A sandwich gives you a bigger bite

There was excitement at Manchester airport last Thursday, when the last commercial aeroplane to be made by BAE Systems touched down. Those watching may have been surprised to learn that one director of the event, Steven Mellor, is still a student.

Steven is taking Salford University's BSc in aerospace business systems with a "sandwich" year in industry. Sandwich placements – usually taken between the second and third years of study – are the main way in which industry supports engineering undergraduates these days, according to Henry Waters, Salford's industrial placement director. "I now see very few students whose whole degree is sponsored by a company," he says. Mr Waters places students all over the country, including at Rolls-Royce in Derby and aerospace company Lockheed Martin in Havant.

Salford also encourages its students to take the initiative. "They may contact companies that they have personal links with – perhaps their father works there – or they might say, 'I'd love to work for Jaguar' and take it from there. As long as they keep us informed so we don't pester any company too much, it works well," says Mr Waters.

Steven Mellor is delighted with his placement. "One project I'm involved in is the redevelopment of the airport's aviation viewing park, where people come to look at the planes. Part of that has meant getting permanent exhibits – that's what the BAE Systems aircraft is for," he explains. "I feel this year has been invaluable. I'll go back to university having left behind the going-out-drinking lifestyle." Salford advises its students that they're more likely to get a high mark in their final year if they take advantage of a character- forming year in industry.

It's a view echoed by Aston University's engineering department, where Dr David Miller is disappointed that rising student debts have caused a slight decline in the percentage of students wanting a sandwich year. "I suspect they can't wait to graduate and get a salary. But that's false reasoning because graduates with work experience get better pay and promotion prospects," he says. Placements also provide a basic salary – usually £10,000-£17,000 a year. Universities may stipulate a minimum length for placements (Salford says 36 weeks, for example), but students usually work a full year because they are being paid.

It is not widely known that universities continue to benefit from government funding while their students are on sandwich years. The universities get 50 per cent of the usual tuition fee (including a contribution from the student if he or she is liable for it). "This means that we owe the student and sponsor," says Henry Waters. "We must monitor both sides with visits and by e-mail," agrees David Miller. "If the business was using our student as a bottle washer, it wouldn't get any more students."

Unlike Aston, Loughborough University has found that sandwich year uptake has been consistently popular. "Well over half of our students do it," says John Dickens, an associate dean of engineering. Loughborough has a consortium of employers set up for each engineering course it runs which offers industry sponsorship. Students can be offered about £1,500 per year for the duration of their course, plus sandwich training, and if everything works out, a graduate job. Sponsors include Sir Robert McAlpine and Ford.

"Companies such as Ford still offer quite a bit of support, although fewer are offering cash to students," says Dr Bob Ditchfield, director of education affairs at the Royal Academy of Engineering. He advises budding engineers interested in bursaries to get a copy of "Engineering Opportunities for Students and Graduates" (free from www.pepublishing.com), which lists all the companies offering money.

Employers are becoming more keen to come into universities to identify good quality students to sponsor, because the decline in popularity of science subjects means that fewer graduates have been coming into the industry, according to John Dickens. "Job opportunities for engineering graduates are good," he says. "They're getting snapped up."