South Tyneside business benefits from university intern scheme

Graduates from the University of Sunderland are benefiting from a Graduate Internship Scheme that can provide SMEs with a cost-effective approach to recruiting talent for a 12-month period.

The scheme is partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the University's Graduate Internship team work closely with organisations to ensure the recruitment process runs smoothly. The team can support role development, sourcing the graduate, the recruitment and selection process, as well as being a point of contact for the organisation.

The Funding Offer includes:

:: Up to £4,500 ERDF funding towards the salary of the graduate

:: 360-degree recruitment service to support the search and selection process

:: Eligible companies will pay a minimum of an £18k salary on a 12-month employment contract (£13,500 after the funding has been paid)

One South Tyneside business, Far North, has spoken highly of one of its employees recruited through the scheme.

The sales and marketing company hired Arbaz Khan as a marketing executive.

Ian Farrar, managing director at Far North, said: "Arbaz has an immediate impact by proposing a new value proposition to our existing customers. The quality of our content both internally and for clients has jumped to a level we did not think possible.

"I would certainly recruit via the intern scheme. Bringing in a graduate that has studied the exact subject matter needed for our business was an immediate fit. There was little to no training required. If anything, we were the ones being trained."

More information about the scheme is available at https://www.sunderland.ac.uk/more/enterprise-innovation/recruitment-erdf-interships/graduate-internship-scheme/

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