So much of our local graduate talent ends up in a call centre working for a low wage in a field completely unrelated to their degree, career goals and interests. They fall into the ‘can’t get experience without a job / can’t get a job without the experience’ and our Sussex Internship Programme (SIP) is a solution that directly tackles the problem.
SIP is the exact oppostite of those exploitative unpaid work placements or the 'give a friend's kid a freebie ' schemes which have damaged the idea of internships recently. SIP is a real quality internship programme, in that all interns on it receive funding, really useful experience and additional quality training. It really does give grads the chance they need to get on their career ladder of choice. Through SIP hundreds of graduates have already recieved grant supported work placements. This not only lets grads get their foot in the door with some of the top digital, media and technology companies in Sussex, but also provides support and sector specific training and great experience for that all important CV.
In turn SIP gives companies access to local talent through a low risk / cost effective and supported programme as an extension of their own recruitment process. The scheme offers a full graduate selection process aiming to find the right candidate to drive energy, enthusiasm and fresh ideas to their placement company without the need for them to advertise.
Having only joined Wired Sussex in January it’s been a pleasure for me to be part of our most recent intern success stories, allowing graduates to gain the right valuable experience in a wide variety of roles including production, web development, SEO, online marketing etc
Of the 15 interns supported this March, 2 have already secured permanent employment and 12 were asked by their placement companies to continue working for them beyond the scheme. On average, approximately 60% of interns on our scheme have been offered employment at the end of their internship.The statistics speak for themselves.
I’ve met with the placement companies and interns and we’ve made friends, business connections and shared ideas. I hope to continue the positive work and build upon what we’ve all gained for the future. I only wish I had the opportunity when I graduated!
Caroline Morris
Recruitment and Internships Manager for Wired Sussex
For more details of our previous internship programmes see www.sussexinternships.co.uk
We hope to run future internship schemes and welcome any suggestions to aid our planning.
Read how the scheme has benefitted two of our recent interns in their blogs:
Emma O'Sullivan, intern at Cogapp
Tom Bourlet, intern at Go-optimisation
Emma O'Sullivan, intern at Cogapp
Tom Bourlet, intern at Go-optimisation