Industry placement success celebrated by students and employers

Some of the first students to complete a 45-day industry placement enjoyed a reunion with the companies they worked at during a celebratory event held at Walsall College.

The industry placements were coordinated for the students and employers by a new specialist team based at the college. These were in anticipation of the new T-Level programmes launching in 2020, of which industry placements are a mandatory part of the qualification.

Employers that attended the event included Holiday Inn, Midcounties Co-operative, Fountains Solicitors, and PLANit Global.

Students on a range of Level 3 courses received certificates and vouchers for completing their placements. The award for placement of the year went to business and accounting student, Mitchell Phillips who worked at whg.

“My industry placement has changed me as a person, it really has,” said Mitchell. “Before I wasn’t doing anything. I was worried about leaving college. I didn’t know how it was going to work out or how I was going to get into employment. Now I would love to get an advanced apprenticeship and I’m passionate about going forward with my career.”

Dale Stewart, Project Manager from whg, who was Mitchell’s placement supervisor views industry placements as a win-win for both employers and students.

“The students get a real experience that’s all about industrial development, not tea making,” he said. “It allows students to aspire to these professional roles when they leave with real knowledge of what a business is like.”

Dale continued: “For businesses, fresh eyes are a real benefit and we can use the process to identify potential home-grown future staff.”

Employers interested in supporting the college with industry placements can email workexperience@walsallcollege.ac.uk