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Year in Industry - Info, questions & advice

Hi Everyone.

I am currently on a gap year working for the an organisation called EDT. The EDT are an educational charity that run several schemes. One of these schemes is The Year in Industry. This scheme places students, before or during university, in very high quality work placements for a year. This puts me in an ideal situation to advocate the scheme.

There are placements for students interested in all areas of engineering, science, IT, e-commerce, business, marketing, finance and logistics. I personally spend my time delivering presentations at schools/colleges/universities, helping run events & developing new business for EDT amongst many other things. Other placements vary drastically, however there is always potential to do some great things.

I know that when I applied for YINI I had a lot of questions about the scheme, many of which nearly put me off applying. Having now completed a large part of my gap year I realise it would have been a huge loss to have not applied & thus not been given a placement.

This year (so far) has been an amazing opportunity to gain some real work experience, have a relatively large amount of responsibility, earn some very good money & make a lot of friends.

There is also the opportunity to travel at the end of the year, giving you the combined benefits of work & travel. This incorporates schemes such as BUNAC & Coral Cay to name but a few. By doing this through YINI you will also gain a discount on the usual fee that these organisations charge.

I am therefore offering my services to anyone who is in two minds about taking a gap year, or would appreciate some honest advice. So please, if you are considering a gap year, or would like to explore the benefits of one, reply to this thread and I shall do my best to help you out.

Alternatively please feel free to visit www.yini.org.uk

Paul

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Reply 1

defender90

Paul,
I am very seriously considering a year in Industry for my gap year but I really also want to do a ski course, which would clearly take place over the winter months, for 3-4 weeks. Would the two be compatible?
Thanks
Pete

Reply 2

pvthompson

Hi Pete,

By all means.
Typically year in industry placements offer around 21 days holiday over the course of the year. If you were to use these over Christmas you would only need 10 days to effectively have 3 weeks off, or 15 days if you aren't planning on being away over Christmas.

This may sound off putting as it would suggest you will have not much left in the way of holidays but do consider that some jobs will have the option to accrue lieu days for working over time. Furthermore, as University starts relatively late you will have a fairly long Summer regardless of how much holiday you have left.

Finally, I would mention that all companies fully understand that they are looking at taking on students, as they are part of the Year in Industry scheme, so you can expect a higher level of understanding and flexibility towards such things as the ski course you have mentioned than you may get from applying outside of YINI.

I hope this has been informative, let me know if I can be of anymore help.

P

ps. Looking at your sig., the dean of admissions for Engineering at Christ's college is a big advocate of YINI :smile:

Reply 3

defender90

Paul,
Thanks for your very informative reply.
What would you say are your top placements?
Thanks
Pete

Reply 4

pvthompson

The placements vary quite drastically, so what some may consider a top placement, may not hold relevance for others.

From your perspective, Shell offer some very high quality placements for a number of students with a competitive salary. As do other similar companies (Rolls Royce, QinetiQ etc. )

The website www.yini.org.uk has a lot of examples of past placements, the vast majority of which will return year after year.

Reply 5

SuperPatchKid

pvthompson

Hi Paul,

I've signed up for the scheme and have been invited to an assessment centre on 26th May. I'm really uneasy waiting that long as I hate not having anything arranged- would I really miss out too much from asking to have a phone interview? I already know a lot about the scheme from the website, it seems all I would be missing is promotional presentations and I'd much rather be able to start getting my CV's out to companies. Is this really not recommended?

Reply 6

pvthompson

SuperPatchKid

I would suggest getting in touch with your regional office (by phone is probably the best way) and asking them what they think. It's possible they may ask you to send in all the basic info they need so that they can send out your CV before you go in for interview. Or they may, like you say, offer you a full telephone interview, but I know different people have different opinions on telephone interviews & you would have to take/send in a copy of your passport etc anyway.

Have a look here for your local office telephone number http://www.yini.org.uk/contacts.php

If neither of the above are viable options, don't despair. Plenty of placements are still being recruited for!

Reply 7

futuredoc77

this sounds really good, but I can't find any science vacancies in my region... should i keep tabs on the website and keep checking for any new ones advertised?

Reply 8

pvthompson

futuredoc77

this sounds really good, but I can't find any science vacancies in my region... should i keep tabs on the website and keep checking for any new ones advertised?

Thanks for your interest!
Don't worry too much about not being able to see vacancies on the site, there's bound to be loads that haven't been put up yet or have just been arranged so are still being confirmed etc etc.

It's worth contacting your regional office to see what they think, or perhaps signing up and seeing what offers come through.

Have you considered moving away from home for a placement ? A lot of students do this and seem to have a great time doing so.

Reply 9

futuredoc77

pvthompson

Oh so you'd recommend I sign up anyway.. okay. That's great.

Yes, I would be willing to move away from home; the only problem is financial support, will accommodation be provided?

Reply 10

pvthompson

Accommodation arrangements vary.
Some companies are very generous and subsidise the rent you'll pay. In other places you may be one of several students in a house, so you will pay a relatively small sum. Sometimes the previous YINI student will put you in touch with their landlord so that you can take their place.

It varies depending upon the company. One thing I always point out though is that the companies understand they are taking on students. So you can expect that if they are asking you to relocate, this will be reflected in the wage. If it comes about that you have an interview for a job you would like but are worried about accommodation discuss it with them, as they will most likely have experience of a previous YINI student in the same situation. Your regional office are also a good source of advice on this matter as they may be familiar with the companies arrangements.

Hope this helps !

Reply 11

pvthompson

python38

Can you do this at 16? How long are the working hours?

I already have my A-levels - Maths, Further Maths, and Physics, AAA - and am taking a gap year before starting uni in 2011. (I'm homeschooled.)

I'd be interested in engineering- or IT- type jobs (my brother also taught me how to program in Python.)

Thanks!

That's no problem at all, there are usually one or two people a year who do this.

If anything it will help you stand out a bit in a pile of CV's! From the looks of your grades and IT skills I'm sure you wouldn't struggle to get interviews.

Reply 12

pvthompson

When you apply on line it will ask you where you live, this will assign you a regional office, whilst they manage your application and interview etc your CV will go to any vacancies across the country that you suit.
In short, by applying you're effectively applying in all regions. :smile:

Reply 13

SuperPatchKid

Only just checked this now... the lady I was emailing was most certainly not considering giving me a phone interview! I did feel a bit difficult but in any case I have my assessment day tomorrow and am quite reassured that there will hopefully be some late recruiters :smile:

Reply 14

Charliee :)

What are the most popular places for chemical engineering ?
Thanks :smile:

Reply 15

pvthompson

Good luck SuperPatchKid

Charlie, I can only really speak of the ones in the North West as that is where I am based.

Two very popular companies are Shell & AstraZeneca. They both take a number of students and seem to offer some really good experience. Also there's the obvious benefit that they are huge companies so likely have very good future prospects.

One thing to bear in mind is that these companies can move very quickly so it's best to get an early application in to make sure your CV gets there in time.

Reply 16

Charliee :)

How do you go about applying to companys? I wouldnt mind relocating around the country for a year either so would that open up more oportunities ? Thanks

Reply 17

pvthompson

Once you've applied to the scheme YINI staff will automatically send your CV to any companies that match your career preference, degree choice, A level grades etc etc.
If you have a company in mind that you know we work with and don't want to miss then mention them at your YINI interview. If you know a company you'd like to work for and you're not sure if they take YINI students then mention it anyway as our Business Development team may be able to approach them regarding placement students.

Reply 18

Ken-Pham

hi mate, a lil question here, as being a national student who is studying AS in Uk, my visa is only activated til i finished the A2, i'm sorta enthusiastic on taking a gap year to work for a paid job in UK but not sure whether company that i'm gonna work for are able to extend my visa's activation or not, and any chance that YINI might help me out this issue :smile:

Reply 19

Ken-Pham

cant you help me :frown: