Latest News: The Graduate Talent Pool

Full details of the Government’s proposed National Internship Scheme have now been released. The first thing to note is that it has been termed ‘The Graduate Talent Pool’ which is, according to the official Dius (Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills) website:

“Part of a package of measures to support graduates to improve their employability skills and support business at the same time.”

Given the current economic situation and lack of graduate positions available, together with the knowledge that over 300,000 students are about to graduate in the next month or two, the Government has launched this scheme as a way of providing short-term employment for graduates.

The Graduate Talent Pool aims to create as many as 5,000 new internships, up to 3 months long, at a wide range of both large and smaller organisations.

Graduates going through the scheme can apparently continue to claim Jobseekers Allowance for up to 13 weeks of their internship. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Dius), who are heading up the scheme, plan to oversee applications from graduates and then match them with the internships placed on their website by employers.

The scheme aims to:

“Assist graduates in kick-starting their careers by gaining the skills and experience they need to get-on through an internship and will offer a great way for companies to inject fresh talent into the workplace.”

The RateMyPlacement.co.uk opinion:

Is this all too little, too late?

The cynical amongst you might suggest that the Dius have to be seen to be doing something to help this summer’s graduates who are entering the toughest job market in decades. The more cynical amongst you might also suggest that there is a general election around the corner and 300,000 angry graduates will probably be voting for the first time…

At RateMyPlacement, we are fully supportive of any initiative that involves students or graduate acquiring the work experience they need to improve their employability skills and help them get a foot on the career ladder. However, our major concerns with the Graduate Talent Pool are:

• This is a short-term ‘fix’ and will actually only provide up to 5,000 positions when there could be as many as 200,000 graduates seeking employment this summer
  
• The scheme will deprive undergraduates of placement and internship opportunities. The worst case scenario would be for an employer who has traditionally offered placements and internships to 1st and 2nd year students to start opening them up to graduates.
• We believe that the key to long-term, sustainable success for the UK’s graduates is to leave university with an internship or placement year already on their CV. Ideally, initiatives such as this should be aimed at 1st and 2nd year students.

More Information on the Graduate Talent Pool

To keep up to date with our views and opinions on the Graduate Talent Pool, read or subscribe to our Blog.

To find out further details on the scheme, visit the Dius website.

Article in The Independent: “Is the Government’s internship scheme too little, too late?”

The ‘National Internship Scheme’

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 11th January 2009, Skills and Universities Secretary John Denham disclosed plans for a ‘National Internship Scheme’, designed to provide jobless graduates with up to three months paid work.

The Scheme is designed to prevent the influx of 400,000 graduates into the growing ranks of unemployed this summer due to the current economic crisis. The plans, which have been reported widely in the National Media, are aimed to ease graduates into the job market by providing them with up to three months work experience.

The full details of the plans are yet to be announced; however The full details have now been made public (see above for latest news) and Barclays and Microsoft are two of the four 'well-known' companies that have agreed to take part in the Scheme. Public sector institutions, charities and voluntary groups have also been invited to take part. Although the internships will be paid, it will only be marginally more than a student would receive from their loan or grant.

Why is the National Internship Scheme needed?

Well, everyone knows about the current economic situation and the impact that it has had, and is going to have, on employment levels across the UK. Graduates entering the job market this summer aren't exempt from this and there have been reported cuts in graduate recruitment across certain industries but the full extent is still not clear. (Although perhaps it's not as bad as some would have you believe, with the AGR reporting that for many industries, graduate recruitment has remained constant on previous years.)

Competition for graduate positions has arguably never been higher and those students graduating without any relevant work experience are seriously struggling to secure employment. The Scheme will in theory provide graduates with one foot on the career ladder, allow them to gain the all important work experience, and perhaps even lead to a full-time graduate position.

Who will be affected/who will benefit?

Whilst we are still light on details, it appears that the Scheme may be introduced in time for this year's batch of graduates. So, current finalists who have not yet managed to secure themselves a graduate position look to be in prime place to take advantage of the Scheme.

What impact will this have?

Well the theory is that by a graduate working through a three month internship, they will at least begin to gain the necessary employability skills required and that all important work experience to bolster their CV. Ideally, the graduate will impress on their internship and secure a full-time role, or if not, they'll at least be able to begin applying for roles with some confidence.

“At the end, they will be more employable, and some of them will get jobs. Employers won't want to let good people go.”

John Denham MP, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills

Search Our Internship Opportunties

At RateMyPlacement, we list a large number of placements and internships for UK students and graduates. To search our daily-updated database, click on the button below.

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Further Reading

• Google News (UK) Search for “National Internship Scheme”
• RateMyPlacement Blog Article on the National Internship Scheme
• “National intern scheme to help graduates through the recession”, The Daily Telegraph, 11th January 2009

Updated 4th June 2009