DO YOU VALUE... intelligent Motivated cost effective skillFUL knowledgeable CREATIVEsTAFF?

ABERDEEN BUSINESS SCHOOL

PLACEMENTS

THE PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY www.rgu.ac.uk

IntroductionWelcome to the Aberdeen Business School Placement Guide. In this guide we aim to introduce the placement process to you and highlight the benefits of it to you and your organisation.

“Work placements, lasting up to a year, are the norm, helping an employment record that has been Scotland’s best for several years and consistently one of the leaders in the UK” The Times University Guide

Over the past few years, Robert Gordon University has been rated in the top 5 for Graduate recruitment in the whole of the UK. The Sunday Times recently said of The University “work placements lasting up to a year are the norm, helping an employment record that has been the best in Scotland for four years.”

This is something we at Aberdeen Business School are very proud of and with a total of 25 of our full time courses incorporating a work placement lasting from 4 weeks to 48 we aim to grow on our success each year.

Aberdeen Business School courses have been designed to offer students an effective combination of academic study and practical experience. This combination of learning helps us to develop all rounded

graduates that are ready and able to perform more effectively in the work place upon graduation.

Supported by the teaching staff at the Business School, the Placement Office is at the very heart of the placement process. The Placement Office aims to provide an unrivalled level of service in helping you find the right students for your business and guiding you through the placement process.

We hope you enjoy our placement guide and find it useful. The Placement Office Team are always on hand to answer any questions you have and we would be delighted to have the opportunity to come out and visit your business to present the placement scheme in person.

INTELLIGENT What are the benefits of hosting a placement student?

• Gaining an intelligent, motivated, cost effective labour resource with valuable skills, knowledge and fresh ideas.

• Students may be available at times of the year when your need is greatest.

• Having projects undertaken that would otherwise take up valuable time from full time employees.

• Your existing staff gaining the chance to find out what is being currently taught in higher education institutions.

• Your permanent staff gaining opportunities to develop supervisory skills, by mentoring the placement student.

• Benefiting from the latest research through closer links with HEI’s.

• Cutting recruitment and training costs through employing placement students when they graduate. Over half of our students who completed a business or accounting placement have been offered a full time job on graduating or a part -time job during their final academic year.

• Overcoming temporary staff shortages at low cost.

• Gaining favourable publicity as a result of placements and sponsorship arrangements with the academic community.

What do you have to do?Aberdeen Business School is very mindful of the importance and benefit of work placements to our students. They have formed part of our courses for many years and the popularity of the placement amongst students is growing each year.

All our work placements are academically assessed and are built into the structure of our courses. In order for placements to adhere to academic criteria, we ask:

• The placements are relevant to the student’s course of study and they provide the student with a challenge, allowing them to relate the real world of work to the academic modules they study at university.

• You complete a learning contract with the student at the start of placement. This is an opportunity to set tasks and objectives for the duration of the placement.

• You undertake regular reviews with the students (number of reviews subject to length of placement), resulting in a final review where we ask you to give the student a grade for their placement (grading scale is provided – not applicable to all courses).

• You cover relevant health and safety processes and procedures with the student before they begin placement.

“The placement year is about you so take full advantage of the various departments and types of work as it may be the only eye opener you get before heading down a specific route!”

MOTIVATEDWhat they can do

ProjectBasedPlacementsSome of our Postgraduate courses require students to research projects while on placement. In these cases, as well as being exposed to a particular function within an organisation developing transferable skills and industry knowledge, students research a particular area defined by the employer, sometimes in consultation with the student themselves. Students then return to University to finalise their research and write up their findings, which are subsequently forwarded to the Placement Provider for comment and use.

FloatingRolesMany companies offer students a chance to experience a variety of roles in different departments such as HR, Finance, Administration etc as well as shadowing management.

RollingPlacementMany companies employ students on year long placements on a rolling basis. Thus they benefit from having a permanent position filled with students who have new ideas and input every year.

YearLongVacanciesYou may wish to fill a year long vacancy to cover sabbatical or maternity leave.

ExpansionandGrowthStudents are able to fill gaps in staffing levels due to growth, whether seasonal, temporary or sustained.

“Placement met all my expectations and more! Has been a brilliant experience and im sure will open many doors for me after graduation.”

Start Date Course Duration

Early January MSc Human Resource Management 6 weeks

Last Mondayin January onwards

BA(Hons) International Hospitality, International Tourism& Retail Management

24 weeks min

Late January BA(Hons) Communication with Public Relations 6 weeks

BA(Hons) Media Studies 6 weeks

BA(Hons) Journalism 6 weeks

BA(Hons) Fashion Management 6 weeks

MSc Management 7 weeks

Last Monday in March

MSc Information Management 4 weeks

MSc Information and Library Studies 4 weeks

MSc Corporate Communication and Public Affairs 4 weeks

MSc Journalism 4 weeks

Last Monday inMarch onwards

BA(Hons) Law & Management 12 weeks min

Mid May onwards

BA(Hons) Accounting & Finance 48 weeks min

BA(Hons) Management 48 weeks min

BA(Hons) Management with Marketing 48 weeks min

BA(Hons) Management with Economics 48 weeks min

BA(Hons) Management with Finance 48 weeks min

BA(Hons) Management with Human Resource Management 48 weeks min

BA(Hons) International Tourism Management 48 weeks min

BA(Hons) Retail Management 48 weeks min

BA(Hons) International Business Management 48 weeks min

BA(Hons) International Hospitality Management 48 weeks min

June/July MSc International Marketing Management 8 weeks

July MSc Project Management 6-8 weeks

MSc/LLM International TradeLLM International Commercial LawLLM Internatinal Information Technology Law

Short TermPlacements available

Throughoutthe year

BA(Hons) Event Management Throughout the year

When do placements start?

Contact DetailsPlacement OfficeAberdeen Business SchoolThe Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen Faculty of Health and Social CareGarthdee Road, GarthdeeAB10 7QE

Tel: 01224263837Email: absplacements@rgu.ac.ukwww.rgu.ac.uk

Next StepWe hope you have found our placement guide useful. We have created a series of information sheets for each of our courses that offer a placement. Please get in touch to request an information sheet.

If you would prefer to discuss options in detail, the Placement Office Team are always on hand to answer any questions you have and we would be delighted to have the opportunity to come out and visit your business to present the placement scheme in person.

“My placement year has exceeded my expectations. I have loved every minute of it.”

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