Specific requirements for Marketing industry placements

This article describes specific requirements that may apply to Marketing industry placements.

When preparing for an industry placement, talk to the school or college you are working with about which requirements apply to your organisation. When you host a T Level student, you take on some of the same responsibilities you already have for your own staff. Discuss any requirements that a student needs to understand before they start. Your school or college will support you with every step.

Safeguarding and public-facing activity

Students may support social media, events, customer feedback or other public-facing marketing activity.

They should be closely supervised when interacting with customers, members of the public or external partners. Make sure they know:

• who they can communicate with
• what needs approval before being shared
• how to report inappropriate contact, complaints or concerns
• your rules on personal phones, social media and photography

Students should not manage public-facing accounts, complaints or sensitive communications independently.

Brand, content and permissions

Students may help draft social media posts, web copy, newsletters, event information, photos or videos.

Give them a clear introduction to your brand guidelines, tone of voice and approval process. A student can prepare content for review, but someone in your team should check and approve it before anything is published or shared externally.

If students are helping with photography, video or customer stories, make sure they understand your organisation’s process for permissions and consent. This is particularly important where children, vulnerable adults or members of the public may appear in content.

Accessibility

If you host a student with special educational needs or disabilities, learning barriers or additional needs, the school or college must work with you to identify the student’s individual needs and, for a student with a disability, make reasonable adjustments so they can take part fully in the placement. Relevant information should be shared with you with the student’s consent. For example, this could include making sure that systems, documents and briefs are accessible, tasks are clearly explained, or working arrangements are adjusted where needed.

The school or college should discuss any relevant needs with you, with the student’s consent, before the placement starts. Students with additional needs can and do successfully take part in T level Industry Placements , Adjustments are planned with the student, provider and employer so it works for everyone. Reasonable adjustments should be agreed in advance and kept under review.

Confidentiality and data protection

Marketing teams may handle confidential information, such as campaign plans, product launches, customer insights, sales information, client material or unpublished content.

Brief students on what information is confidential, what systems they can access and how they should manage customer or business information. You may decide to use anonymised data, lower-risk tasks or restricted access to systems and folders.

You may also ask a student to sign a confidentiality statement, or equivalent. This will not be legally binding, but it can give reassurance and help make clear how seriously your organisation treats confidential information.

Organisation-specific requirements

Your organisation may have its own requirements that students need to understand before starting. This could include training on:

• brand guidelines and approval processes
• social media or online platform use
• advertising standards or sector-specific rules
• copyright and intellectual property
• use of company systems, devices or software
• health and safety for events, venues or office environments

The school or college can help prepare the student, but the employer should hold a workplace induction on the first day of the placement. This should reflect your usual arrangements for onboarding staff and cover the policies, expectations and workplace requirements that apply to everyone in your organisation.

The legal compliance article explains these responsibilities in more detail. When you host a T Level student, you take on some of the same responsibilities you already have for your own staff. The article explains what you must do, what your school or college will do, and how to work together to make sure placements are safe, compliant and successful.

The content in this resource is for information only and does not constitute advice. Suggestions or considerations are offered for you to take into account. It is your responsibility, supported by your school or college, to comply with any legal duties that may apply.

If you’re interested in offering an industry placement, get in touch with T Level providers near you.