13/05/2026
We've recently finished pulling apart our placement data from the start of this academic year through to the end of March. Around 20,000 work experience and industrial placements across our school and college network so far, and we haven't even hit peak season yet. The bulk of school work experience runs in June and July, so this is a mid-season read, not the full picture.
What we want to share isn't the headline number, it's something more specific.
When a placement falls over, the assumption usually goes the same way. The student didn't take it seriously. Couldn't be bothered. Too much screen time, not enough resilience, pick your version.
The data tells a different story. Of the placements that didn't go to plan, around three times more failed because of issues on the employer or placement side than because of anything to do with the student.
Organisational problems, sourcing changes, things falling through at the host end.
That's worth sitting with for a moment, because it changes where the effort needs to go. If most placement failures are happening upstream of the student, then better preparation, better matching, and better employer follow-up are doing more for completion rates than another assembly on professionalism.
It's worth checking how your own placement data breaks down before assuming where the problem is.
