Topic: Work Experience
Company name: Virgin Atlantic Airways Engineering
Scheme partner: National Council for Work Experience (NCWE)

About NCWE
The National Council for Work Experience is part of HECSU, the Higher Education Careers Services Unit. It promotes, supports and develops quality work experience for the benefit of students, organisations and the economy.

About Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways is one of the world’s most popular airlines. The engineering team itself provides technically clean, safe and reliable aircraft. The team are based in Aeronautics House, West Sussex.

Total number of employees
Virgin Atlantic Engineering employs approximately 940 people.

Operational countries
Virgin Atlantic Engineering has Line Maintenance Stations in London, Manchester, Barbados, Boston, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sydney, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Nigeria.

Challenge
Often work experience is marred with images of tea-making and filing, but this is not the case with modern work experience programmes.  Employers today face the challenge of implementing and maintaining a quality programme that benefits both the company and the individual. Structured programmes can enable companies to complete projects, recruit new employees and allow the student invaluable workplace experience.

Project name
Work experience programme.

Project manager
Simon Mason, design & standards manager.

Length of scheme
Virgin Atlantic Engineering has been offering work experience placements for five years. The scheme itself runs for 12 months.

Work experience structure
• Leaflets are distributed to universities throughout the UK, providing details of Virgin Atlantic Engineering’s work experience programme.  Those that are interested are encouraged to apply via the website.

• Candidates who meet with the necessary criteria are invited for an interview.

• Those that are successful in securing a place on the programme attend an induction day to familiarise themselves with Virgin Atlantic Engineering.

• Students complete four 3-month placements in the various engineering departments, with a probation review after the first three months have been completed.

• During their placements students participate in a variety of training courses.

• At the end of the placement students are able to provide and gain feedback and talk through their experiences on the placement with a member of the engineering team.

Benefits
• Undergraduates bring a fresh approach into the company, along with the latest academic learning, which can then be passed onto the full-time employees. It's a two-way process; employees can learn from students as well as visa versa.

• Placement students analyse large volumes of data for the company and draw conclusions from them. This particular skill, combined with up-to-date IT skills means they can work with engineers to supplement their skills and knowledge. These partnerships boost the overall effectiveness of the work carried out.

Results
• Projects are completed more efficiently, where previously it was not possible due to operational pressures. As undergraduates complete placements in a variety of areas within Engineering, they are able to complete projects with an existing insight into how other departments work. This often provides much more accurate work.

• On average 50% of undergraduates who have taken part in the programme come back as graduate engineers.

• Virgin Atlantic Engineering are finalists in the ‘Over 250 Employees – long term placements’ category at the 2008 NCWE Awards.

Lessons
• Virgin Atlantic Engineering continuously receives feedback on the work experience programme and the students who take part. When negative feedback is recorded the company instantly sees what can be improved.

• Feedback from last year's recruitment process, in which several good candidates turned down a placement, led to a review of the timing of the recruitment process and re-evaluating the remuneration package for undergraduates.

• The company also receive feedback from students on which departmental placements are preferred and the reasons behind this. By working with line managers this feedback helps to maintain the good performers and put improvements in place in other departments.

Future plans
• Virgin Atlantic Airways hope to maintain the current process of advertising three undergraduate positions. Changes will be made, where appropriate, based on the feedback received.

Key tips

1. Work experience programmes are very rewarding for the company so do not hesitate to implement a programme within your company.

2. Be open-minded to the new perspectives that the student will bring to the company; employees can learn from the students as well, it doesn’t have to be a one-way process.

3. Make use of the work experience programme to put you in touch with a potential recruitment scheme.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The National Council for Work Experience is part of HECSU, the Higher Education Careers Services Unit. It promotes, supports and develops quality work experience for the benefit of students, organisations and the economy. Its role includes disseminating information and good practice, encouraging the development of quality standards and encouraging more employers to provide placement opportunities. NCWE run an annual awards scheme to encourage and reward organisations that display good practice in work experience.


National Council for Work Experience and the Quality Mark accreditation scheme:
T: 0161 277 5267
E: workexperience@prospects.ac.uk
www.work-experience.org


ADDRESS:

National Council for Work Experience
Prospects House
Booth Street
Manchester
M13 9EP