Alliance Manchester Business School BSc Management/Management Specialisms Pre-Placement Handbook 2016/2017
Index Introduction Second year requirements Placement requirements & approval Placement support Fees, bursaries & visa Placement assessment and withdrawal for the IPE programme FAQs Useful links
Introduction The purpose of the Industrial/Professional Placement year is to both complement and develop the skills and knowledge that you have gained through the first two years of your programme of study. As you have successfully progressed on to the with Industrial/Professional Experience stream of your programme this handbook will provide you with important information and guidance relating to the pre-placement year. If you have any questions after reading through this handbook please contact the Placement Officer.
Second year academic requirements In order to be able to complete a placement year, the school requirements for the second year state that you should pass all your exams and not have any resits. Students who have to re-sit any of their exams will be transferred off the Industrial/Professional Experience stream of the programme once their progression has been confirmed by the Exam Board in September.
Placement requirements Your placement must: Be a minimum of 9 months and start after the exam results have been released in July. An early start may be approved subject to you passing your exams and will need to be discussed with the Placement Officer. Be approved by the school before you formally accept the offer. Be related to your programme of study. If you are unsure about the suitability of a role, please discuss this with the Placement Officer. Ideally be secured before the end of semester 2. Extensions can be arranged for students who wish to continue searching during the summer. Placement approval As mentioned above, you are required to have your placement approved before you can formally accept your offer. Once you have received an offer of employment you will need to inform the placement officer as soon as possible to start the approval process. All placements are approved online through My Placement and you will be sent an approval guide with step by step instructions on what to do. As part of the approval process, you will be required to provide a copy of your Job description, contract, Job offer letter/email and a signed company agreement form this form will be sent to you with the approval guide. UK placements will be approved by the Placement Officer and your Programme Director will approve those outside of the UK.
Placement support While students are responsible for finding their own placements, the following support will be provided to you throughout the year: You will receive a weekly e-bulletin advertising the latest opportunities. Placements will also be promoted through the Careers Facebook page, Alliance MBS Twitter page, via email and through the notice boards around the school. Programme specific meetings will run throughout the year to provide you with information and see how you are getting along with your search. A mini careers event will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday the 12 th of October. This will include a student and employer panel along with an employer fair where you will be able to network with companies who are advertising placements. The My Future event will take place on Monday the 31 st of October (Reading week) which will include workshops run by employers. Further details of the workshops and how to register will be sent to you by email. CV clinics will run every Wednesday afternoon from the 19 th of October (unless there is another placement event taking placement). To book a 15 minute appointment, please email rashida.timol@manchester.ac.uk. These appointments are separate to the ones bookable through CareersLink. Workshops and talks relating to employability will be run by the Careers Services throughout the year including psychometric tests and mock assessment centres. Details of these sessions will be sent to you by either the Placement Officer or Undergraduate Office. The Careers Services, based on the 1 st floor of University Place offer a range of services such as careers guidance appointments and interview simulation where a Careers Consultant will take the part of the interviewer and ask you questions before giving you feedback on your performance.
Fees, bursaries & visa There is a significant tuition fee reduction for the placement year and Home students may be eligible for a bursary. The fees for the placement year are set centrally by the University of Manchester in line with policy determined by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (DBIS). This is part of the wider higher Education Funding Councils funding and fee structure and supports the costs of student programmes overall. Fees Please visit the link below for information on placement fees: Bursaries To find out if you are eligible for a bursary, please visit the link below: http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/financial-life/tuitionfees/fees-amounts/sandwich-year-fees/ http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/financiallife/funding/undergraduate/scholarships-bursaries/ International Students International students who were issued with a visa prior to April 2016 will be able to undertake a placement year and extend their 3 year visa to return back to Alliance MBS to complete their final year of studies. If you have any questions relating to your visa please contact the visa team by visiting the Student Services Centre. They are also contactable on visa@manchester.ac.uk
Assessment during the placement year During your placement, you will be required to submit 3 pieces of work which will determine whether you Pass or Fail the placement year. Further details on the assessment will be provided to you in the pre-departure meeting in semester 2. Withdrawal from the Industrial/Professional Experience programme If you decided that you no longer wish to undertake a placement year, you must contact Placement Officer in writing (email) as soon as possible. Please note that you will only be transferred off the with Industrial/Professional Experience stream of your programme after the exam results have been released in July 2017. Students who do not secure a placement by the end of the second year will be automatically will be transferred off the with Industrial/Professional Experience stream and will continue on to the final year in September.
FAQs I want to start looking for a placement. Where do I begin? You can start by looking at the e-bulletin which will also be pinned to the notice board in the Atrium every week. Opportunities may also be tweeted on out twitter page https://twitter.com/ambsundergrad) that may not feature in the bulletin. You can also use external websites such as RatemyPlacement and Targetjobs along with company career webpages. Can I apply for a placement abroad? Yes you can. The e-bulletin from time to time will feature some international placements however you can search on company websites for opportunities. You will need to ensure that the placement meets the school requirements and it will be your responsibility to apply for work permits and visas where required. Why do I need to pay fees for the placement year as I will not be in attendance at the university and is there any support available during my placement year? As mentioned in the fees section, these are set centrally by the University of Manchester in line with policy determined by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (DBIS). This is part of the wider higher Education Funding Councils funding and fee structure and supports the costs of student programmes overall. Although you will not be in attendance, you will still be registered as a student at the university and will have full access to the services available. The Placement Officer will maintain contact with you throughout your placement and your Academic Advisor will also keep contact and be responsible for marking your placement reports. I am an international student who only transferred to the placement stream of my programme after I arrived. How does this affect my visa? The best people to seek clarification on your visa would be the visa team. They are contactable at the following email address: visa@manchester.ac.uk What happens if I don t secure a placement or decide that I want to go directly into the final year without doing a placement? In these instances, students will be transferred back to the 3 year version of their programme after the exam results have been released in July.
I am struggling to get a placement. What should I do? If you are struggling at any point during the year, please contact the Placement Officer as soon as possible so additional support can be provided if required. I have seen a placement that interests me but it isn t being advertised by the university. Can I still apply for it? Yes, you are not restricted to applying to the placements we advertise and can look at other websites or company career pages. I am unsure about the suitability of a placement. What should I do? If you have a copy of the job description, please email this to the Placement Officer to look over. I have just received a placement offer. What do I do? Contact the Placement Officer rashida.timol@manchester.ac.uk. Your placement will require approval before you can accept the offer. Will the placement year count towards my final degree classification? Although the placement year isn t weighted into your degree programme it will assessed as a Pass/Fail which will be recorded on your transcript. I require a copy of my transcript/confirmation of attendance/letter confirming placement eligibility for an application, where do I get this from? The programme team in the undergraduate office will be able to provide this for you. They can be emailed at the following address. undergrad.ambs@manchester.ac.uk Does my placement have to be related to my specialism? Placement options will not restricted by your specialism. You can opt for a placement which ties in with your specialism if you wish, however you can also apply for placements related to any area of management. If you have any other questions, please email rashida.timol@manchester.ac.uk
Useful links The link below is for the Work Placement webpage on the Alliance MBS intranet. There is lots of useful information on this page including the placement recruitment tab which will give you valuable insight into the application process at various companies. https://ughandbook.portals.mbs.ac.uk/myprogramme/workplacements.aspx Need advice on how to structure your CV/cover letter, prepare for an interview/psychometric test/mock assessment centre, then please visit the links below. http://www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/ http://www.careers.manchester.ac.uk/applicationsinterviews/ If you are an international student and want information on your eligibility to work, UK tax and national insurance and details of companies on the Sponsor Register of Employers, please visit the link below. www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/international Work experience information, vacancies www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/workexperience Internships & Work Experience Facebook group www.facebook.com/groups/manchestercareersinternships Work experience Twitter: News and vacancies http://twitter.com/mcrworkexp Advice on careers blog: http://manunicareersblog.com/ Alliance MBS Careers Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/252200368124037/