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Real World Experience

Real world experience and employability are instrumental in everything we do here in the Department of Sport and Physical Activity. We work hard to ensure that all our students graduate with the key skills, knowledge and experience needed to achieve their career goals.

Throughout your degree, you’ll get opportunities to test yourself in research projects and work placements – last year, we had over 300 placements available in a range of settings, including national sports teams, local clubs, schools, and community sport and health organisations.

Your interests and career aspirations are an important factor when it comes to finding the right match for a work placement, and staff in the Department work closely with our Employability, Enterprise, Engagement and Impact (E3i) team to ensure students have access to fantastic placement opportunities. This collaborative team works hard behind the scenes, developing contacts and liaising with organisations to arrange placements for our students.

swimmer and coach sat at the side of a swimming pool

We had a chat with some of our colleagues involved in student placements, to find out more about the different type of opportunities available and what students enjoy most about their placements.

Cam Osbourne. sport and Physical Activity Student

Cam Osborne completed his work placement with Wigan Warriors Rugby League Football Club.

What did your placement involve?
I was a digital communications intern, responsible for social media and helping expand the digital marketing presence of the club’s Community Foundation. This involved attending a lot of really fun events.

How did you hear about the opportunity?
My personal tutor and I sat down and discussed what kind of placement I was looking for and what I wanted to get out of it. He then helped me on my search, and we found the advert for the placement at Wigan Warriors.

What was your most memorable moment at Wigan Warriors?
I helped out at a half-term training camp, where I got to meet a lot of the players and even interview a few of them! I also got to meet all the senior staff – everyone was really welcoming and I learnt a lot speaking to them about how they ran their organisation. By the end of those first 2 days, I felt like I was really part of the team.

Ollie Wakefield. Sport and Physical Activity Student

Ollie Wakefield completed his work placement with Merseyside Sports Partnership (MSP).

What did your placement involve?
After some initial work shadowing, I started to assist my supervisor with her day to day tasks. One of my main tasks was ensuring that all of MSP’s activities with their partner schools were being entered accurately into the database. I was also asked to conduct research to find out how local schools were choosing to spend their PE and school sport premium, identifying potential areas of expansion for MSP.

What are the top 3 skills you developed during your placement?
• Communication
• Using my initiative
• Not being afraid to ask questions!

What are your career aspirations?
My experience at MSP has confirmed that I would like to work in the sport development sector and try to improve societal concerns through the use of sport and physical activity. The placement gave me first hand experience of the difference this type of work can make, which I found really encouraging.

What sort of work placements are available for students?
How long are work placements?
How are students supported whilst on their placements?

January 13, 2023