Management & Marketing no. 4/2007

Industrial placements for undergraduate students – challenges and opportunities

Ivor PERRY,
De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

Luisa BORG-MYATT,
De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

Abstract. Industrial placements, as part of a ‘sandwich degree’, have been commonplace in the UK for over thirty years. The European Union has been active in the field of trans-national industrial placements for over ten years, and is now beginning to integrate its student placement programme with other parts of its ‘lifelong learning’ strategy. It now seems timely to reflect on the challenges and benefits of an industrial placement process, and to make recommendations for best practice going forward. Specifically, the paper will:
• Identify the main stakeholders of Industrial Placements.
• Consider the current processes that are in place in the UK for industrial placements.
• Reflect on the processes that are in place in Europe and how they differ from the UK.
• Evaluate the issues faced by the main three stakeholders; students, universities, and businesses.
• Use Gap Analysis techniques to identify where the UK process needs definite improvement.

Keyword: gap analysis, industrial placement.

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