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Summer Skills Placement Programme

Summer Skills Placement Programme

Hosting a short-term summer placement can make a tangible difference to a student’s career prospects whilst also benefiting your company.

Each year the Placements Team work with alumni, local employers and SMEs further afield, to host placements for Royal Holloway students during the summer vacation. Placements are usually 2 or 4 weeks in duration (full or part-time) and take place between June and September.

Could you host a student at your place of work?

There is no cost for organisations to take part as Royal Holloway supports participating students with a grant.

If you can help current students get real-life experience that will help them develop their skills and confidence, we want to hear from you! We are always looking to build new relationships and generate exciting opportunities for our students who are eager to gain experience across all sectors.

If you would like to get involved, please get in touch with us at CareersPlacements@royalholloway.ac.uk to book an informal chat. You can read more about the benefits to you, and hear from previous hosts below. 

There are many benefits for a company to take on a student for a short placement:

  • There’s no cost to you (the university pays the students a grant on completion of the programme)
  • Nurture diversity within your team or company
  • Get fresh ideas for your projects and encourage innovation
  • Finally complete those tasks that are always put on a back-burner
  • Inspire the younger generation by offering guidance and opportunities
  • Develop colleague's leadership/mentoring skills by allowing them to supervise the students
  • Raise the profile of your organisation within the Royal Holloway community
  • A great recruitment tool – considering hiring a graduate? Hosting placements allows you to get to know our students and see what opportunities could lie ahead
  • Make a lasting and life-long impact on the career prospects of students who have faced barriers in higher education and consequently their futures
  • Build a relationship with Royal Holloway University and the Careers Service

You’ll likely remember being in the student’s shoes, with the daunting world of work looming. Your guidance and advice is invaluable to our students as they take these important steps in their early career.

You get access to a highly motivated cohort of students who have secured their place on the programme by completing a series of employability activities alongside their studies and demonstrating continued commitment to the programme.

Designed and delivered by the Careers team, this includes a CV workshop and video interview practice, with tailored support and feedback at each stage. Only after completing all mandatory activities, the students can apply for placement opportunities on this programme, meaning your candidates are motivated and enthusiastic to gain experience.

You and the student both receive support from the dedicated Placements Team throughout the journey.

If you have never hosted a student before, this programme offers a simple, low-risk, well-established process to get involved and to see if this is something you would be interested in as a one-off or an annual basis.

75% of our hosts are programme repeaters!

Participating students are Second Year Undergraduates from all degree subjects, plus First Years who will have a Year-in-Industry as part of their course (a short summer placement can help them on their way to securing this integral part of their degree journey!)

All students are from one or more of the following underrepresented backgrounds:

  • Black Heritage
  • Care-Leaver
  • Financially supported/low socio-economic background
  • First generation to attend university
  • Registered with Disability and/or Neurodiversity

By taking part you will be helping to remove barriers for students in need of your support.

“[It] gives us the opportunity to have work complete that we do not usually have time to do… and gives staff a chance to gain experience supervising/managing… As Royal Holloway alumni, I also like to give back to the College”
– Andreea (Royal Holloway alumni) on her motivation to host multiple students over a number of years.

 

“For us, it’s important to support exposure and opportunity for these demographics and the programme gave us the opportunity to access bright and enthusiastic individuals that we may not have otherwise reached.”
– Climax Community

 

“I can't tell you how wonderful R. has been and the quality of her work is superb! It's only been a week and I don't want to have her leave.”
– Blayne, Charity organisation.

 

“It's a diversity scheme and gives people an opportunity to experience work in our industry…We care about giving people from all backgrounds opportunities, and are always looking to improve representation. This is the reason we have signed up to this scheme.”
- Vicky, TwoFour Broadcast.

 

"It is not just about helping complete the work that we don't have the resources to do, but it is also about where the opportunities are to bring in great new ideas and a different perspective. Students bring such diversity of thought and new ways of doing or seeing things, which adds huge value to our work. Placements also help us to raise awareness of the work of the Environment Agency, and the opportunities available for those who want a career in the environmental/science field. Being able to contribute to a student’s learning and help shape their future ambitions are the greatest motivations for participating in such programmes"
– Lucy Manzo, Environment Agency

As a careers-learning programme, students who complete all of the activities and placement have this added to their official degree transcript, along with a certificate that they can add to their LinkedIn profile which will help to boost their career opportunities in the future. We also encourage placement hosts to connect with their placement students on LinkedIn!

Each year, we celebrate the summer’s placement students with an event in the Autumn Term, welcoming them back and inviting prospective students to find out more about the programme.

This is an excellent way to hear from past students and employers and meet possible candidates for the next round of placements!

Join us on 20th November in the historic Picture Gallery on campus. To hear more about the event please get in touch on CareersPlacements@royalholloway.ac.uk.

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