The 310,000 students expected to finish their degrees this summer can expect a fierce battle for jobs once they have graduated. A quarter of positions starting in September have already been filled — by the 80,000 people unable to find graduate jobs last year, according to a survey by the market research company High Fliers.

With one in six recent graduates estimated to be unemployed, experts say that getting work experience is more important than ever before.

Heather Collier, the director of the National Council for Work Experience, explains: “It’s been a particularly tough time for graduates trying to find jobs and a great work-experience placement can not only add the necessary practical skills needed to land a job but also be a good confidence boost when times seem hard.”

She adds: “As pressure mounts on recruitment budgets for employers during a recession, internships are often seen as a cost-effective means to drive talent into business.”

Here Times Money highlights schemes that offer students and graduates a leg up on to the career ladder.

Government schemes and help

The Government has pledged to provide bursary funding for young people wishing to undertake work experience if Labour wins the general election. In the Pre-Budget Report, Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, said that £8 million would be set aside to fund up to 10,000 undergraduate placements.

For students unable to wait, there are some government schemes in place. Graduate Talent Pool (graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk) is an online service, created by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, to match recent graduates with employers looking for trainees. Graduates can apply provided that they left a UK university in 2008 or 2009 with at least a degree or foundation degree. Any organisation can advertise a placement free and many of the positions offer a salary. At the time of going to press, the site was offering 5,813 vacancies, 3,539 of which were paid.

The Government has also announced that some unemployed graduates will be allowed to continue to claim the jobseeker’s allowance while undertaking a placement, as long as it involves fewer than 16 hours a week. If you graduated in 2009 and have been receiving jobseeker’s allowance for at least six months you may be eligible to receive a “training allowance” to fund work experience advertised on Graduate Talent Pool. For more details, visit your local Jobcentre or log on to http://direct.gov.uk/education...>> Read More

Source: The Times Online
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/student_finance/article7016635.ece