16 education & business
Enterprise partners now embedded in all courses
Graduate employment opportunities are rising at Southampton Solent University as new developments blend employability with enterprise. Sue Hughes spoke to deputy vice-chancellor Richard Blackwell
In those markets flooded by graduates, many employers and SMEs lack confidence in graduates having the right skills and attributes to fill a post, therefore the culture of unpaid ’internships’ – increasingly unpopular among students – ticks along. Part of the University’s strategy is to encourage businesses to embed these internships in Solent courses as placements or projects, giving students the kind of real-world experience valued by prospective employers.
Since joining Southampton Solent University in 2010 from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Richard Blackwell has helped drive that focus on real-world learning. By pulling the employability and enterprise units into one central team, he’s steered away from one-to-one career guidance that only ever touched a small minority of the undergraduate population – instead embedding practical experience with enterprise partners in all the University’s courses.
Blackwell explains: “Students trust their lecturers more than external advisers, which we bore in mind in redesigning courses to make work placements, or other forms of real world learning, compulsory. Sports and journalism courses have a lot of embedded work experience, because employers in these sectors – like others – ask ’what have you done?’ and ’what can you do?’
“Combining employability with enterprise is a key building block in student start-up businesses. Solent produces many successful freelancers, or graduates who have hybrid portfolio careers; they may be working, studying and running a part-time business.“
Schemes such as the Solent Creatives agency, incubation pods and some seedcorn funding mean students and graduates have access to help when taking early steps. If a start-up proves sustainable they can move to larger incubation office space that Solent has acquired at several nearby city-centre locations.
However, fewer than 25% of the 2012-13 intake are from south Hampshire. With higher tuition fees, Blackwell knows that the majority of graduates tend to return home: “We’re working hard at keeping local talent local, but it isn’t necessarily easy. As a trend, they move back to their home roots and network.
“A major challenge across the country is that the places with the greatest numbers of graduate jobs are not always where a student has studied. London, Bristol and Brighton have
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a high percentage of creative jobs, industries in which many Solent students study and look to work. Southampton might not have quite as many graduate jobs available, but we are doing as much as we can to encourage retention through our new start-up initiatives and other measures.“ A new Solent Graduate Scheme – think rebranded ’internships’ – is all about getting third-year students into good jobs locally.
The Solent Graduate Associate Programme is recruiting more than 20 2013 graduates to work in one-year salaried roles across the university, where they will receive graduate level training (in some cases professional training for support service roles). Solent is also offering up to 10 weeks’ accommodation with the role.
Meanwhile, the Solent Graduate Development Programme is a new pilot graduate trainee scheme to help high-flying graduates secure roles in key management departments. Open to all 2012 and 2013 graduates, existing interns and specific Student Union positions, Solent is offering up to six roles, with a progressive salary dependent on performance and a potential external placement.
The Solent Graduate Business Programme is also under way for 2013, featuring opportunities for local businesses to access graduate talent for six months while students gain real-life experience in a specific working environment. Often these opportunities turn into job offers; even when they don’t, the employers (especially SMEs) get a better idea of how graduates might contribute in future and the graduates gain a crucial boost to their CVs.
Understanding the importance of affordable accommodation, Solent enables students on these shorter placements to make use of university residences standing empty during parts of the summer: “We can offer some free accommodation, whereas landlords tend to want a year’s rental contract and are less flexible with shorter terms. This helps graduates to stay local rather than return to the parental home at the end of their course.“
For external organisations, Solent offers to pay a month’s salary if they take on a graduate: “We would welcome more businesses and organisations to come forward and take this up, as we know the calibre of our graduates stands out and they can make a real difference to businesses productivity and development.“
In just three years, eight Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) have been set up (using
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – JUNE 2013
funding from the Technology Strategy Board) with the goal of stimulating business innovation. Typically 40-50 weeks long but potentially up to three years, an associate paid largely from external funds works with an academic supervisor on a strategic company project to enhance products, processes or management systems. It’s another area where Solent knows it can develop links with businesses: “The KTP key is to start with businesses that have a real need for and commitment to innovation in areas that the university has expertise, not to start with the student or academic. We’re very pleased with how this is growing.“
Solent is launching its first Employability and Enterprise Awards this year, with six £5,000 awards aimed at recognising the outstanding achievements of students, graduates and staff.
“The awards reflect our priorities and are focused on key aspects of the University’s employability and enterprise policies, providing the winners with tangible rewards for their outstanding efforts. It’s about engaging staff and students, and we have had a lot of applications. The programme of awards reflects the University’s commitment to supporting and nurturing innovation and entrepreneurial drive among students, graduates and staff alike.“
With embedded work placements to boost their practical skills, a robust support mechanism for entrepreneurial students and a university culture of recognising and rewarding enterprise, it seems Solent graduates have a lot in their favour.
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