DO YOU VALUE... intelligent Motivated cost足effective skillFUL knowledgeable CREATIVE sTAFF? ABERDEEN BUSINESS SCHOOL
PLACEMENTS
the professional university
www.rgu.ac.uk
Introduction Welcome to the Aberdeen Business School Placement Guide. In this guide we aim to introduce the placement process to you and highlight the benefits of it to you and your organisation. Over the past few years, Robert Gordon University has been rated in the top 5 for Graduate recruitment in the whole of the UK. The Sunday Times recently said of The University “work placements lasting up to a year are the norm, helping an employment record that has been the best in Scotland for four years.” This is something we at Aberdeen Business School are very proud of and with a total of 25 of our full time courses incorporating a work placement lasting from 4 weeks to 48 we aim to grow on our success each year. Aberdeen Business School courses have been designed to offer students an effective combination of academic study and practical experience. This combination of learning helps us to develop all rounded
graduates that are ready and able to perform more effectively in the work place upon graduation. Supported by the teaching staff at the Business School, the Placement Office is at the very heart of the placement process. The Placement Office aims to provide an unrivalled level of service in helping you find the right students for your business and guiding you through the placement process. We hope you enjoy our placement guide and find it useful. The Placement Office Team are always on hand to answer any questions you have and we would be delighted to have the opportunity to come out and visit your business to present the placement scheme in person.
“Work placements, lasting up to a year, are the norm, helping an employment record that has been Scotland’s best for several years and consistently one of the leaders in the UK” The Times University Guide
INTELLIGENT What are the benefits of hosting a placement student? • Gaining an intelligent, motivated, cost effective labour resource with valuable skills, knowledge and fresh ideas. • Students may be available at times of the year when your need is greatest. • Having projects undertaken that would otherwise take up valuable time from full time employees. • Your existing staff gaining the chance to find out what is being currently taught in higher education institutions. • Your permanent staff gaining opportunities to develop supervisory skills, by mentoring the placement student.
• Benefiting from the latest research through closer links with HEI’s. • Cutting recruitment and training costs through employing placement students when they graduate. Over half of our students who completed a business or accounting placement have been offered a full time job on graduating or a part-time job during their final academic year. • Overcoming temporary staff shortages at low cost. • Gaining favourable publicity as a result of placements and sponsorship arrangements with the academic community.
What do you have to do? Aberdeen Business School is very mindful of the importance and benefit of work placements to our students. They have formed part of our courses for many years and the popularity of the placement amongst students is growing each year. All our work placements are academically assessed and are built into the structure of our courses. In order for placements to adhere to academic criteria, we ask: • The placements are relevant to the student’s course of study and they provide the student with a challenge, allowing them to relate the real world of work to the academic modules they study at university. • You complete a learning contract with the student at the start of placement. This is an opportunity to set tasks and objectives for the duration of the placement. • You undertake regular reviews with the students (number of reviews subject to length of placement), resulting in a final review where we ask you to give the student a grade for their placement (grading scale is provided – not applicable to all courses). • You cover relevant health and safety processes and procedures with the student before they begin placement.
“The placement year is about you so take full advantage of the various departments and types of work as it may be the only eye opener you get before heading down a specific route!”
MOTIVATED What they can do Project Based Placements Some of our Postgraduate courses require students to research projects while on placement. In these cases, as well as being exposed to a particular function within an organisation developing transferable skills and industry knowledge, students research a particular area defined by the employer, sometimes in consultation with the student themselves. Students then return to University to finalise their research and write up their findings, which are subsequently forwarded to the Placement Provider for comment and use. Floating Roles Many companies offer students a chance to experience a variety of roles in different departments such as HR, Finance, Administration etc as well as shadowing management. Rolling Placement Many companies employ students on year long placements on a rolling basis. Thus they benefit from having a permanent position filled with students who have new ideas and input every year. Year Long Vacancies You may wish to fill a year long vacancy to cover sabbatical or maternity leave. Expansion and Growth Students are able to fill gaps in staffing levels due to growth, whether seasonal, temporary or sustained.
“Placement met all my expectations and more! Has been a brilliant experience and im sure will open many doors for me after graduation.”
When do placements start? Start Date
Course
Duration
Early January
MSc Human Resource Management
6 weeks
Last Monday in January onwards
BA(Hons) International Hospitality, International Tourism & Retail Management
24 weeks min
Late January
BA(Hons) Communication with Public Relations
6 weeks
BA(Hons) Media Studies
6 weeks
BA(Hons) Journalism
6 weeks
BA(Hons) Fashion Management
6 weeks
MSc Management
7 weeks
MSc Information Management
4 weeks
MSc Information and Library Studies
4 weeks
MSc Corporate Communication and Public Affairs
4 weeks
MSc Journalism
4 weeks
Last Monday in March
Last Monday in BA(Hons) Law & Management March onwards
12 weeks min
Mid May onwards
BA(Hons) Accounting & Finance
48 weeks min
BA(Hons) Management
48 weeks min
BA(Hons) Management with Marketing
48 weeks min
BA(Hons) Management with Economics
48 weeks min
BA(Hons) Management with Finance
48 weeks min
BA(Hons) Management with Human Resource Management
48 weeks min
BA(Hons) International Tourism Management
48 weeks min
BA(Hons) Retail Management
48 weeks min
BA(Hons) International Business Management
48 weeks min
BA(Hons) International Hospitality Management
48 weeks min
June/July
MSc International Marketing Management
8 weeks
July
MSc Project Management
6-8 weeks
MSc/LLM International Trade LLM International Commercial Law LLM Internatinal Information Technology Law
Short Term Placements available
BA(Hons) Event Management
Throughout the year
Throughout the year
Next Step We hope you have found our placement guide useful. We have created a series of information sheets for each of our courses that offer a placement. Please get in touch to request an information sheet. If you would prefer to discuss options in detail, the Placement Office Team are always on hand to answer any questions you have and we would be delighted to have the opportunity to come out and visit your business to present the placement scheme in person.
“My placement year has exceeded my expectations. I have loved every minute of it.�
Contact Details Placement Office Aberdeen Business School The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen Faculty of Health and Social Care Garthdee Road, Garthdee AB10 7QE Tel: 01224263837 Email: absplacements@rgu.ac.uk www.rgu.ac.uk
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