Student job hunters take Step in the right direction at Sussex
The University of Sussex is joining forces with graduate internship experts Step to help get students off to a flying start in their careers.
Work experience and internships with leading firms and SMEs will give students a head-start in the increasingly competitive graduate careers market. Students will benefit from paid on-the-job experience tailored to suit their talents and ambition in sectors ranging from engineering to communications.
Typicallly, a Sussex student or recent graduate will work for 35 hours a week, earning a tax-free and NI-free weekly training allowance as well as gaining a valuable work experience.
Claire Potter, who is Senior Placements and Work Experience Officer at the University of Sussex, says: “Sussex is committed to helping students to maximise their employability by offering internships tailored to the student. The long-running Step programme is an ideal partner to help us achieve this goal. It offers a flexible and attractive package for both students and their host businesses.”
She added: “The University aims to increase the number of paid internships available for both current students and recent graduates. There is no limit on the number of Step internships that the University can offer to employers or students. Step is active on local and national levels, offering work opportunities locally and nationwide. Those opportunities generated by the Placements and Work Experience team at the University of Sussex will be exclusively available to Sussex students and recent graduates.”
“Because Step allows employers to trial new talent in a low-risk way, we expect that there will be considerable interest in the business community from organisations wishing to access the talent pool at the University of Sussex.”
Companies who take part in the scheme pay a fee per internship to the University, though some employers will be able to take advantage of a limited number of fee-waivers.
According to a recent Graduate Market Report (January 2013), over a third of graduate vacancies are filled by candidates who have already worked in the company as an intern or on work experience.
Further research carried out by Step reveals that 78 per cent of its participants went on to full-time work and 93 per cent said that undertaking a placement helped them to gain employment. Yet placements with employers are increasingly hard to find and paid work experience is even more difficult to come by.
Step’s Managing Director Philip Donnelly says: “We are proud of our approach to placing graduates and students, especially in small to medium sized companies where there are often a wider range of opportunities. We manage each stage of the process from helping with application forms to final assessments. And, importantly, all our placements are paid for, meaning that the benefits of work experience are open to all.
Step’s Managing Director Philip Donnelly says: “We are proud of our approach to placing graduates and students, especially in small to medium-sized companies where there are often a wider range of opportunities.
“We manage each stage of the process from helping with application forms to final assessments. And, importantly, all our placements are paid for, meaning that the benefits of work experience are open to all.
“We are very pleased to be working with the University of Sussex. The University has an excellent track-record of preparing its students for the world of work and Step has a long history of supporting businesses across Sussex.
“The Placements and Work Experience team will be building further on this and supporting the local business community with bright and enterprising Sussex students for a range of business-focused placements. For interested companies this is the perfect time to get in touch with the team.”
Previous Step participant, research analyst Molly Prelesk, says: “My [Step] placement was invaluable and one only a small firm could have provided. I was given immediate access to board-level issues and worked with individuals in top industry roles. Best of all, I was offered a full-time job – I now manage a small team on a major project.”
Notes for Editors
The 2013 Step programme is launched formally on 27 February 2013 at the University of Wolverhampton, which is one of two other participating universities (London is the third institution).
Step has been working with universities, students and businesses since 1986 and has organised and managed around 22,000 placements. Step offers opportunities to students and graduates at all universities however these new partnerships show graduate career development is taking priority on the higher education agenda.
Employers can find out more about the scheme on the relevant Step web pages.
An event to launch the new expanded initiative to business, universities and students takes place on Wednesday 27 February at the University of Wolverhampton.
The Careers and Employability Centre (CEC) at the University of Sussex helps students to explore their career options and develop their employability. The Centre works with a wide range of employers, organises careers fairs, skills workshops, advertises work experience and part-time jobs (for current students) and advises on further study and training opportunities.
University of Sussex Press office contacts: Maggie Clune and Jacqui Bealing. Tel: 01273 678 888. Email: press@sussex.ac.uk
View press releases online at: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/newsandevents/