The SilverDoor Academy is a chance for undergraduate students to enhance their career path and experience working full-time, in a fast-paced office environment. The SilverDoor Academy has been welcoming student placements into our workforce every year since the scheme began back in 2008 in our Chiswick office. Over the past 14 years we’ve greeted eager students from throughout the UK and worldwide, adopting them as a SilverDoorian for their placement year, with several even returning to the company for a permanent role after graduating.
Every year, our placement students bring energy, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn to our offices; in return they learn great skills and gain practical work experience. They integrate fully into our teams and form an invaluable and integral part of SilverDoor.
For many, a placement year can often be a first step into the world of work but we hope the professional journey won't stop there with SilverDoor. We like to keep in touch with our placement students and often welcome them back once they have completed their degree. As a company, we are proud to have several of our placements return to take on full time roles with us after graduation, and over the years we have seen some remarkable success stories with a number of our academy alumni who now hold senior management positions within SilverDoor.
Two of our most recent placement returnees are George Campkin and Ben Smith. George and Ben were both placements in our Chiswick office in the challenging 2020-2021 period. George studied Economics and Mathematics at the University of Surrey and found his placement role doing Accounts Receivable Support year gave him the valuable experience and knowledge which led to him achieving a First Class Degree.
“I would genuinely say it's one of the best placement opportunities around - getting valuable hands-on experience in work and being an important member of the team, but also being able to move into a house in London for a year with the fellow placements and enjoy everything that side brings, is a unique opportunity to find. I made some great friends and memories with the other placements, as well as within the wider company, hence why I was very happy to be able to return to SilverDoor.” George is now Accounts Assistant at SilverDoor.
Ben studied Business and Management at Aston University and took the role of Client Account Support during his placement year at SilverDoor. Ben found his placement year gave him worthy skills in organisation and time keeping, and assisted in confirming the type of career he wanted to pursue in the future.
“I think the best things about my placement year was the responsibility I had and being able to work on accounts and build relationships with clients that I'm now working with again. The placement house and social side of SilverDoor was an added advantage too!” Ben has recently returned to SilverDoor in a Senior Account Support role.
Unlike many other placement schemes, SilverDoor source and coordinate a shared house for our placement students. We’ve found this helps take the stress out of finding accommodation in a new city and aids in uniting placements, bringing them together and creating long-lasting friendships.
We are passionate about the SilverDoor Academy and have several instances of how effective it can be. Our Group Head of Marketing, Caroline Whitson, began her career as a placement student at SilverDoor; other placement success stories include Devon Petruzziello – Operations and Analytics Executive, Ross Symons – Head of Systems, Anna Hedbys – Group Management Accountant, and Jon Goldthorpe – SilverDoor’s Financial Controller and a member of the Senior Management team.
We are currently recruiting for student placements to start in summer 2023, for the Lancaster and London offices. If you’d like more information on the SilverDoor Academy, download our informative brochure here.
All our placement opportunities are listed on the careers page and if you think you have what it takes you can apply by sending your CV and Cover letter to [email protected] – be sure to include which role(s) and office you’re applying for and why you think you are right for the position.
