Introduction to:

The Psychology

Placement Year

University Certificate in

Personal and

Professional

Development

The psychology placement year

Long term tradition with recent growth

This year 90/115 (78%) students on

placement- a record high

53 Clinical (NHS)

16 Educational

14 Research (5 students in Australia)

4 Forensic (Prison Service)

1 Counselling

1 Occupational (RAF)

3 Business and 1 Study placement in

Korea.

Over 80% take placements across the

University

Should you take a placement year?

Improves employability

Improves scholarship and degree grade

Try before you buy

You might not like a career in clinical or forensic psychology

Clinical experience very important to get first graduate clinical

assistantship with view to applying for Professional Doctorate in

Clinical Psychology.

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Benefits of a

psychology

placement year

Your brilliant careerHow do employers select their graduates?

Now competency based in many major organisations

Why? Organisations must be adaptable to add value & remain competitive and seek competencies rather than best fit for a specific job

What is a competency?

the underlying characteristics of a person, that lead to or cause effective and outstanding performance (Boyatzis 1982)

E.g: using your initiative; leadershipplanning and organising; teamwork; listening

What does this mean for you?

Through reflection and self awareness you need to know

your own strengths, interests and competencies

You will need to know how to handle competency based

interviews and demonstrate your competencies at

assessment centres

Now sweeping through the public services and the major

professions.

Competencies will relate to continuing professional

development and promotion as well as recruitment

What competencies are employers looking for? Graduates Work report (Harvey, 1997)

Cognitive skills/brain power

e.g. analysis, judgement, attention to detail.

Generic:

e.g. planning and organising, communication, questioning, listening,

teamwork, interpersonal and organisational sensitivity,

Personal capabilities

e.g creativity, decisiveness, initiative, adaptability/flexibility, achievement

orientation, tolerance for stress, leadership.

Technical ability

e.g. knowledge and application.

Business/organisational awareness

e.g. organisational understanding, commercial awareness, financial

awareness

Practical and professional expertise

e.g. reflective practice), process operation, image presentation.

Does this mean that the competencies I develop can

be as important as my subject and degree grade?

YesDegree class alone is not a reliable job performance predictor (IRS,

2003; Barber et al 2005).

Competency-based recruitment is more reliable for identifying

graduates with potential.

Employers seek graduates with the general competencies

necessary for competitive advantage – not organisational-specific

competencies that can be acquired with development and training

(IRS, 2003).

Competencies you are developing

Research

Analysis

Handling data and

information

Problem solving and

reasoning

Interpersonal insight

Team work

Communication

Learning orientation

http://www.psychology.heacademy.ac.uk/s.php?p=70

How do you get to be where you want?

1. Know what you want

This means knowing yourself knowing what is available to choose from

2. Get some experience to develop your competencies. Very few UK graduates have any graduate level work experience

1 + 2 = …..Employability

How we can help you to develop your employability

1 The psychology sandwich year placement scheme

2 A new University Certificate in Personal and

Professional Development (CPPD)

CPPD

Uses Personal Development Planning (PDP) to help you to:

Understand your own competencies and how to develop and enhance them

Demonstrate competencies effectively to potential employers

Research and take the first steps towards the career that you want

How does CPPD work?

There are three modules:

PY2201 (preparation for placement and employment) in the 2nd year

PY2202 (on-placement) in the placement year

PY2205 (post-placement) in the final year

All second year students are automatically enrolled in PY2201An attendance register is kept for the lecture series.

Passing PY2201 is a pre-requisite to enroll on PY2202 Passing PY2202 is a pre-requisite to enroll on PY2205 Passing PY2205 triggers the award of the…

University Certificate in Personal and Professional Development

What do I have to do? PY2201

PY2201 concentrates on assessing and identifying the skills that you have

already and requires you to do all the things that you would do anyway

in preparation for a placement year;

attending term one lectures and training classes on writing CVs and

interview technique (a register will be taken)

finding out about and reflecting on your career interests, job

preferences, competencies, strengths and weaknesses

writing job applications and updating your CV.

In addition, you will be required to keep records of this in an e- portfolio

(Pebblepad)

Even if you are not planning to do a placement year you may benefit

from taking this module in order to prepare yourself for your future

career (and you are strongly encouraged to do so).

What ifs

What if I don’t take a placement?

You will not be eligible for the Certificate but if you complete and

pass PY2201 it will appear on your degree transcript as an

additional module so you can impress employers with your

dedication and employability.

Taking PY2201 will improve your employability. You will be better

prepared for competency-based interviews for example

What if I fail PY2201 – can I still take a placement?

Yes. Taking and passing PY2201 is strongly recommended but it is

not a requirement for taking a placement year. You will not be

eligible for the Certificate award if you don’t pass PY2201 though.

PY2202

PY2202 emphasises the development of your skills. In

addition to the usual assessed placement year work

undertaken by all psychology placement students (a

reflective log, a poster about your placement work and a

placement description), PY2202 requires you to:

complete a strategy outline for every 4 weeks of your

placement (which will help you identify and achieve your

learning goals)

Complete a final skills audit which you can compare to

the one completed in your second year in order to track

your development

PY2205

PY2205 aims to put your personal development records so

far to practical use and emphasises the presentation and

evidencing of your skills. CPPD requires you to:

present your placement poster to 2nd year students thinking about placements

identify and provide evidence for your psychology skills

and for six generic graduate competencies

provide an up-to-date CV and covering letter or

complete an application form (complete with references),

for an advertised job of your choosing

PY2201 week-by-week

Week 1 Introduction to Placements

Week 2 Introduction to PDP: Pebblepad and Pnet registration

Week 3 Effective CVs and applications

Week3 Virtual Interview Technique lecture on Blackboard

Week 4 Health and Safety/Finance

Week 5 Placement Poster presentation / Employer Showcase

Week 6 Placement Workshop – Mock Interviews

Week 7 PDP Pebblepad and careers surgery

Week 8 Psychology Careers Insight Fair: Various Psychology

Professionals

Week 9 Dignity at Work/Insurance

Week 10 Linking Learning to the Workplace and Employability

The Psychology Placement Year:

The practicalities

LHS Placement Officer

Placement Criteria

Must complete a minimum of 30 weeks full-time employment.

You can negotiate with your employer, part-time but you must complete 150 days minimum.

You can work for a full 12 months on placement.

The placement must be a genuine job at an appropriate

graduate level.

You must be given adequate direction and full supervision.

Finding a placement 1

Get advice and support from the Placement Team and the

Careers Service and identify your interests, abilities etc.

Check Vacancy site via Blackboard for new vacancies.

Attend Liz Bland’s careers sessions, get CV and application

letters ready for your portfolio.

Psychology Placement Resource Room SW507.

Finding a placement 2

There are more placements than students.

Many students generate their own placements.

Employers may be interested even if they have not advertised.

You don’t have to take a job if you are offered it.

Do send speculative CV and letters to anyone you would like to

work for.

Money Worries

Talk on 26th October 2010.

Fees – half fees.

Placement Allowance of £1000, paid in two instalments

(March/June).

Placement Bursary £500 on unpaid placements.

Apply to “Access to learning Fund” for set up costs e.g. rent

deposits.

Further details are available on Blackboard

What to do next?

Complete your Registration Sheet and Code of

Conduct and hand into the School Office MB625 for

me by Friday 8th October 2010.

Attend Employability/Pre Placement Lecture

Programme.

Begin applying.