Exploring the value of structured and accredited fashion related work placement awards as a way to enhance graduate employment and opportunities for collaboration within the areas of branding, marketing, retail and supply chain management

There are many pressures now placed on Higher Educational Institutions to support and enable graduate employability in both domestic and international markets. With the rise of graduate unemployment and underemployment, the opportunity to undertake a year in industry in roles within the areas of fashion branding, buying and merchandising, marketing, retail and supply chain management is often at the forefront of students’ career management strategies. Furthermore, since 2012, employability rates have been used as a way to benchmark similar undergraduate degree courses with accredited work placements seen as a selection factor in the choice of a fashion management degree at LCF.

The Diploma in Professional Studies or “Placement Year” was introduced for several courses at UAL during the late 1990s / early part of the millennium and this paper reports on the results of the DiPS in terms of fostering graduate employment through the route of structured accredited work placements offered at LCF.

Adopting a grounded theory approach and employing multi methods of research, the views of key internal and external stakeholders in the placement process are explored. The discussion seeks to identify the overall benefits of the placement year to all stakeholders in terms of developing transferrable skills and dispositions, which can leverage fashion graduate employability. This study supports the view of a triadic relationship between the HEI, student and employer to enhance curriculum development and above all else secure some form of employment relationship. It demonstrates the added value nature of the placement year as a springboard to graduate employment, and explores how the career management initiatives leading to the placement year can be enhanced. In addition it discusses how academic teams can use the support given during the placement year as a networking opportunity to further curricula developments, engage students as co-creators and act as a means to continue a dialogue with employers.