Could your business benefit from the input of a talented Intern?
Today we are joined by Dr Zachary Hickman, Employer Engagement Coordinator, University of Aberdeen Careers Service as he tells us about the services available to local 
businesses, short of resource:
Elevator Founders benefitting from University of Aberdeen SME Internship scheme
The University of Aberdeen Careers Service spent an afternoon at Elevator recently speaking to Founders about the opportunities and benefits of taking part in our SME Internship scheme, and our Work-based Project initiative. 
2016 has been a great year for us in terms of developing new relationships with start-up organisations through the SME internship scheme, and the enthusiasm of Elevator in the facilitation of this has been rewarding for everyone. Very briefly, the SME Internship scheme is supported by Santander UK to develop relationships between Universities, SME organisations, and students/graduates. If a SME hired a University of Aberdeen student for 1 month, paid them £1000 p/m, then we offered £1000 towards the total salary cost, and if a SME hired a University of Aberdeen student or graduate for 3 months, paid them £1000 p/m, then we offered £1500 towards the total salary cost.
The SME Internship scheme is supported by Santander UK to develop relationships between Universities, SME organisations, and students/graduates. If an SME hired a University of Aberdeen student for 1 month and paid them £1000 p/m, we then offered £1000 towards the total salary cost, and if an SME hired a University of Aberdeen student or graduate for 3 months, paid them £1000 p/m, then we offered £1500 towards the total salary cost.
Out of 34 funded, or part-funded internships, a third of these were from start-up organisations, primarily as a result of us engaging with Elevator UK, which, amongst others, included:
- Hydro Energy & Technology. We offered a Subsea Energy System Designer internship, and a Mechanical Engineer internship.
- iSandBOX. We offered 2 Development/Production Engineer internships.
- Forte Music School. We offered a Social Media internship.
- Qpal. We offered a Marketing Analyst internship
- Rateyourgarage. We offered a Social Media/Film Development internship.
These are fantastic opportunities for students and graduates to experience rewarding roles within growing companies and fantastic for the business to tap into the talent resource available.
Feedback from the start-up organisations has shown benefits including:
- Having an extra pair of hands to undertake a project
- Having a fresh insight into their business development
- Accessing specific skills to develop their business
- Being able to develop a relationship with the University, its students and staff.
The relationship between ourselves, Elevator, and the Founders on Elevator's Accelerator Programme has been extremely rewarding and I look forward to working with them all in the future.
To find out more about the SME Internship scheme, please visit our web pages www.abdn.ac.uk/smeinternships (please note that the scheme is slightly different to last years), or email Zachary Hickman: z.hickman@abdn.ac.uk
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