Europe backs University’s plan for jobs
Over 420 graduate jobs will be created over the next three years by Teesside University, following a £2.3m cash boost from the European Union.
The grant is for a scheme matching graduate skills to business needs, which will also support 465 small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the North East.
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) has pledged to match the funding provided by the University and private sector for the £4.6 million project.
Professor Graham Henderson CBE, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Teesside University, hailed the move to support graduates and businesses in the region.
He said: 'We are fully committed to working in partnership with business and to boosting graduate employment prospects, and I greatly welcome this ERDF support for our efforts. This funding not only help us to play a key role in improving business competitiveness through expert knowledge exchange and innovation but will also be invaluable in helping us to create literally hundreds of new job opportunities within small businesses in our region.'
Graduates for business A major strand of the project is the ‘Graduates for Business’ initiative, which will see 375 graduates taking up salaried internships with SMEs throughout the region over the next three years – 125 per year. 'We know from experience that internships work for both the company and the graduate,' said Laura Woods, the University's Director of Academic Enterprise.
'This initiative builds on a successful scheme that we ran last year, placing 250 graduates with employers like the up- and-coming digital business THAP.
'Employers are fully involved in recruitment and selection to ensure a good match between their needs and what the graduates can offer.'
A second strand is the Knowledge Exchange Internships (KEIs) programme, which puts graduates into SMEs for six to 12 months to tackle specific business change projects.
Laura added: 'A KEI is ideal for a company needing expert help with a short-term project, perhaps to introduce new technology or new working practices. As well as a full-time graduate on the staff, the company gets academic support to deliver its improvement programme.
'Longer-term programmes of this type, known as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), are extremely successful - but they normally last for two or three years. We realised there was also a need for shorter schemes to help smaller companies.'
A good example of how one of the University’s partnership projects with business helped a SME is the KTP with Stanley Vickers Ltd. It gained an ‘Outstanding’ grade from the Technology Strategy Board. Read the Stanley Vickers story
The ERDF grant will support 30 KEI projects per year for the next three years - helping up to 90 companies in total and providing valuable hands-on problem-solving experience for 90 graduates working in their chosen field of expertise.
Lastly, the project will provide information, advice and guidance to help graduates find routes into work or help in setting up their own businesses in the region.
This will be led by Mark Thorpe, who ran a similar scheme two years ago at the height of the economic recession.
'Working with a University can make a real difference to businesses. This ERDF award will play a huge role in helping more SMEs - and more graduates - to make a real contribution to economic growth,' said Laura.
The schemes are open to SMEs in the North East and to graduates who are finding it difficult to get their first foot on their preferred career ladder.
More information about the new initiatives can be found at www.tees.ac.uk/spark or by e-mailing business@tees.ac.uk
The project will benefit from £2.3m of European Union investment from the ERDF Competitiveness Programme 2007-13, managed by regional development agency One North East.
The project will make a major contribution to the ambition of the ERDF Competitiveness Programme 2007-13 and the Regional Economic Strategy by increasing the numbers and survival of business start ups in the region and increasing business productivity.