 What is included in the fee? |
| The fee covers enrolment on the programme, the placement, internship welcome booklet, monitoring and support throughout the placement and assistance with finding (host family) accommodation. CIE Certification is extra. |
| Will I get paid for my placement? |
| Internship placements are on a voluntary basis and are therefore unpaid. Most companies cover travel and or lunch expenses, but we cannot guarantee that this will be paid in all cases. You are attached to the company but not a member of staff, so you cannot get paid a salary. Graduate Training students will receive an allowance of approx £250 per month to assist with expenses. Companies will expect students to present them with travel tickets etc in order to have their stipend paid. |
| I want to do a placement in (investment) banking, is that possible? |
| Unfortunately it is not possible for Twin to arrange a placement in this area. These types of companies have very strict internship application procedures for independent students. They do not work through agencies like ours for internships. They get thousands of students applying for just one placement up to 2 years before the placement start date! |
| In what areas can I do my placement? |
| We have found placements in administration, advertising, architecture, computer & IT, engineering, fashion, finance/insurance, hotel & catering, international trade, legal, marketing, media, sales, sport, travel & tourism and much more. Work Trial students cannot choose their placement field. |
| Is accommodation included in the fee? |
| The fee does not include accommodation. We can arrange accommodation with a host family for you or you can book your own accommodation for instance with a youth hostel (approx. cost in London £90 per week for bed only in a shared room). |
| Can you arrange accommodation for me? |
| We can arrange accommodation with a host family for you or you can book your own accommodation for instance with a youth hostel (approx. cost in London £90 per week for bed only in a shared room). We can now offer accommodation in shared flats in central London – the price for this starts from £140 per week for a single room, no food included. |
| What can I expect do be doing in my placement? |
| Most internships and graduate training placements are office based. You mainly help as an administrative assistant within a specific department or company. You will be involved with the general day-to-day tasks, so you can understand how an English company in your fields of studies operates and improve your English language skills. You may also be asked to do research or help with certain specific projects. You will not, for instance, be developing a marketing or advertising campaign or deal with clients direct when you are an intern. Work Trial students may be provided with placements in offices, shops and museums. |
| What level of English is required to do a placement? What happens if my English is not good enough to do a placement? |
| For internships you need to have at least an intermediate level of English. This means you should be able to converse and understand complicated questions reasonably fluently. When holding a conversation, you shouldn’t need to look up words all the time and should be able to form sentences without too much hesitation. A higher level of English is required for the graduate training placements. |
| When will I know where I will be working? |
| Usually you will know the company details and interview date approx. 2 weeks before the start of your placement. In summer this may be reduced to one week only. If you are going to take lessons for more than one week before you placements starts, you will probably not know the placement details before arriving in the UK. |
| What happens after sending the enrolment form, deposit, motivation letter and my CV? |
We will check all the details, your CV and letter. If all is OK, we will send you a certificate of enrolment and the invoice for the programme. Your account needs to be paid at least 31 days before arrival. 1/2 weeks before the start date of your placement, you should get more information about your company and if required, your host family.
If your CV or letter is not clear, we will write to you and ask for more information. If we cannot find your placement or you are too specific on the type of placement, we will write to you and advise what we can and cannot do. We cannot work on your placement if we have not approved your paperwork! |
| What clothes do I need to bring for the placement? |
| You need to bring smart clothes for your placement. Jeans and trainers are not allowed. You should bring a few smart shirts, trousers and shoes. Girls should also bring smart skirts, boys should bring a tie. |
| Can I choose from several companies? |
| No, we arrange one interview or company for you, based on the information and what we think is suitable to suit your abilities. Should you not pass the interview or if you are really unhappy (for acceptable reasons) about the placement we will arrange another interview. We arrange a maximum of 3 interviews. |
| What if I don’t pass the initial interview with the company – will you arrange another company? |
| Depending on your language abilities, we will. If we feel your English is not good enough for a specific placement, we may offer you an alternative. This may be a simpler placement, not in your field of studies or English lessons instead of as an extra (you will need to pay an additional fee in that case). |
| What happens if I am not happy with the placement? |
| You need to come and talk to Twin. Depending on the situation, we will arrange the best solution for you. Despite our best efforts, we cannot always get it right first time around. |
| Where will I be placed? Can I choose what city I will be placed in? |
| You can indicate if you want to go to London, Dublin, Eastbourne or Salisbury. However please note that it is not always possible to find specific placements in some UK locations. When we receive your request we will confirm if it is possible to place you in the vocational placement of your choice, in the UK location that you have chosen. |
| Will I be placed in a company in the centre of London? |
| Most London placements are in companies in the centre of London, zone 1 or 2, but this is not always the case. London is a very large place and we cannot always guarantee that you will be placed in the centre of London. Especially placements in engineering, IT and laboratory work can be in zone 6 (the outer zone) of London. |
| How long does it take to travel from the host family to the company? |
| From our host families in Southeast London to companies in the centre of London, you should expect to travel between 1 hour and 1 hour and a half to get there. This is normal travelling time for commuters in London. Some placement areas (i.e. engineering) can take longer to travel. |
| What kind of hours will I be working? |
| We would advise you to do the same working hours as staff in the company, which is usually from 09.00- 17.30 Monday to Friday with one hour for lunch. For some placements for instance in tourism, it is advisable also to work occasional days at the weekend, to complete your experience. |
| How long in advance do I need to enrol? |
| You need to send us your completed booking at least 4 weeks before the start date. However in summer between June and September, places get booked very quickly. It is advisable to get your booking in as early as possible for summer. On the other hand, in winter we can sometimes accept bookings at shorter notice. |
| I am a US citizen, can I apply for Twin's internships and work abroad programs? |
| Yes, you can. For more information contact Simon Doyle (sdoyle@twinuk.com) |
| Can I get US academic credit for participating in Twin work and language abroad programmes? |
| Yes, you can. For more information contact Simon Doyle (sdoyle@twinuk.com) and http://seattlecentral.org/coop/ |
