Year in Industry

A Year in Industry is an opportunity to spend a year in employment during your studies, working as a full-time employee for an organisation, before returning to university to complete your degree. This is sometimes also referred to as a ‘placement year’ or ‘industrial year’, for Law students it’s referred to as ‘Year in Practice’ and in Biosciences, there is also a research-intensive alternative called a ‘Year in Applied Research’.

74% of employers say graduates who have completed an internship or placement are more career ready, according to the Institute of Student Employers, 2024.

Year in Industry Live Chat

Year in Industry LiveChat will be back open on 1st May and will run every Thursday, 12 midday until 2pm.

Please note: This service is for general queries only, we will refer you to an appointment should you need specific information which is of a sensitive nature.

A Year in Industry will give you full exposure to the company you’ve chosen to work in and its culture, while developing real-life industry experience and building transferable skills that will set you apart when it comes to finding graduate roles.

Whatever your field of study, you’ll develop transferable skills, including:

• Applying and interviewing for jobs
• Teamworking
• Commercial awareness
• Resilience
• Time management and managing your workload
• Being proactive
• Confidence

The placement will be a minimum of 40 weeks in length and credit-bearing, assessed as part of a 4 or 5 year degree programme. When you return to complete your degree, you’ll bring a wealth of industry experience and have built a strong professional network.

Fundamentally, adding a Year in Industry will go above and beyond in helping you secure a graduate role!

If you’d like to explore whether your subject area offers a Year in Industry and how to add it to your degree programme, get in touch with the team today.

Interested in gaining work experience but don’t want to do Year in Industry? Check out our placements and internships.

Hear from some of our recent Year in Industry students!

So many students have undertaken a Year in Industry and have returned having gained fantastic first-hand work experience that has given them the confidence not only to perform well in their final year but to engage in the working world after University. 

Lauren describes her placement as "Amazing"

Lauren believes her placement has benefited her massively as it was her first office job which enabled her to "learn office etiquette." As it is a small company, Lauren benefited massively as she was able to work and help out in various departments which helped her gain a better understanding of what area she wanted to work in.

Placement Company: Holly & Co
Course: BSc Economics with a Year in Industry

Carys describes her placement as "life changing"

Carys believes that her placement has benefited her massively as she feels she has “completely evolved as an individual and as a professional.” She has “completely changed from a shy individual to confident, independent and a determined woman.”

Placement Company: London Group
Course: BA (Hons) Media Communications and Public Relations with a year in industry

Ria describes her placement as "incredible"

Ria states that “completing a placement year with such a reputable and luxury brand as Ferrari has been a dream.” Throughout her year at Ferrari, she had learnt a lot about the business and the company and gained exposure into the field of sales. Ria was able to enhance on her networking, excel and data analysis skills.

Placement Company: Ferrari
Course: BSc Business Management with a Year In Industry