Students and Graduates
It’s important to consider your career options as a student and graduate, whether you are a student thinking of university, at university and looking for placements or a recent graduate.
Degree Apprenticeships
If you are at college and you are interested in attending university, ensure you have considered the range of options available to you including degree apprenticeships. A degree apprenticeship gives you the opportunity to gain a paid-for degree while getting industry experience and earning a salary.
During a degree apprenticeship you gain a full undergraduate or master’s degree while you work. Degree apprenticeships take three to six years to complete, depending on the course level.
A degree apprenticeship means you’ll spend most of your time working and you’ll also study part-time at university. For example, you might go to university one or two days per week which is usually 20% of your time studying vs. 80% of your time working.
Degree apprenticeships work differently across the UK:
- England and Wales both offer degree apprenticeships, with the most options currently available in England.
- In Scotland, degree apprenticeships are known as Graduate Apprenticeships.
- Northern Ireland offers higher level apprenticeships (HLAs) that offer you qualifications up to Level 7 which is the equivalent of a master’s degree. However, the majority are at Level 5 which is equivalent to a foundation degree.
University Placements
With a greater focus on vocational learning, university placements are becoming more popular and might be a good option for you.
You can check with your university if your course offers a placement year as part of the degree or if you can opt to take this as an add-on.. Placement years usually take place after year 2. A placement year is a great way to develop skills and are highly valued by employers. A year in industry on placement gives you the opportunity to apply skills developed during your studies and learn about different industries and job sectors. The placement will ultimately help you decide what career direction is right for you.
If you are interested in applying for a placement year, speak to your placements, careers or employability team who can help you find and apply for placements and talk through the module requirements for your degree programme.
Graduate Schemes
If you have been considering a graduate scheme we’re sure you’ve been asking yourself questions such as “What are the benefits of a graduate schemes compared to a regular job”, “What are the advantages and disadvantages to graduate training programmes”, “What is the average salary of a grad scheme”, and “Are graduate schemes worth it?”.
Graduate scheme pay
Most graduate schemes offer generous salaries. Entrants earn an average of £25,000 per year and the top graduate recruiters pay much higher.
Large organisations use graduate schemes to recruit for the long term and develop the best talent for future leadership roles. There is a relatively small pool of exceptional candidates to choose from, so attractive salaries are more common.
STEM Graduate Schemes
If you are studying or or thinking of studying a science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM) course, it’s likely that the majority of companies recruiting will be committed to improving the statistics for women in the business and women in leadership. This means they will be proactively looking to recruit women. You can view the companies we work with here.
