Postgraduate - Work placement

A man drawing at a desk With international companies keen to recruit academically-minded employees from countries across the world, this is a good time to apply for an international work placement - whether you are a graduate or postgraduate. You may also be able to find a placement that’s relevant for research within your academic field.

So where do you start? Europa’s Euraxess service has a comprehensive list of job placements abroad as well as a student mobility platform and facts. There are also many graduate and postgraduate overseas teaching roles available through the British Council Language Assistants programme and the Comenius programme, part of the EU’s Lifelong Learning Programme. Comenius offers teaching assistantships to those who have completed at least two years of higher education.

Work placements are also available to Erasmus students and a very popular option. Doing a work placement is a great way to impress future employers and gives you excellent first-hand experience of the working world.

If you are a recent graduate you may also be eligible for the Leonardo programme, (also part of the EU’s Lifelong Learning Programme). Leonardo is particularly focused on vocational training, skills and employability, and helps UK companies and organisations to offer European work placements.

Beyond the EU countries, the British Council’s China Programme for English Language assistants offers the opportunity to live and teach English for ten months in one of the world’s most fascinating and rapidly developing countries. You don’t need to have any previous teaching experience or Mandarin language to apply.

For other overseas destinations, such as the USA, it’s worth getting in touch with companies that run their own graduate programmes and sponsorship initiatives.