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What's on Offer?
Alongside their ongoing and long term activities, North West universities have
responded swiftly to the economic downturn, offering support in a multitude of
different ways: by helping individuals affected by redundancy and new graduates
unable to find work; by helping businesses ride out the recession through
knowledge transfer and skills development; and by providing the region with the
skills and research capabilities required to support an economic recovery. The
region’s universities have made a concerted effort to open up their doors to
business in times of difficulty. Through their knowledge exchange functions,
they are a source of expertise enabling companies to make significant step
changes using research and innovation based support.
NWUA has collected information on this activity as part of the HEFCE-funded
Economic Downturn Project. The majority of this has been recorded in the HE
Barometers, designed to provide HEFCE and other stakeholders with an overview of
how the HE sector is responding to the economic downturn. The Barometers can be
viewed
here.
However, we were not able to capture the full range of activity within these
documents and a wider sample of university responses is provided in the
table (Excel).
Please note, this is intended as a historic record and some of the
initiatives may no longer be available.
The following subsections detail current
activity taking place across the region’s universities. Take a look at the
information below to see how your local university might be able to help you.
Graduate Internships
HEFCE / BIS Internships
Graduate Internships in the North West
Overview
HEFCE announced funding for an additional 8,500 graduate internships on 27th November. In the NW 935 additional graduate internships have been funded, 540 are to be in place by March 2010 and the remainder by September 2010 (allowing HEI to offer places to 2010 graduates). These additional internships will contribute to the overall national BIS target of 20,000 internships. The objectives of this new scheme are to provide opportunities for the additional numbers of unemployed graduates in 2009 and 2010 and to establish a supply of graduates for the growth sectors outlined in “New Industry, New Jobs” (NINJ) and for small business. More information on the scheme is available at
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=ind0911&L=ADMIN-HEFCE&D=0&T=0&P=6603. HEFCE officially announced the scheme on 11th February:
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2010/interns.htm.
Employers in the NINJ sectors (below) and small businesses in any sector
should get in touch if they are interested in taking on a graduate intern. The
sectors identified are:
- low-carbon products and services
- digital industry
- life sciences and pharmaceuticals
- advanced manufacturing
- professional and financial services
- engineering construction
- industrial opportunities presented by the ageing society
Businesses can take advantage of a national single point of contact, provided by
BIS, for advice and assistance in getting a graduate intern. For more
information on the Graduate Internship scheme businesses can contact the
national helpline on 0845 072 7597 or email
internship-enquiries@graduatetalentpool.co.uk.
Businesses can also contact their local university directly on the contact
details below.
For more information on graduate internships in general businesses can visit the
Graduate Talent Pool website at
http://graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk.
Providers
The scheme is delivered by the following universities in the North West:
- University of Salford
- University of Chester
- University of Cumbria
- Lancaster University
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- University of Central Lancashire
There is some variety in the schemes offered in each university but all services match graduates with internship opportunities in businesses and the cost to the employer is
free or subsidised. Details of individual HEI offers, and contact details,
can be
downloaded (PDF).
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Benefits to Employers
- Through internships, businesses can access the talent, skills, knowledge and enthusiasm offered by graduates.
- Employers can save on the costs of advertising associated with direct recruitment, and can benefit from assistance in recruiting, provided by the university.
- Businesses can free up vital time and resources by employing an intern, allowing other staff to concentrate on more urgent or more specialist matters.
- An intern might help out with a range of business aspects, or may be asked by the business to focus on a particular project.
- Businesses will benefit from the increased interaction with the university, and, with an increased awareness of the opportunities offered, may choose to undertake training programmes or consultancy services offered to businesses.
- Businesses receive financial support to enable them to take on an intern (around £1,300 in wage subsidies on average).
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Benefits to graduates
Internships offer many benefits to both business and graduate. Undertaking an
internship allows graduates to try their hand at a possible career and gain real
work experience, and it is a way of building on the skills gained at university.
It can often be a stepping stone to securing permanent employment. The employer
will act as a mentor to the intern, providing feedback on their work and
constructive criticism and tips as to how to complete work successfully.
-
Graduates will receive structured support before, during and after the
placement. This support will include CV advice, interview practice, mentoring
and help to secure the internship of their choice.
- Internships also give
graduates the opportunity to see whether a particular role is right for them,
and it is an excellent opportunity for graduates to make contacts in the sector
in which they want to work.
- Graduates receive a small salary whilst they are
undertaking their internship. The placements are a great opportunity to gain
experience of and make a worthwhile contribution to one of the key sectors as
identified by the government – sectors such as low carbon products, digital
industries and life sciences, which are predicted to grow over the coming years.
For more information, please visit the Graduate Talent Pool website,
http://graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk.
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For further details, please visit
http://graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk, or visit the Business Link North
West directory,
http://www.businesslinknw.co.uk/directory/Pages/DirectoryHome.aspx.
In addition to those detailed above, a wider range of internship opportunities are available across universities in the North West. For more information and contact details, please download the table below.
Internships Table (xls)
Economic Challenge Investment Fund Projects
The Economic Challenge Investment Fund (ECIF) was established by
HEFCE to develop projects to help individuals and businesses during the
downturn. The fund aims to support:
-
individuals
- to enable those who are either unemployed or under the threat of unemployment
to access training, development and other support to help them continue in
their current employment or find new employment
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businesses, particularly SMEs and third-sector organisations such as
voluntary and charity organisations - to provide professional
knowledge and expertise to help equip them to survive in economic recessionary
period.
In the North West, nine universities have been successful in securing funding
from the £27.6 million national funding pot. Together, the projects bring
nearly £3 million into the region and account for 11% of the total funding
available. Projects will deliver short-term support between April 2009 and
September 2010. Projects include summer schools, graduate placements,
employability skills workshops, CPD modules, start-up support and enterprise
training. Details of successful bids in the North West can be viewed in the
link below.
ECIF Table of Proposals & Outputs (xlsx)
Discover HE
This resource offers a free, easy to use and powerful tool for discovering the
wealth of Higher Education provision in the North West. It brings together more
than 8,000 courses from 15 Higher Education Institutions and 29 Further
Education Colleges in the region. It offers a starting point to explore
provision for industry sectors from various providers in one single place and
will direct you to individual institutional websites to find out more details.
Discover HE Database
Graduate Support
The economic downturn is having an unusually high impact on
higher skilled individuals. A shortage of graduate level jobs has resulted in
tougher competition and more highly skilled individuals registering with
Jobcentre Plus. NWUA is currently collating and disseminating information on
graduate support and facilitating the sharing of best-practice amongst member
institutions. Please see below for information detailing what services are
being offered to graduates by the universities in the region.
Graduate Talent Pool
The Graduate Talent Pool has been developed by the Department of
Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) to help match the skills required by
business with those offered by new and recent graduates. Graduates can apply
for internships provided they graduated in 2008 or 2009 with at least a degree
or foundation degree. For more information visit the Graduate Talent Pool
website
here.
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