Although industrial placements were once considered a cast-iron route into a graduate job, students are now falling out of love with them, according to Barbara Page, the chairwoman of PlaceNet, a forum for professional placement officers and employers. “Students are worried about debt and want to get out there [into work] very fast,” she says. “Lots of them think that a degree is enough, but it isn’t any more, and that is at all levels. They need practical experience.”

Those who do opt to apply to employers to get that experience face a lottery, says Ben Smith, co-director of RateMyPlacement, a website that posts students’ reviews of the schemes. He and three fellow students from Loughborough University set up the website after they all had mixed experiences at blue-chip firms.

Looking back, his friends who had had negative experiences felt that more information would have improved their chances of a useful time-out.

RateMyPlacement is a genuinely valuable tool because students tell the whole truth, he says. They give feedback on 15 areas, including work culture, training, levels of responsibility and work load, then rate the overall experience. “We have been amazed at the amount of detail people give.” One reviewer writes about time spent in the IT department at Syngenta, an agro-chemicals company: “It was a disaster. I was made up a job but the job structure was not thought out well and ended up ruining my placement.” He or she praises the line manager’s support but gives the scheme only 2.7 out of 10.

Students’ experiences of placements do vary, says Page. She suggests that students draw up a “learning contract” with the employer and university to ensure that they get the most from the experience. “It’s for the university to take responsibility and monitor the progress of the contract,” she says, but students can also help themselves to make the most of the experience with a little group therapy.

“Workshops can help to clarify their aspirations and expectations and help them to be realistic about their skills,” she says.

That there is a “disconnect” between what students expect and what employers often deliver is not a new complaint. A survey for Orange, a mobile communications company, found that companies often struggle to motivate and support their youngest employees. Orange is reviewing its own work placement scheme, says to Nicola Grant, the new talent schemes manager. “We consider work placements a valuable recruitment tool,” she says. They are a good way to give students “real-life experience” of the firm while allowing them to decide what they really want. “Students may not know whether they want to do marketing or go into a technical area, so we need to be more open with our placement programme.”

In whichever field graduates end up working, a placement teaches students valuable soft skills and a huge dose of self-confidence according to Page. So if you’ve had a bad day at the office, take comfort. And welcome to the world of work.

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