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Graduate Placements

Employers are increasingly demanding that graduates have some knowledge of the working world and yet graduates can often find it difficult to get this without experience. Graduate placements provide the ideal opportunity bridge the experience gap.

“We are always trying to bring companies together with academics in order facilitate the building of successful relationships”.
Unlocking Cornish Potential

In this section, you will find:

Benefits

There are tangible benefits to all parties:

Graduates	Employers	Academics
Opportunity to put theory into practice	Opportunity to see what students are capable of	Opportunity to showcase the knowledge and skills you are developing on your programme
Opportunity to consider career options within a 'real' environment	Potential to shortcut the recruitment process and reduce costs	Increased awareness of what your students can offers which leads to enhanced employability
Find out what they do and don't like doing	An extra pair of hands to develop new projects and ideas	Incorporates industry expertise into your programme
Opportunity to develop key transferable skills and enhance employability	A fresh perspective to solve problems	Widens your professional networks
Opportunity to get their 'foot in the door' - many go on to permanent employment with the host organisation	The opportunity to 'try before they buy'	Enhanced DHLE statistics

Case study

Unlocking Cornish Potential (UCP) organises graduate placements throughout Cornwall. This provides an opportunity for Cornish businesses to access expertise, resources and support to enable them to implement a business development project for their business.

Over 150 businesses in Cornwall have already reaped the benefits of this programme and the additional support it offers. UCP engages employers with higher education staff through mentoring and business skills training. The programme also directs graduates, and the companies they’re placed with, to appropriate training.

A Celebration Event is held each year to celebrate the success of the graduates who have been through the programme and this helps to bring together businesses and academics in an environment where they can network with one another. UCP issues newsletters on a regular basis to keep those involved in the programme up to date with what has been achieved.

Learning from UCP...

Talk to HE lecturers that you think would be suitable mentors and find out about their background so that they can called upon for suitable projects
Introduce companies to expert academics who are able to help their graduate to develop their skills
Where appropriate, utilise the skills of academics to deliver training which is useful to the company
There are other similar schemes in other parts of the South West, including Graduate Business Partnerships in Devon (delivered by the universities of Exeter and Plymouth)

"UCP has enabled us to acquire an 'in-house' creative design capability. What was once thought to be a luxury has now become a vital element in the function of our business. Charlotte has been an inspiration to the company, fitting in well with the team and always delivering true innovation and creativity against all odds".
Mark Brian, County Confectionery

Resources required

Financial: UCP can offer the company a £6,000 subsidy towards the graduates salary; the programme also pays the mentor for their time spent with the graduate at their host company
Time: The Business Development Managers (BDM), who work with companies to develop the projects, are also involved in the recruitment of the graduate and have meetings with all parties every 6-8 weeks. The BDM is also charged with identifying an appropriate meeting time.

Resources

Graduate placement schemes tend to provide all the necessary documentation. However, the resources provided in the student placements section can be downloaded and customised if required.