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A Careers Advisor Urges University Students To Have Work Experience

A National Careers Advisor has urged university students to apply for work experience whilst studying.

Sophie Graham, a Careers Advisor for the National Careers Service has emphasised the importance of work experience whilst studying for a degree. She comments: ”If students decide to go down the university route we would advice that they look for work experience placements or voluntary work to go alongside their studies.

”This is to ensure they stay competitive in the job market and keep their skills-set high.”

Figures from UCAS says that there has been a decrease in university applicants applying to university.

There has been a drop of 16,000 applications of people applying to university in the last uptake, compared to 2016’s figures and 12,800 more people were participating in apprenticeships in 2016/17 than in 2015/16 according to research conducted by The House Of Commons Library.

Brooke Kelly, a recent Business and Marketing graduate told The Canterbury Hub about the importance of work experience whilst studying at university.

”One year of my course was spent at a placement.

”At first, I found it very difficult to apply for placements as they where filling up very quickly. Every interview I attended, I’d receive a call back to say they had many applicants but unfortunately I wasn’t successful.

”When I finally got a placement, I cannot express how valuable and insightful it was. Every job I applied to after university was after experience, as well as a degree. I was accepted for the job over another applicant because I had the experience and he didn’t. Having experience is so important and applying early is a must.”

When I finally got a placement, I cannot express how valuable and insightful it was.”

Here’s a video on how The National Careers Service can help you.

                         [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYa9Ns8ySJM]