Working with Graduates to Grow your business, Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager, Advantage West Midlands
Author: Mike Musson
Last Updated: 2/9/2010 12:56:43 PM
Summary
Historically graduates and SMEs have not always been attracted to each other. SMEs lack the ‘perceived’ opportunities of blue-chip companies, while graduates can be seen as lacking in practical experience. However some SMEs are wising up to the fact that graduates have the potential to be a huge asset
Article
Graduates have a lot to offer, from fresh ideas and enthusiasm
to knowledge of the latest technologies. At the same time,
SMEs can expose graduates to a broader work environment and
general 'business' skills than may be gained from working in one
department in a corporate.
There is no shortage of high-quality graduates with ICT skills
in the West Midlands; with all 13 higher-education institutions
(HEIs) offering IT-focused degrees. The region also benefits from a
range of established projects aimed at helping to bring SMEs and
graduates together. Business Link West Midlands can provide
advice on the range of support available within specific areas.
One of the advantages of graduate employment is the scope for
both parties to trial each other before committing to a permanent
role through internships and work placements; around 60% of which
result in a job offer being made.
Advantage West Midlands funds Graduate Advantage which provides
training and support to graduates as well as co-ordinating work
placements with local businesses. By working with all the
regional Universities, they can match up companies in all sectors
of business with students from a wide range of disciplines.
With regional graduates facing a struggle to find employment and
SMEs looking to benefit from raw talent and lower costs of
graduates, the Government's Graduate Internship Programme, Graduate
Talent Pool may prove to be an attractive pull to keep graduates in
the region. Under the scheme participants receive a job seekers
allowance and so are 'free' to the company offering the
Internship.
Another scheme open to employers of all sizes is Knowledge
Transfer Partnerships (KTP) which enables graduates to work in a
company on a significant project for 40 weeks to 3 years whilst
also being supported by a local University. The number of
KTPs in the region has recently been increased from 70 to 210 over
the next three years. The University of Wolverhampton will
lead a consortium of all 13 of the regional universities.
Recruitment costs can be a potential turn-off for selecting
graduates however another AWM-funded scheme Grad Central currently
provides a full recruitment service whereby the first graduate is
recruited free and subsequent graduates cost just £500
each.
For the Advantage West Midlands ICT Cluster, retaining graduate
talent in the region is a high priority. With so much support
on offer, recruiting a graduate or offering a work placement can
help SMEs work through the hard times and help ensure the long term
success of the region.
The Author
Mike Musson has been ICT Cluster Manager
at Advantage West
Midlands since July 2006.
Previously Mike ran his own successful IT business so brings
valuable private sector experience and insight to the public sector
ICT Cluster initiative.
Mike and his team at the ICT Cluster are focused on
helping small-to-medium sized West Midlands businesses to become
more successful which in turn should help the region to become more
prosperous. The ICT Cluster runs a number of initiatives to reach
these goals including: increasing the number of businesses engaging
in innovation and undertaking R&D, assisting businesses to lock
into regional, national and EU funding programmes, accessing UKTI
support for international trade as well as running the ICT
Cluster Conference and ICT Excellence awards. The ICT Conference
attracted 420 participants last year making it the largest event of
its kind in the UK whilst the Awards have grown in prestige year on
year now recognised by the Technology Strategy Board sponsoring a
special award.
In addition, the ICT Cluster team have been instrumental in
setting up initiatives such as Accredit UK, Open Advantage, IT
Futures, West Midlands Mobile and Wireless and the UK IT
Association to encourage innovation and competitiveness among West
Midlands technology businesses.