A Learning Agreement details expectation of all parties during an internship. A Memorandum of Understanding details operational expectations between the VET Organisation and the Company.

A Learning Agreement ensures that all parties to an internship understands the expectations of the internship. Signed by all three parties it should detail as a minimum the following:

• Personal Information of the student
• Location of the company
• Timescales of the placement/internship
• Specifics on the tasks the student will be expected to carry out when at the company
• Details on the learning that the student will gain during the placement including detail on which course modules the learning will link into
• Specifics on the monitoring and assessment that will be carried out during the internship and by whom
• Contact details for all relevant parties

A Memorandum of Undestanding between the VET Organisation and the Company outlines the expectations of both parties. As a minimum it should contain:

• Details of the tasks the student will be expected to carry out when at the company
• Statements of suitability of the workplace for a student (including health and safety, insurance, duty of care and GDPR if required)
• Details of what should happen and who is responsible in case of any incidents
• Overview of the partnership the two parties want to develop

Key Strengths:

• A Learning Agreement provides the student with an understanding of how their internship links to their study, how it will be assessed and what tasks they will be expected to perform. It removes ambiguity. Likewise for a Memorandum of Undertstanding.

Key Weaknesses:

• Documentation and agreements are only as good as they are written. They need to be tuned and amended whenever required and based on feedback from previous internships.