New site launched to help Yorkshire’s best graduate talent

GRADUATES Yorkshire is launching a new microsite aimed at matching graduates with paid internship positions.

The social enterprise, which offers a range of recruitment services for graduates and promotes their employment in the region, has unveiled www.graduatesyorkshire.co.uk/internships to make it easier for graduates to find suitable placements.

The internship scheme aims to provide the region’s best graduate talent with the opportunity to gain vital work experience in companies across Yorkshire.

The scheme will offer an alternative to unpaid internships, where only those with financial support in place can take them up, with employers paying interns a fair wage for their work.

Becky Ascough, Graduates Yorkshire internship programme project manager, said: “The new internship site offers a different route into employment, allowing graduates to gain paid vocational experience.

“The website will also help businesses find more about employing an intern through the scheme and the support we offer to organisations which participate.

She said that the internship scheme benefited businesses because companies could use the placement period to decide whether their intern has the skills to take on a full-time position once the placement finishes.

Martin Edmondson, chief executive of Graduates Yorkshire, said: “Many bright graduates have struggled to finance their degrees or post-graduate degrees and can’t fund working full time without some sort of wage.

“Our internship programme offers a route into the vocation they’ve been training for, rather than seeing them disappear into bar work or call centres.”