Hosting a Royal Holloway micro-placement can make a real difference to a current student and help them take their first steps into employment. We spoke with alumnus and host, Alick James (Detective Inspector with Surrey Police) about his experience.

Royal Holloway’s award-winning micro-placements scheme is an innovative way of improving students’ skills and employability, providing 2-4 weeks work experience opportunities to undergraduate students.

Our micro-placements are not only amazing opportunities for students to gain practical work experience in a specific industry, but they also bring many benefits to employers. Interns are a source of fresh ideas, they can take a bit of pressure off other staff members and you might even find a potential future employee.

“I jumped at the opportunity to organise micro-placements when they were offered by the Careers & Employability Service at Royal Holloway,” says alumnus, Alick James, Detective Inspector with Surrey Police. “Police and academic partnerships are essential to improving how we keep the public safe. These partnerships enable us to understand current practise, review evidence, carry out new research and evaluate local innovations. The micro-placements students of 2019 covered a wide variety of policing activities, from our Performance and Consultation Team completing analysis of feedback from victims about the service they received to working on a multi-agency project aiming to reduce serious youth violence.”

Students have to go through a competitive selection process, including CV and interview assessments conducted by the Careers & Employability Service, to secure a placement with the scheme so you can be assured that all micro-placements candidates are highly motivated.

Alick says, “I coordinated the placements for 2019 and was impressed by the professionalism of the students and their desire to make a difference to the lives of others. It was clear that the assessment process for selection to the scheme had worked to identify the most talented and motivated people. This was excellent for me as an employer as it provided me with the reassurance that the students could add real value to the organisation and to the people of Surrey. Working with talented students provides tangible benefits, they bring a fresh perspective and innovative ideas along with an analytical mind-set.

“The micro-placements students have helped Surrey Police improve its service to the public and I hope the micro-placements have supported their professional development. I am excited about the opportunities for placements we can offer in 2020!”

Alick’s micro-placements student, Yasmin (BSc Psychology), supported the Surrey Police Diversity Team in arranging the National Inclusion Week. This initiative provides an opportunity for organisations to celebrate diversity within the workplace, showcase the work individuals have done to increase diversity and work towards making everyday inclusion a reality.

“Working with Surrey Police has given me the chance to integrate my skills and knowledge to working within a professional setting, gaining real-world experience in aiding efforts towards improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Invaluable to me was the fact that I was exposed to an array of issues close to my heart and that I had the opportunity to contribute towards efforts being made to shape a more inclusive environment. The micro-placement opened an opportunity for me that I otherwise may not have been able to experience; through its workshops and interview process, the program thoroughly prepared me for work beyond academia, but also benefits both the institution and partnered hosts. Such an enriching opportunity is definitely not to be missed.”

We are currently supporting students who are particularly keen to gain valuable experience in the following specific sectors this summer:

• Publishing
• Ecology and Conservation
• Geology / Geoscience
• Marketing and Advertising
• Financial Services
• Local Government
• Charities
• HR and Recruitment
• TV / Film Production
• Healthcare
• Events
• Criminal Justice

Are you able to offer a micro-placement or would you like to find out more? Please get in touch with the placements team at careersplacements@royalholloway.ac.uk.