Students are being encouraged to consider internships and work placements if they want to secure a graduate job as employers are continuing to look for graduates that have work experience.
Heather Collier, Director of the National Council for Work Experience, said that graduate internships are “very important” as they enable graduates to develop valuable skills that can only be gained in the workplace. Similarly, James Lee, spokesman for Inside Graduates, said “For the employer it’s a great way to see firsthand a potential employee’s true qualities and it’s an ideal way to identify where an intern would be best-placed within the company in terms of department and role.”
The government is introducing a National Internship Scheme with the hope that this will make more graduate work placements available for future graduates, particularly those graduating this summer. To act as further encouragement to students, they are also implementing a new scheme that will enable graduates on unpaid internships to receive benefits.