Before the placement

At the start of Level 2, the Professional Training Tutor will hold a meeting to give details of the scheme, guidelines as to what interested students are required to do, and the service the Placement Office is able to provide. Students will have the opportunity to attend talks or workshops on CV preparation and interview skills, as well as employer presentations. The Placement Office will liaise with firms and organisations regarding placement opportunities, and these will be advertised both on the Placement Website and on the Placement Noticeboard in the Student Common Room. Organisations have different deadlines for applications. Some firms, particularly large firms, like to have placements sorted out well before Christmas, whereas others leave it much later than that. So the process of finding a placement may be very quick or may continue virtually throughout Level 2. Details of placements jobs currently under offer can be found on the Faculty Professional Training Placement Pages (only accessible to members of the University).

Note: If you are funded by an LEA and you think you might wish to undertake a PTY, then it is important that you register for the four/five year version of your degree programme before you start Level 2 at the latest. Failure to do so may affect your funding. If it turns out that you do not wish to pursue a PTY after all, then it is easy to change registration to the three/four year version.

During the placement

During the placement, which normally lasts about one year, the student is a paid employee of the company. At the placement company, each student has a supervisor who oversees the student's progress.

The work undertaken by our students during their Professional Training varies widely and includes for example operational research, statistical analysis, business analysis, accounting, actuarial work, credit control, payroll etc. Most students work in the UK, but there are limited opportunities within some other European countries. The department has excellent links with a large number of companies and research organisations. Recent employers of our students include IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, Deloitte & Touche, HM Revenue & Customs, Bank of England, Lloyds TSB. At the end of the Professional Training, many students receive an offer of employment in the same organisation on graduation.

Each student will be visited three times by a member of staff from the Department to check on progress and to offer support. Assessment during the placement involves the supervisor and the visiting tutor for the modules on Personal and Professional Development and Log-Keeping (80 credits).

After the placement

Further assessment is on the basis of a report written by the student (40 credits) and submitted upon return to University. A de-briefing session for all students returning from professional training is held early in the Autumn semester. The vast majority of students perform extremely well during their placement year.