Graduates Yorkshire has secured funding for a paid graduate internship programme which will offer recent graduates a route into employment by helping them gain practical work experience.
The Internship Programme is being funded by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and will offer paid graduate internships with employers in the region. It aims to make Yorkshire graduates more employable by offering paid work experience, coaching and mentoring.
Martin Edmondson, Graduates Yorkshire Chief Executive, says the programme will raise standards in graduate recruitment: "Many companies take advantage of students by offering unpaid work experience or intern positions. Not everyone has the ability to work for up to a year without being paid.
"By offering paid internships, companies gain from getting the most talented graduates and not just the ones with wealthy parents, who can afford to work for free. Creating worthwhile roles which involve work on real projects also help firms get the most out of an intern whilst offering the graduates genuine work experience.
"Our research shows that graduates bring to companies fresh thinking, enthusiasm and specialist knowledge and can help employers increase productivity. In the current economic climate, businesses need all the help they can get and an intern can offer real benefits."
Applicants for the Graduates Yorkshire Internship Programme will take part in bootcamp style training days and assessments. Even the unsuccessful applicants will receive advice and support so they are more employable after finishing the process.
Graduates Yorkshire was established six years ago with the support of Yorkshire Universities to close the "knowledge gap" between the region's universities and its business community by matching graduates with companies looking to make best use of that talent.
Despite Yorkshire having one of the largest Higher Education economies of any region, generating £3 billion of output, the percentage of graduates employed in key public and private organisations in Yorkshire is among the lowest in the UK.
Working in partnership with the region's 10 University Careers Services, Graduates Yorkshire offers a range of recruitment related services to provide all the information and support that graduates and employers need to find each other.
As well as providing all the benefits of an online jobsite, it also works closely with careers services within its partner Universities to help improve the services on offer to students and graduates in the region.
Visit: www.graduatesyorkshire.co.uk
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