The Puzzle of Placements: A Q&A Guide for Students

Applying for placements can be a confusing process – timelines vary, roles are diverse and advice isn’t always consistent. Orla Douds and Laura Grindey from IChemE’s National Early Careers Committee respond to some of the most common questions asked by students

What is an industrial placement?

ORLA: A placement is basically just a job! They’re full-time roles which help students develop their skills and gain industrial experience. They’re typically either over a summer or year-long but can be any length from three to 15 months. Some placements offer the opportunity to rotate into different roles so students can gain broader experience, while some students choose to do both summer and year-long placements to gain more experience.

Why would I do a placement?

ORLA: The most obvious reason is that work experience can make you stand out to employers and help you get a graduate job, but there are other reasons. My main motivation for doing a placement was to work out what I wanted to do – there are such a range of roles and sectors and I was struggling to narrow down what most appealed to me. I also found that doing a placement helped improve some of my soft skills such as communication, time management, resilience and confidence. This also benefited me with the rest of university, as I had a better idea of what industrial processes looked like, and the skills needed to help me succeed.

I ultimately chose to go into a different industry to the one I did my placement in, and having work experience meant I got offered significantly more interviews than friends without experience. That said, it was even easier for those who went straight into graduate jobs with their placement company!

The key is to start early – some companies start recruiting a year before the placement starts and many people miss out by not looking until only a few months beforehand

ORLA

How do you choose what type of placement to do?

LAURA: There are lots of things to consider, and you should base your decision on what you want to achieve at the placement. If you’re planning to specialise in a particular area during your final year, it’s a great idea to seek placements within that industry. Gaining hands-on experience will significantly enhance your understanding of the subject and make your final year a little bit easier.

For me, finding summer placements that were local to either my university accommodation or family home was crucial. I wanted roles that were easily accessible but still offered plenty of growth opportunities. I focused on smaller businesses as I felt they’d offer more flexibility and responsibilities. I started by exploring industries in my local area and reaching out to companies directly. To my surprise, I discovered four different chemical companies right in my hometown!

How do you find a placement?

ORLA: Placements are often advertised on websites like Gradcracker (complete with its very own IChemE Hub1), Indeed and LinkedIn, while my university also had an internal job board. Many people, like Laura, also contact companies directly or find placements through their network. However you do it, the key is to start early – some companies start recruiting a year before the placement starts and many people miss out by not looking until only a few months beforehand.

How do you make your application stand out?

LAURA: Early in my degree, I realised that mastering a few key design software tools would be essential, particularly AutoCAD for creating P&IDs. When I saw a university society was offering a weekend course to cover the basics, I jumped at the opportunity. I figured getting a head start would be a smart move. Looking back, that decision really paid off. When I started reaching out to companies for placements, having that skill on my resume made a big difference. My first placement involved creating engineering drawings and P&IDs for the site. I went on to use AutoCAD in my next two placements, further solidifying my ability. Just by having a specific skill that was needed allowed me to get my foot in the door and helped me get to where I am today.

What do you learn and do on a placement?

LAURA: I had the opportunity to work on a wide range of tasks, from building company management systems to commissioning large installations and conducting detailed process control analysis. Each of these activities offered unique challenges and allowed me to develop a broad skill set.

One of the most impactful experiences for me was building a company management system. It really boosted my confidence, especially since I was responsible for training the entire site on the system. This experience honed my systems thinking, teaching me how to design solutions that are sustainable and practical in the long run. I also learned the importance of engaging the workforce to ensure successful implementation.

On the technical side, preparing and executing commissioning activities, troubleshooting problems, and performing statistical process analysis expanded my skill set significantly. It gave me a well-rounded technical foundation and a deeper understanding of how to address complex issues.

What was your personal experience of doing a placement?

ORLA: I did both a summer and a year placement, as I was unsure what I wanted to do and thought it might help me get a graduate job in the future.

I really liked the idea of working at the cutting edge of engineering, so in the summer after my second year I did a placement in R&D at Cummins Turbo Technologies. Ultimately, I found this a little too cutting edge as I never really got to see the outcome of my work there, and so after my third year I did a year-long placement in food manufacturing at apetito – where I was guaranteed to see the result of my work!

My work in continuous improvement meant I learned a lot about managing small projects, and the challenges associated with improving a working site (it took me months to schedule the installation of a piece of equipment around the production schedule!). I was given real responsibility and learned how to collaborate with a wide range of people. But the biggest takeaway was discovering my passion for technical design work – which ultimately led to a graduate role at Jacobs.

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References:  https://bit.ly/gradcracker-icheme

If you are an undergraduate or recent graduate and want to boost your network, join the IChemE National Early Careers committee by clicking this link to follow us on LinkedIn or contacting our committee members.