ALMOST half of the graduates who completed a placement at a travel company failed to join the industry after their experience.
This disappointing figure is down to a poor time at the company, insufficient planning on both sides and not enough meaningful work for the student, according to Springboard, the industry career specialist.
Chief executive Anne Pierce said work placements are an effective recruitment tool for the industry, but the fact that 40% of people on placements do not go on to work in travel needs to be addressed.
“It is very clear that there is a three-way commitment to work experience: from the employer; the school; and the pupil,” said Pierce.
“One of the biggest issues we find is that the person who arranged for the work experience is not the one who has to deal with the student, and there is a feeling of being landed with them.”
She called on companies to properly plan for a student and to ensure they are integrated into the team with clearly defined roles. Informing existing staff of the student and their role was also very important.
Sussex Downs College senior instructor and teacher Julie Humphreys urged firms to allow the students to have live and customer-facing roles to ensure their experience was as fruitful as possible.
“A good experience from a student will be a benefit for a company,” she added.