The first step ... Hopefully, you are now ready to take the first step to providing an Industry Placement. To proceed, or if you have any questions, please contact our WPO team who are waiting to help. Email: WPO@harlow-college.ac.uk
Email us Call: 01279 868245
Call: 01279 868254 Mobile: 07827 838921
Mobile: 07827 838921