New best practice guidelines for student work placements are to be launched tomorrow.

The guidelines, developed by Placement Advisors for Tourism and Hospitality (Path), aim to provide a blueprint for employers, colleges and students taking part in work placements in all sectors of the industry.

Commenting on the new guidelines, Angela Maher, senior lecturer in hospitality management at Oxford Brookes University and chairman of Path, said: "It is essential that work placements provide students with a meaningful learning experience, and one from which they can develop both personally and professionally."

She added: "But high-quality work placements require high standards, and this document is intended to provide a benchmark for their operation and their management."

The voluntary guidelines, announced at the 21st annual Path Conference in Oxford, will be available from the Council for Hospitality Management Education from the end of July, when its website is relaunched.

The guidelines are endorsed by Springboard, the HCIMA, the British Hospitality Association and industry partners, including contract caterer Compass.