NEWS IN DETAIL...
Gateway Graduates for your Business
The latest UCP programme designed to support Cornish business and improve graduate opportunities is recruiting again for six highly-talented and capable graduates.
The Gateway programme is designed to offer graduates the chance to get some real work experience in local companies whilst giving those companies more time to focus on what they need to. UCP is a Combined Universities in Cornwall partnership project, managed by Cornwall College and part funded by the European Social Fund and has had great success over the last 10 years, working with hundreds of businesses and placing around 800 graduates.
The team are re-launching Gateway after a hugely successful pilot scheme which ran in the spring. Gateway Manager Debbie Horner explains the thinking behind it:
Gateway has already provided nine talented graduates with a ten week work experience programme designed to boost their CVs whilst offering Cornish SMEs an “extra pair of hands” to stimulate their growth. It follows a successful pilot which ran in the spring, where of the graduates who took part, three have secured a permanent graduate-level position with others going on to develop their careers in different areas.
The latest Gateway graduates will be ready to start on projects from 10th September. Debbie is urging interested businesses to get in touch as soon as possible:
We’re urging any SME in Cornwall to come forward if they’d like some support from Gateway. If you’re overloaded with work that never seems to get done; if you can’t get to the bottom of your “to do” list or are stuck doing the day-to-day tasks rather than sitting down and planning for the future, then a Gateway graduate could be just what you need.
Projects with graduates are up to 60 hours in length completed over a 4 week period. UCP recruits, selects, employs and helps train the graduates, businesses are asked to simply provide the opportunity. Local businesses who have already benefitted from a Gateway Graduate reveal it’s been a huge success for them. Peter McCann-Downes owns Cornwall Geo-environmental:
Thank you UCP for providing a fantastically talented graduate for our sustainability R&D program. It has brought real value to the company and provided us with a new business opportunity for our diversification into manufacturing and provision of technical services.
Dan Hinchliffe from Insite Digital was also delighted with the results:
Our graduate delivered a good quality of copywriting work for the launch of our new website. Without this we would never have got it launched in time.
To find out more contact Debbie Horner or Jules Burton on 01209 311242 or email gateway@cornwall.ac.uk. Why not come and meet them, hear from them what they can offer you on Friday 7th September at 12pm, in our Pool Innovation Centre office!
