The perceived value of work placements and part-time work and its diminution with time

Gbadamosi, Gbolahan; Evans, Carl; Jones, Katherine; Hickman, Mitchell; Rudley, Hannah

Abstract

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This paper explores the perceptions of degree students at two UK universities regarding their work placement and part-time working activities, to assess if the two activities converge. The research comprises three stages: interviews for preliminary exploration of students’ perceptions towards work placement and part-time work; interviews to examine how placement opportunities link with career aspirations; a survey of students who had completed a placement, and those currently on placement. Students acknowledged part-time working helped their placement activity, providing transferable skills beneficial to both study and career aspirations. A significant finding was with respect to time: the closer to the placement activity the data was collected, the stronger the impact of appreciating the value of placement. The paper therefore highlights the value of timing in the assessment of work placement. It also offers value for universities’ by providing insight into students’ perceptions regarding embedded external work activities that can enhance graduate employability and career prospects.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 1, 2019
• Online Publication Date: May 17, 2019
• Publication Date: Feb 17, 2019
• Deposit Date: May 20, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 18, 2020
• Journal: Journal of Education and Work
• Print ISSN: 1363-9080
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-9435
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 196-214
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2019.1616282
• Keywords: employability, placements, part-time work, careers
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/846826
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2019.1616282
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Education and Work on 17th May 2019, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2019.1616282.
• Contract Date: May 29, 2019