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Student Sourced Industry Placements

When searching for your own industry placement, it is important that you spend some time creating a targeted approach though identifying industries, companies, projects, and contacts of interest. This will assist you in being clear about what it is that you are looking for and additionally, will help you to build knowledge of possible careers in your discipline area.

When contacting industry professionals, remember that you will make a strong first impression if you are well informed and clear about what it is you are hoping to achieve while undertaking a placement.

Important preparation

Get yourself industry ready

Prepare your documentation

When searching for a placement, the first and most important task is to ensure you are ready to present yourself to industry.  The Student Sourced Checklist provides step by step instructions detailing how to prepare yourself for industry, identify a potential host and how to find a placement opportunity.

Career Ready Online also has a range of suitable resources to ensure your application for a placement opportunity is successful. Here are some suggestions to get you ready for applying for a placement:

Contact the Employability Programs team for further support with any of these resources.

Approaching industry

If you are applying for an Industry Placement subject or the minor, you can use on of the industry introductory letters which provides potential industry partners with more detail about the subject you are looking to undertake and what the expectations of becoming a placement host to a La Trobe student. Use these letters to email to a potential host, along with your cover letter and CV.

Industry Placement Minor - Introductory letter

Industry Placement subject LTU3IND - Introductory letter

Identify your skills and career pathways

Are you curious about what type of placement, job or career you can aim for?

La Troe University has produced career summaries for the major discipline areas taught at La Trobe. The summaries are based on the jobs and companies La Trobe graduates have gone on to work in, and the technical and transferable skills you’ll develop in your course.

You can refer to these PDF summaries when searching for a placement opportunity and an ideal host, enabling you to focus on some of the skills you are developing while you're studying (to add to your CV and cover letter) and the potential hosts that you could contact about placement opportunities.

Browse the list of career summaries here.

Identify the right organisation

Searching for the right organisation and a placement opportunity requires advance planning. Reflecting on your values, interests and goals will help you find a placement that aligns with your course and your career goals.

  • Approach an organisation that can provide you with a learning opportunity of interest
  • Select an organisation that can allocate you with a dedicated placement supervisor
  • Placement tasks should allow you to meet the Subject Learning Outcomes and meet your goals

Consider different types of organisations such as:

  • Local Councils
  • Small to Medium business
  • Multinationals
  • Associations
  • Startups
  • Not for profits
  • Community organisations
  • State & Federal Government departments
  • Services industries

La Trobe University's minimum standards and OHS guidelines:

  • Students generally cannot undertake a placement in a small family business
  • All host organisations must complete a student placement agreement
  • All host organisations must have public liability insurance
  • All host supervisors must be willing to complete a student evaluation form as part of the WIL unit assessment

Finding a placement opportunity

Consider the following links to help you find the right opportunity:

Most industry placement opportunities are student sourced however, occasionally, University Sourced Placement Opportunities arise which are secured by La Trobe University and are available to students enrolled in a variety of courses.

Overseas placements

Overseas placement opportunities that are sourced by students directly, cannot be approved unless they come under the following circumstances:

  1. Professional Accreditation Requirements: Where the placement is essential for meeting professional accreditation and the University cannot facilitate a suitable alternative.
  2. Equity and Access Considerations: For compassionate reasons, or if the student needs to be overseas due to travel restrictions or other regulatory constraints.
  3. Strategic Alignment: Where the placement opportunity aligns significantly with La Trobe's strategic objectives and offers potential future opportunities (as confirmed by the School and Education Partnerships/Industry Engagement (Business Development).

Requests for exceptions are managed by the Placement Partnering & Operations team, who will assess the placement against the agreed parameters. These will then be submitted to the School for final approval.

To find out more about this process, contact the subject coordinator for the placement subject you wish to enrol in: La Trobe University Handbook

There are also some La Trobe University sourced placement opportunities that allow students to undertake a placement overseas. These opportunities are listed under 'internships on the overseas short programs and are subject to an application and approval process. For more information, contact the team at: studyabroad@latrobe.edu.au

Negotiating a placement

Placement requirements

Once you have secured a placement, you may need to negotiate the details of your placement opportunity with a potential host to ensure that it meets the following requirements:

  • Relevancy to your study discipline
  • Key duties and responsibilities
  • Suitable start and end dates that fall within the semester dates
  • A suitable supervisor (someone who can allocate time to the role and discipline expertise)
  • Shift pattern schedule (agreement of placement days/hours per week)
  • Location: onsite, remote or hybrid placement

Note: Application assessment can take 2-4 weeks, so please include this timeframe when negotiating a start date with your potential host. The Industry Placements team may request that you renegotiate your start date with a host to allow for additional time to process your application, enrol into the placement subject or to complete compliance requirements.

Compliance matters

Whether you have secured a placement or contacting potential industry placement supervisors, remember to ask them whether you will need any of the following:

  • Police check
  • Working With Children Check
  • Immunisation
  • Health check
  • First aid certificate
  • Protective clothing or equipment requirements

If you need a Police Check or Working with Children check, the Industry Placement team can help organise these.

Contact: industryplacements@latrobe.edu.au

Other placement options

University sourced placements

Most La Trobe industry placement opportunities are student sourced however, periodically university sourced placement opportunities arise with our industry partners. These opportunities are secured by La Trobe University and are available to students enrolled in a variety of courses.

Find out more about the Industry Placement Elective subjects and how to apply for a University sourced Industry Placement opportunity.

Gain credit for 'Internship' or 'Vacation' programs

"Vacation" or "internship" programs are a great way to apply skills and gain valuable experience which may lead to a graduate program entry or direct employment opportunities. These programs are offered across a broad range of organisations and study disciplines, including Accounting, Finance, Cyber security, Marketing, Communications and Environmental Sustainability. Many websites advertise these opportunities, such as Grad Connection, Grad Australia, and Career Hub.

Did you know that these programs may be used to gain credit towards your degree?

When undertaking an internship program, it may be possible for students to concurrently enrol into one or more of La Trobe’s Industry Placement Elective Subjects and use the internship experience to fulfill the industry placement requirements of the elective subject/s (subject to approval from the Subject Coordinator).

How do I apply? 

Students must submit a student self-sourced online application (including a Placement Description) prior to the closing date for the selected Industry Placement subject/s. The application and Placement Description will then be assessed and must be approved by La Trobe prior to enrolment into the Industry Placement elective subject.

For more information about your eligibility, speak with your Course Coordinator. For find out more about the application process and the Industry Placement elective subjects, visit our website or contact the Industry Placements team: industryplacements@latrobe.edu.au

Gain credit for your paid job

It is possible to utilise a paid position with your current employer as a placement opportunity, provided that for the placement period, you would be undertaking a special project distinct from your current paid position. It would be your responsibility to demonstrate in your placement description and project proposa, how the internship project you are proposing to undertake is different from your current role.  A placement role in an organisation should not replace an existing position.

Talk with your manager to see if there is a suitable project that you can undertake for the internship period of 100-400 hours within your chosen semester dates.

Apply now

Resources

You can refer to the WBL Industry Placement guides to find out more about Work Based Learning at La Trobe and the student/host responsibilities whilst on placement.

Contact the Employability Programs team for further support with any of the Career Ready online resources.

Contact us

For further information about the industry placement subjects, the application process and placement opportunities, please email industryplacements@latrobe.edu.au