Internships

HEIs and their partner stakeholders are committed to supporting graduates through these difficult economic times in which employment seems set to get worse.  Their careers services in particular are playing a vital role in with this essential work where government is funding a range of graduate internship activity, designed to complement the existing work undertaken by universities.

To facilitate a response to the economic situation and to provide support for key sectors of the economy, HEFCE is providing £13.6 million for higher education to support the expansion of 8,500 graduate internships in the government’s priority areas for economic growth, and with small businesses.  These graduate internships complement the Economic Challenge Investment Fund (ECIF), which allocated £2.5 million in April 2009 to enable HE institutions to support internships and now, through the ECIF, HEFCE are supporting over 2,000 graduate internship and placement opportunities.

The Government is also committed to supporting small businesses, in conjunction with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) which represents over 215,000 small businesses in the UK. At least 5,000 of the 8,500 graduate internships will be allocated to small businesses.  Employers can register their interest in the internship scheme with the Federation of Small Businesses now at: Turn on JavaScript!. Through this additional funding, HEIs will be able to place significantly more graduates with suitable organisations in ways which provide a meaningful experience for both the graduate and the employer.  The funding will also enable businesses which have not previously recruited graduates to access graduate-level skills through an organised programme, and should help to foster relationships with businesses more generally.