CLAS Work Placement and Employability Programme
To be competitive in the current job market you need more than just a degree; you need to gain and demonstrate key skills for the work place. The Cultures, Languages and Area Studies (CLAS) Work Placements and Employability Programme helps you achieve that end. It does so by providing students with the opportunity to gain first hand practical experience and to meet and network with a wide range of employers. In the process our programme helps you realize your passion, by giving you the best start to a long and fulfilling career.
With a range of employability modules in the school, you get a chance to undertake a local placement as part of your module choices (subject to meeting academic requirements). This improves awareness of the transferable skills you are gain as a Nottingham student and allows you to make the most of them.
Do you want to host a Saturday morning breakfast radio show? Or help run a film festival? Want to see what areas of business you can use your languages in? Then Nottingham is the place for you!
The following are modules currently offered as part of our Work Placement and Employability Programme
Accredited placement module (20 credits - year-long)
The Placement module is a 20 credit, year-long, optional module that will count towards your final degree classification. The module combines preparation sessions in the first semester and a period of placement in the second semester. The preparation sessions run from September - December followed by the start of the placements which commence in January – May and are usually one day per week for 8-10 weeks. There is an evaluation session at the end of the module.
This module aims to support the personal development of CLAS students and engender confidence and at ease in their approach to the job market. Sessions include ‘Planning for your Work Placement’, ‘Transitional Skills: The CV and Covering Letter’, ‘Interview Workshop’ and a final evaluation session which gives students the opportunity to discover more about themselves, and career dreams.
During this module students will get the chance to undertake a local work placement in a Nottinghamshire based company or organisation. The placements last for approximately 50 hours and usually require an afternoon per week for 8-10 weeks. These placements are voluntary, and are accredited as part of the degree programme of the students.
CLAS Year Abroad Work Placement module (NAA 10 or 20 credits)
The
CLAS Year Abroad Work Placement module is an optional module which forms part of the Nottingham Advantage Award Scheme (NAA). Students undertaking a placement for 5 months or more will be awarded 20 credits, and students undertaking a 3 month placement will be awarded 10 credits. In order to obtain the award participating students will be expected to submit a reflective portfolio showing evidence of the skills and knowledge acquired throughout the placement, and, once the student has returned from their year abroad, they will also be required to attend a compulsory consolidation session to help prepare for job applications.
CLAS Work Placement module (NAA 20 credits - Autumn semester)
The 20 credit CLAS Work Placement module will be introduced in the Autumn semester with work placements commencing in the Spring. The module is available to registered, full time, University of Nottingham undergraduate students as part of the Nottingham Advantage Award Scheme (NAA). This module aims to support students’ personal development and engender confidence and ease for the job market. Moreover, it should make students reflect on, and become aware of, what they need in order to achieve their career goals.
I think that it is vital the University keeps working with local businesses in order to help students gain practical experience to prepare them for post-uni life. My CV and talking points in interviews are often made up of work placements/internships that I undertook whilst at University and they help separate me from a graduate who can solely talk about what they learned from their course and group projects.
Careers Skills for Linguists module (NAA 10 credits - Autumn semester)
The Careers Skills for Linguists module (10 credits) takes place in the Autumn term and is only available to registered full time undergraduate students in the School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies as part of the Nottingham Advantage Award scheme (NAA). This module helps students prepare for, and think actively about, using their language skills in their future careers. This would also be a useful introduction to the (NAA) Work Placement Module.
The Careers Skills for Linguists module is a 10 credit module, and can be taken either on its own, or in conjunction with the CLAS Work Placement module. Combining the two modules is advantageous because they complement each other, and the additional module brings the added benefit of 20 Nottingham Advantage Award credits.
The module was extremely insightful in terms of the CV and especially the interview workshops and mock interview. I now have a better idea of how to answer questions in an interview scenario and I now even have a CV!
What do our students say?
A brief interview with student Sally Jollands about her experience at the University of Nottingham
Libby Fox talks about her work based placement experience
Nottingham Media Festival
Our students have successfully completed work placements supporting the Nottingham Media Festival
As part of the CLAS Work Placement and Employability Programme, seven CLAS students have completed work placements between October 2017 and March 2018 supporting the Nottingham Media Festival, which took place on 8-10 March 2018.
Working for Cloud9 Event Management, the company organising the Festival, the students worked on a variety of projects, often collaborating with other work placement students from other departments and institutions, including the School of Humanities at UoN, Confetti, Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham College. The projects the students worked on included:
- Managing the Festival’s Social Media channels
- Developing the Festival’s free app
- Organising a virtual reality music gig at the Bodega
- Shortlisting films for the Microfilm Festival and liaising with winners on the night itself
- Updating and designing the official website and then managing the content
- Researching and liaising with potential judges for the festival
- Building databases
- Working on SLICE – Student Lives In Creative Enterprises – which involved liaising with entrepreneurs and leaders in the creative industries and then organising a networking day at the Festival where students could meet them
- International Drone Awards
- Lego Legends
Overall we have been really impressed with all the students we have had on work placement this year. They were meticulous in their communication, fully understood their briefs, frequently used their initiative and were enthusiastic. They were all great additions to the programme and are always open to student support in the future.
Paula Kelsey, Cloud9 Managing Director
Please be aware that study abroad, compulsory year abroad, optional placements/internships and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities or placement/industry hosts, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university's control. Every effort will be made to update this information as quickly as possible should a change occur.