Gaps in the gap year

I do sympathise with Mark Powell's experience regarding the contents of his placement year being somewhat 'off' (Letters, CM, June). His point is well made but his letter does raise three fundamental questions.

The first, which is probably the most important, is did he attend an interview with his prospective employer and were the right questions put to the interviewer as to the nature of the proposed employment? If any of the answers had been unfavourable then he should simply have 'walked away' and found a more suitable employer.

Second, why did the 'education provider' in this case agree with this particular placement? Should his college/university not have been satisfied with its suitability, then it could have been vetoed!

Finally, what role did his personal tutor play in this charade? For a 12-month sandwich placement I would have expected to visit a student at his workplace at least three times (preferably four) – twice in a six month placement – in order see what he or she was doing and how he or she was progressing. On these occasions I would certainly have seen his employer to determine his opinion of the student and his capabilities.

At this stage, if I was at all dissatisfied with anything heard at these 'interviews' the problems would have been taken up with both participants and the situation resolved there and then.

I fully endorse Mark Powell's closing statement regarding some contractors using undergraduates as cheap labour. However, this does bring us back to the first question.