Hosting Industry Placements for the First Time

Introduction

Hosting a student on an industry placement is usually fairly straightforward once you know what to do. 

Thousands of employers like you have gone through the process for the first time so there’s loads of good practice to draw on. This resource uses their experience as first-time hosts to make yours even easier.

There are just four stages in preparing a placement and hosting a student. You only have to do a few things at each stage, though they are all important. As you go through the resource, you’ll see how employers decide practical details such as where to host students, when, how long for, who’ll support them, and so on.

You’ll also hear employers talking about the benefits that hosting a student brings to everyone involved – you, your staff, your local community and of course the student.

Who this resource is for

• Employers that are thinking of offering a placement but haven’t decided yet.
• Managers who want to know more about what hosting a student involves.
• Line managers and staff who will help to support students. 

About the resource

This resource explains what’s involved in hosting students. It shows how different employers plan, prepare and manage placements successfully. 

It contains:

• A video featuring employers talking about how they plan placements and get ready to host students.
• Short summaries of the four stages of preparing and hosting a student on a placement. 
• Examples of three employers with different approaches to delivering placements.
• Checklist of ‘top tips’ at each placement stage. 
• A downloadable action planning template.   

You can use it to:

• Become more confident about hosting a student;
• Encourage other people in your organisation to get involved; 
• Plan the stages of setting up and managing an industry placement. 

Videos – Why you can feel confident about being a placement host

These short videos share the real experience of hosting T Level students on industry placements, so that more employers can develop the know-how and confidence to host students themselves. 

They are aimed at employers who are thinking about offering an industry placement for the first time.

Watch the videos to find out how employers prepare placements and host students. 

There are five videos. Click on the first to watch them all straight through without a break, or click on each one to watch it separately:

1. How to feel confident about hosting an industry placement for the first time
2. Planning the placement 
3. Selecting a student 
4. Onboarding the student 
5. Supporting the student

Placement stages

These are the four main stages in preparing for and hosting an industry placement. Some employers choose not to go through a full selection stage, but they still need to give some information to the provider to help them select an appropriate student.

Examples – different approaches to placement delivery

Watch these short video clips to see three employers with different approaches to delivering industry placements. All three approaches are valid and work well. Use the experience of these employers to help define an approach that works for you.

1. Describes how an employer plans the placement in advance, matching the work students do on site to the topics they study in their T Level. [V5 00.00-00.16]
2. Shows a different approach, assuming that if students are given real experience of work, they will apply the knowledge and learned in the classroom. [V5 00.16-00.31]
3. Combines these two approaches, doing some advance planning but also taking advantage of the opportunities to apply skills and knowledge that occur naturally in the workplace. [V6 00.00-00.22]

Checklist – top tips

These 12 tips come from employers hosting a student for the first time. Use their experiences to remind yourselves about what’s important at each placement stage.

Action plan

Use this downloadable template to get ready for hosting a student.