Choosing a college course can feel like the biggest decision a student has ever made. The sheer amount of choice available can be overwhelming and it can be hard to determine what is right for you.
A good place to start is to consider your motivation for the subject, interests, aptitude, course content, placement opportunities and prospective career paths after graduation.
A vital part of university study is learning how to think critically and acquire employability skills that give you the competitive edge as you enter the graduate job market. Employers look for relevant work experience as well qualifications.
Choosing courses with work placement provide an excellent opportunity to acquire these skills and equip graduates with relevant industry experience. Placement provides an insight into the world of work and allows you to get a feel for what you like, and don’t like to do.
Work placement is an increasingly important part of courses at NUI Galway, and it is now part and parcel of more than 80% of undergraduate programmes.
Greater work habits
Because of that our graduates move out to the workplace with effective work habits, greater confidence and enhanced self-direction. The job market is highly competitive where entry level jobs often expect graduates to have prior work experience, but how can you get prior work experience if every position requires it?
The easiest way to overcome this Catch-22 barrier is to choose a degree with a work placement. And depending on the course you choose, it could be an internship; industrial placement; clinical experience; practice placement; field trips; and industry projects.
One of the key benefits of placement is the experiential learning where students are provided with opportunities to put their skills and knowledge into practice in real world scenarios that have a direct impact on an organisation.
It is an opportunity for students to grow and develop their strengths and identify skills gaps they need to improve upon.
Learning is hands-on and students acquire important employability skills such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking, innovative problem solving, adaptability and continuous learning. All skills vital for the future of work.
Placement provides key industry experience, which helps graduates stand out from the crowd of applicants to an employer in a highly competitive job market. By engaging in work placement and including this experience on your CV, you have a much better chance of being shortlisted for an interview.
Placement also opens a doorway into a professional environment where you can network with potential future employers and start to build your own industry network. If an employer or employee is impressed by you, they’re likely to remember you.
Employers use work placement as a means to identify future talent for their organisations. The Association for Higher Education Career Services (ACHECS ) Graduate Market Survey in 2021 found 37% of work placement students converted to graduate hires.
Also, the benefit of returning to your final year of study having secured a graduate level role can be very comforting.
Knowing you have professional work experience to demonstrate to graduate employers alongside your academic qualifications could just be what you were looking for to get the edge against the competition. — See www.nuigalway.ie/careers
