Work Placement

Our placement programme offers young people an opportunity to learn through hands-on experience. Students aged between 16-27 are provided with the opportunity to develop their enterprising and employability skills. We enable students to learn on the job whilst assisting local businesses, obtain local insight, and convert their theoretical knowledge into practical application.

Young people who take part in the programme developed employability and social skills that are indispensable in the modern workplace. Our survey of participants revealed that the largest increase was in “work readiness”, closely followed by “self-esteem”, “resilience” and “confidence”. University students also agreed that being on a placement helped to improve their earning potential, while developing skills to improve their own wellbeing.

While COVID-19 caused a reduction in work placements in 2020, a small group from the City of Bristol College were able to engage with their placements, adapting to remote working and gaining essential new skills in I.T., and working as part of an online team.

“I have discovered loads of exciting software which I can now use for my own projects. I have gained professional experience …and learnt to trust
my instincts and feel confident when completing tasks on my own.”    – Placement Student

“I really enjoyed working as a team and feel like I have discovered loads of exciting software which I can now use for my own projects. I have gained professional experience
from using my emails and attending meetings. I have learnt to trust my instincts and feel confident when completing tasks on my own. I feel like I have bettered myself since the placement. I had experience with social anxiety before and during the beginning of my role but whilst completing the placement I have overcome this.
All in all I feel much more confident since doing my placement.”     – City of Bristol College student on a Photography Work Placement (Alexa, T-Level)

“This placement has taught me what I do and don’t want to do in marketing. I enjoyed planning and coming up with ideas as a team, getting to learn and use scheduling apps
and gaining experience in other software. I feel like I would thrive in a role where I am leading a team.” –   City of Bristol College student on a Marketing Work Placement (Olivia, T-Level)