Almost 70% of third-year optometry students from the University of Hertfordshire have started pre-registration placements with Specsavers this month.
Finding positions for 29 out of 40 students from the University’s Master of Optometry course, undergraduates would get the chance to gain valuable experience of working in a practice.
Optometry student Jayant Hirani will be placed in the company’s Wembley store alongside ophthalmic director Rakesh Kapoor. ‘It’s an opportunity to apply my knowledge from two and a half years at university to real-life situations. I’m very keen to get to know the team and learn the way the practice works,’ said the undergraduate.
Jayant and his peers would benefit from seven days of courses throughout the placement, including a comprehensive induction, workshops, assessment preparation and mock exams.
Chris Howarth, Specsavers’ director of strategic recruitment, said: ‘The collaboration with the University of Hertfordshire is very valuable. We now have an ongoing relationship with a student body that’s going to result in those individuals working for us in the longer term.’