Find out what our students have to say about their work experience placements.

Olivia Bucknall

BA (Hons) Public Relations student Olivia Bucknall undertook a placement at the NHS Yorkshire and Humber as a Communications Assistant.

"I always knew I wanted to study public relations as it suited me perfectly, I already wrote a lot for my school newspaper and was a confident communicator. Initially I was attracted to what Leeds as a city had to offer – shopping, nightlife, entertainment, but after a visit to the university I realised the campus, tutors and facilities were excellent. The tutors were so helpful and interesting so I knew I had to go to Leeds Met."

"The tutors have lived up to my expectations, they are always on hand when I need advice and encouraging, also the Modules are interesting and very practical to the vocation."

"For my placement I worked as a Communications Assistant for NHS Yorkshire and the Humber, which is the Strategic Health Authority based in Leeds. The role involved producing documents, websites and writing press releases. My colleagues were helpful and although they understood I didn’t have much experience in PR, they give me the opportunity to take on responsibilities and I learnt a lot through hands on experience"

"My placement has taught me so much. The theory I learnt at levels 1 and 2 have now been put into practice, and my understanding of theory has developed as I can relate it to my experience."

"My placement at the NHS has confirmed that PR is the right career for me and will be confident and experienced when looking for work after Graduation. I have really enjoyed working in the public sector although I am tempted to try working in a consultancy for a few years."

"I would definitely recommend a doing a placement year you develop so much as a person and you have the experience that employers are looking for when applying for a graduate job"

Tom Robinson

BA Business Studies student Tom Robinson undertook a placement within the insurance team at GE Money. His role involved working within new product development and client management.

"The timing of my placement worked well within the New Product Development side of things, in that as I started a new tender process was starting for several new products and during the course of my placement I helped select the products, suppliers, channels and finally I had the opportunity to launch the products. The experience has been invaluable and was exactly what I was looking for from a placement opportunity. Within in my role I was able to travel regularly, visiting our sites in Newcastle, London and Birmingham as well as our partner locations in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Southampton and the South East."

"I have really enjoyed my time at GE Money and my role within the insurance department, which I have gained so much from, in terms of knowledge about marketing as well as working in a fast paced business environment."

"Over the past year I have developed my key skills and competencies such as communication, time management and organizational skills to a very high standard, which will ensure I will be able to deliver projects and assignments on time, and to a high standard in my final year of study. Such tasks may have been an effort before my placement but have become second nature at GE Money as I feel I have adapted to the demands and deadlines."

"Working at GE Money and in new product development has been a challenging yet enjoyable experience and I would like to do the same role again in the future, whether this is within insurance or financial services or a completely new market."

"All in all GE Money has provided me with an invaluable experience and opportunity to develop as a person; this is an experience I would recommend to every student"

Hannah Tylee

BA (Hons) Public Relations Student Hannah Tylee undertook a placement at Warner Bros. UK in the theatrical publicity department in central London.

"I had always been interested in public relations and was aware that Leeds Metropolitan University offers one of the best PR courses in the country; I also fell in love with Leeds with its fantastic shopping, nightlife and friendly people."

"The course has been very interesting with wide variety modules and excellent staff who are helpful, approachable and offer a lot of support. I feel that I have learnt a lot during my first two years which aided me greatly during my placement year."

"For my placement I worked at Warner Bros.UK Theatrical Publicity department. I got the chance to get involved on some amazing events such as premieres and press junkets where we invited the UK media to interview the main cast in whichever film we may be promoting, such as I Am Legend, Sweeney Todd, Harry Potter, Batman - The Dark Knight and lots more.

"My placement experience has helped me to develop my self-confidence and public speaking abilities as well as giving me a fantastic insight into the film industry and publicity as a whole."

"I have been invited to live in LA for six months after graduation where hopefully using my Warner Bros experience and contacts I will work again for a film studio, either as a unit publicist on set or in the in-house publicity team."

"I have had such a fantastic experience on placement, I have made some great friends as well as learning a lot about the industry, and the experience is one which I would recommend to every student"

Jamie Howard

Jamie Howard, a BA (Hons) Accounting & Finance student undertook a placement at GE Money working within the financial planning and Analysis team.

"My role involved using planning processing methods to monitor the actual spend of the company against planned spend and explaining the reasons for the differences."

"I have gained a great deal from my placement at GE money; I have better organisational skills and have gained exposure to using accounting in a practical business sense .I have been involved in two planning processes which has led me to be accountable to my work and decisions, as well as giving me the opportunity to work alongside qualified professionals."
"The whole experience has been a massive learning curve and I gained so many new skills as well as being exposed to different functions of the business such as sourcing and risk operations."

"After graduation I am looking to achieve my Accountancy accreditations from ACCA or CIMA and eventually join a graduate scheme with a reputable investor. My placement year has prepared me for the future and has given me an insight to the Business world, something I feel every student should experience before ultimately deciding what they want to do."

Heather Kenny

PR student Heather Kenny undertook a placement as PR assistant at the Disney channel.

"I have been interested in studying media from a young age and had been through the journalism route during work experience. I liked the fact that PR gave me the opportunity to speak to journalists and effectively get articles written in publications but I also liked that in PR you could organize events."

"The course is quite broad in the sense that you do PR focused work i.e. planning campaigns and writing press releases but you also do a number of business modules including Strategic Analysis, Finance and Marketing Communications."

"My placement year at Disney has not only been a great experience but I have gained great knowledge of the PR profession. It has also enabled me to make some good contacts in the industry which will hopefully aid me in getting a job in the future."

"After graduation I hope to get a job in the communications profession most probably working in-house for a consumer or public sector company. I have really enjoyed working in the broadcast industry this year and would ideally like to continue along that path."

"The experience out on placement has been a real learning curve; everything I have been involved in has developed my learning and understanding of the industry. I have worked incredibly hard over the year and the results we managed to achieve as a team were very rewarding. My placement at Disney has inspired me to be more creative and spurred me on to continue into the PR industry with the new skills I have developed from my work experience."

Tom Hales

BA ( Hons) Business Studies Student Tom Hales undertook a placement at GE Money in the operations technology team.

"My role at GE Money involved looking after the technological side such as telecoms, and the Interactive voice response( IVR) .Within the IVR team we used analysis and reports to try and increase utilization and productivity of the IVR, and as well as changing the systems and therefore having countless projects and requests.

"I have gained a lot from doing a placement year; I have increased my general employability by improving areas such as, communication, IT skills, presentation and time keeping skills as well as office etiquette."

"My placement has prepared me for the real world and has given me an opportunity to learn and develop through experience."

"After Graduation I plan to take a bit of time out to go traveling and hopefully complete a ski season at a resort in either Europe or America. On return I hope to join a graduate scheme, and work my way up an organization."

"I would definitely recommend doing a placement even though the whole idea of working 9-5 is not that tempting, it is the best choice for your self development and will benefit you most in the long-run."

Jonathan Holt

BA (Hons) Business IPOS student Jonathan Holt undertook a placement at Unilever as a Supply Management Assistant.

"My role involved dealing with suppliers of raw materials and chemicals that make up deodorants, and providing estimates of quantities and cost to senior managers. I would also arrange and lead meeting with suppliers, as well as locating and arranging samples of chemicals for the Unilever research and development team.

"My placement has increased my confidence, my ability to work independently and to be able to express my opinions in the right way. I have had the opportunity to network with professionals, and build up business relationships with suppliers."

"After graduation I hope to go traveling for 12months, and on my return I plan to work in supply management, as I have thoroughly enjoyed my placement experience and feel I have gained a lot of experience in this aspect of business."

"My placement has been the best part of my degree so far as I have been able to take all the theory form levels 1 and 2 and apply it to real situations."

Kate Southcott

BA Business Studies student Kate Southcott undertook a placement as a Marketing Assistant for Masternaut Three X UK Ltd, a vehicle management and mobile applications company. Her role involved managing the customer database, creating spreadsheets and researching companies and competitors.

“Throughout my placement experience at Masternaut Three X I have dealt with hundreds of professional clients on a one-to-one basis and have adapted to working in an upbeat yet heavily pressured environment. Being based in an office environment has allowed me to build very strong relationships with my colleagues and I have proven myself to be a trustworthy and valued employee. Before my placement I found the thought of going into a real job very daunting but now I feel prepared to work efficiently to achieve the best degree possible, as well as having a year’s experience in industry which is what employers are looking for in graduates."

"I have been asked by Masternaut Three X Ltd to carry on working part-time whilst completing my final year of study, which is an amazing opportunity. Working in the marketing department has given me a great deal of experience and exposure to other roles within the company and in particular communications is something which I would like to pursue in the future."

"My placement year has been a massive learning curve and has benefited me in so many ways. My organisational and time management skills have improved and my knowledge of business-to-business communications has increased enormously. Overall Masternaut Three X has provided me with an invaluable experience and one which I would recommend to every student.”