Gymshark is a British fitness apparel, sportswear, and accessories manufacturer and retailer.

We spoke to Rhoda Numan, Early Careers Lead at Gym Shark, to learn about the benefits the business has seen from taking on a placement student.

Why did you choose to recruit a placement student?

To grow our own talent, provide industry opportunities for students and bring in new ways of thinking and fresh ideas into our business.

What area of the business do they work in?

Tech, Finance, HR, Brand, Commercial, Creative Studio – most departments!

How did you find the recruitment process?

We recruit using our own processes but were very pleased with the calibre of talent.

What do placement students bring to your business? (output and impact created by students: additional resource, fresh thinking, filling in skills gaps etc)

Pipeline hires for the future, additional resource and fresh thinking

How does that measure vs cost to the organisation? (time spent negotiating opportunities, internal meeting, preparation for placement projects, supervision etc)

We do invest time in terms of bringing in our placement students and developing however we see that as a longer term investment. For example, post graduation we have brought placement students back into our junior level roles across the organisation, saving both time and money through recruitment, onboarding and development.

What successes have your students helped you achieve? Have you made savings?

Many complete their own projects within function where the work they can done can still be seen months and years after they have left. A few have also been supported by us during their final year in terms of dissertation work and research projects. Savings described above due to retaining our placement students.

Are they part of your workforce strategy? (Do you use placement to identify fresh talent or for extra resources at key points during the year?)

Yes for identifying talent and growing our own for the future.

What is the key advice you would give to a business considering taking on placement students?

Do it! You do need managers to invest the time in them early within their placement year but it is worth it for the value they can deliver.

What advice would you give to a student applying for a placement with you? (What are the key attributes you are looking for? What can they be doing to prepare?)

Main thing is really read the job advert and be clear about the specific program you are applying for. Do your research into both the company and department and area the program sits it. Tailor your application and be yourself!