Leicestershire employers are invited to find out how IT placement students could benefit their business at an event being held at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) next week.

The event will take place on Tuesday 25 May in the University's new, state-of-the-art Hugh Aston Building and is part of the national scheme e-skills internship - the professional placement programme.

The scheme is organised by e-skills UK, the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology, and was designed with input from universities and employers to ensure students gain the vital skills and knowledge needed in the workplace to enhance their future employment prospects.

The Placement Unit in the University's Faculty of Technology organises the internships for DMU students taking part in the programme.

Suki Clayer, Placement Manager at the unit, said: "There are many benefits to welcoming an e-skills placement student into your business.

"They can provide invaluable assistance on short term projects which require talented individuals who aren't busy with day-to-day duties within the company and it gives you the opportunity to evaluate them as potential employees over an extended period.

"This event will give people a chance to find out more about the scheme and to meet some of the students and employers who are involved."

The internships are clearly structured, with roles and responsibilities defined for employers, students and universities.

Employers who helped to develop the scheme include British Airways, CA, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, IBM and Network Rail.

The event takes place between 9.15am and 2pm and those who are interested in attending should contact Alpa Devani by email at adevani@dmu.ac.uk or by calling 0116 257 7087.