North-East Business
Graduates snap-up paid work placements
8:00am Thursday 23rd February 2012
GRADUATES faced with flipping burgers for a living are snapping up paid work placements to help them get a foot on the career ladder. LUCY RICHARDSON discovers why Teesside University has launched a job club and what students and local businesses are getting out of it.
ITS motto may be "inspiring success" but with the latest figures revealing that the North-East still has the highest unemployment rate in the country, Teesside University is now teaching how get a good job alongside a degree.
Professor Eileen Martin, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Learning & Student Experience), believes it has a duty to help students stand out from the crowd. "It was apparent that the North-East had been particularly badly affected by the economic downturn so we took a long, hard look at what we were doing," she says. "We followed some of our students and found that despite doing all the right things, doing work experience and volunteering they still found themselves unemployed so we sent out a call to employers and 150 came back with projects they wanted graduates to develop for them."
She has helped devise a new 13-week internship programme for 50 of its recent graduates who spend four days each week with an employer and every Friday back at the university in Middlesbrough where they hone job-seeking skills such as how present themselves, interview techniques, writing CVs, networking and selling themselves over the phone.
A Futuretrack study, run by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit based on the opinions of 50,000 undergraduates nationwide revealed that 33 per cent of students thought a good work ethic was most important to employers, 28 per cent said good communication skills and 24 per cent said teamwork. Only one per cent listed commercial awareness, two per cent said numeracy and four per cent cited computer skills.
"Some of the employers have indicated to us that if they make a go of it there is a chance of a position for them," she adds. "In some sectors work experience is bordering on abuse where people are expected to give their time for free. They are so anxious and so keen they find jobs that are voluntary at their own expense to enhance their CVs. We wanted to provide a structured programme where they are earning some money as well."
For the academic year 2009/2010, 88.6 per cent of Teesside University graduates were in work or further study after six months. It is also introducing part-time entrepreneurial workshops, summer work placement schemes for undergraduates between their third and fourth years and job seeking courses are to be embedded within the academic curriculum.
Professor Martin dismisses claims that with fees set to rise to £9,000 per year from September, the university now has more of a responsibility than ever to help students find a career.
"It's not about them coming here to buy a degree, they still have to perform and do their bit," she says. "The commitment has always been there to help them reach their maximum potential. This is not a reaction to the fact that the fees are changing, it is going to make it increasingly difficult to maintain the level of support we give- it's not about additionality it's about substituting what is being taken away."
Michael Comerfield graduated with a 2:1 BA (Hons) Performance for Live & Recorded Media and through the scheme has secured a placement with ARC in Stockton where he has been given the title Artistic Associate helping to promote the arts centre's programme of events.
The 22-year-old plans to study for master's degree but says he is grateful to be gaining industry experience. "This fits in perfectly with my degree, as well as gaining experience and building contacts I think the internships will give me more confidence when applying for jobs in the future and it's something positive to put on my CV."
Annabel Turpin, Chief Executive at ARC thinks it is vital for graduates to have the opportunity to apply their skills in a real working environment.
"We have been in discussion with Teesside University for a while now about graduate retention in the North-East, and this seemed an ideal way of exploring how a graduate could work with us.
"Michael has been working alongside our Creative Learning Officer, Rachael Ankers, developing activity designed to increase engagement with our artistic programme, and specifically a number of theatre shows scheduled for this Spring. It has been great for us to have someone with a fresh view to help develop and implement activity, and although we are not going to be able to offer him an on-going employment beyond the end of his internship, we hope this is something we can build on in the future."
The number of unemployed in the North-East fell in the three months to December last year by 4,000 to 143,000 a rate of 11.2 per cent and the latest survey from the Association of Graduate Recruiters found that the number of graduate vacancies are predicted to fall by 1.2 per cent in 2012 compared to a 1.7 rise last year.
North-East Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive, James Ramsbotham, believes that with about 30,000 people aged between 18 and 24 claiming jobseekers' allowance in the North-East, it is imperative that young people are given every chance to find work.
"This groundbreaking initiative ticks all the important boxes in that it provides vital work experience, an income and training in personal presentation that every employer is looking for at an interview.
"It can be incredibly disheartening to come out of education and struggle to find work, Teesside University must be congratulated for its innovative approach to tackling graduate unemployment."