WORK BASED LEARNING (WBL)

In recent years the employment record of ICS graduates has been excellent. However, the recent downturn in the IT sector has resulted in reduced employment opportunities. Experiences gained through industrial panels indicate that those students who have undertaken work-based placement are more desirable than those who have not. Therefore there is a need to ensure that all students gain a perception of the business, industrial and societal context in which they will work. The fact that many ICS programmes have a significant work-related and work-based learning component has been applauded by employers and as such many schools have excellent industrial links. Placement has played an integral role in ICS programmes for many years, helping students to develop towards professional maturity and gain a broad understanding of industrial requirements and how the industry is developing.

the importance of undertaking a period of work experience or providing opportunities is growing since demand is rising. Employers want to recruit graduates who have some knowledge of the working world and this is something that students are becoming more aware of. A period of work experience can offer the following:
 
For Students:

• Opportunity to put theory learning into practice
• Opportunity to consider career options
• Opportunity to find out what you like or do not like doing
• Opportunity to get some practical experience/start to develop 'employability' skills

For Employers:

• Opportunity to see what graduates are capable of
• Students on placements can be seen as an extended interview, thereby cutting down on recruitment costs
• Students can come with a fresh pair of eyes to help solve problems
• An extra pair of hands to develop ideas put on the back burner
• Opportunity to transfer new ideas from universities to business