Almost three quarters of TalentScotland Graduate Placements result in permanent employment

Since its launch in October 2010, almost three quarters of graduates that have completed the TalentScotland Graduate Placement Programme have secured permanent jobs as a result of their paid work experience with a Scottish company.

Over the last two years, 235 individual companies have employed 355 graduates to accelerate their business growth, with graduates working on specific growth project placements.

The Scotland-wide TalentScotland Graduate Placement Programme matches skilled graduates with growing Scottish businesses to implement innovative projects which the companies would otherwise not be able to progress.

The projects are designed to benefit the company’s growth plan, with graduates undertaking projects to design and develop a new product, adapt products for overseas markets, introduce new processes and systems for the company, undertake marketing and market research, create a new website or online presence for the company, target new international markets, and improve environmental management for business benefit.

As a result of these placements, 112 graduates have completed their company growth placements, with 73% securing a permanent job, with either their host company or a different company, as a direct result of the programme’s work experience. There are currently 243 graduates on active placements, with the expectation that a similar percentage will find jobs on completion.

Lena Wilson, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, said on behalf of all programme partners, “Across the public and private sector, we all have a responsibility in these tough economic times to seek innovative ways of creating employment opportunities, especially for our young people who are the business leaders of tomorrow.

“With the Graduate Placement Programme, not only are we seeing jobs created as a result of placements, but the companies themselves are reaping the benefits of having fresh talent in their organisation to drive growth for Scotland’s economic benefit.

“Although almost three quarters of our graduates have secured a permanent job with their host company, we believe that an additional 20% of graduates have secured a permanent job with a different company. This would mean almost all of our graduates are in employment at the end of their placement, which is exactly what we wanted this programme to achieve.

“In the near future, we’ll also be opening the programme to HNC and HND graduates for placements. This is in direct response to companies asking for practical, as well as theoretical, skills from graduates to work on their growth projects.”

Minister for Youth Employment Angela Constance said, “We have put record levels of investment into opening up opportunities for our young people to improve their chances of finding employment. We also know that meaningful, high quality work experience equips them with the skills and experience they need to find sustainable employment. It is fantastic to see the success of this initiative in helping our young people to gain the valuable work experience needed to enter the labour market and move on to further success.”

Ambitious growth companies across Scotland work closely with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to create these business growth projects that graduates can work on, offering them vital real-life work experience which is often critical in today’s competitive jobs market.

One company that hosted a graduate recently is Edinburgh Tea & Coffee Company. Established in 1991, the business offers a range of coffees selected by the company's master roasters using the finest coffee beans from around the world to retail, food service, gift and export markets. In addition to the TalentScotland Graduate Placement Programme assistance, Scottish Enterprise also supports the company through its account management approach.

David Greig, Managing Director of Edinburgh Tea & Coffee Company, said, "We needed a graduate to focus on a specific project which would secure for the company the third party food accreditation of SALSA (Safe And Local Supplier Approval). This is now becoming a requirement of trading with key customers and underpins the high quality nature of our products.

"A graduate with a scientific background was required for the purposes of this project, and Matt had the relevant skills on paper. After interviewing a few graduates put forward and screened by TalentScotland, I appointed Matt based on his qualifications and interview performance.

"The project is now completed, with the real benefit to the company being that we can now bid for other new business, which will help us grow. Matt's placement finishes at the end of November, and I'm delighted to say that we'll be keeping him on as a member of staff. In fact, we're now training him to become a tea and coffee taster - a highly specialised role which I believe Matt will do well in."

Matt Collier, Graduate Quality Control Administrator for Edinburgh Tea & Coffee Company commented, “Through my TalentScotland placement at the Edinburgh Tea & Coffee Company, I have gained skills and experience in food safety, buying, production management, quality control, and most importantly, how to taste tea and coffee!

“When I started there was a steep learning curve and I had to hit the ground running, but it has been a fantastic opportunity to learn from the experience of a Managing Director such as David Grieg, in a small successful business in Scotland.”