Step and Social Mobility
Set up in the late 1980s by Shell, the original Step programme existed to provide paid summer placements for STEM students in smaller businesses. Originally supported by government and granted both business funding and skills-based funding, a network of partners (including universities and business links) administered the programme. Students applied to be a part of…
Tackling the problems head-on – Internship Case Study
Anastasia is an Anthropology student at Durham University. Over the summer she completed a Market Research Internship with a leading provider of technical training and consultancy services to a range of industries. Anastasia was tasked with completing a research project which aimed to provide more insight into how various target-audience companies were approaching training. This…
What students and new graduates can do for you.
A question we are often asked here at Step is “what can students and graduates actually do?” It’s a good question as it’s not always apparent from their actual course of study. Many of our internships have completed valuable and substantial projects; below are just some examples showing the breadth and diversity of what Step…
Manchester City Council’s Paid Internship Programme Brings Success
Manchester City Council has worked with Step for a number of years on their undergraduate summer internship programme. For the past two years the Council’s Policy, Partnerships and Research service has taken on two students for 12 week internships to assist with research projects around developing the evidence base for the city’s economic growth. This…
Students See Success with the Isle of Man Step Programme
The Isle of Man government run an annual undergraduate Step programme with businesses local to the area. This year saw 29 businesses host students in a variety of positions. If you’re interested in the Isle of Man Step Programme and want more information please visit: https://www.gov.im/categories/working-in-the-isle-of-man/step-programme/ Last month the Isle of Man Department of Economic…
Management Buyout at Step – the Student and Graduate Internship People
In November 2017 I became the owner of Step, after working here for the last five years of my twenty year recruitment career. It was a very proud moment for me, in the past five years I’ve developed a passion for the work we do at Step. Helping smaller businesses connect with talented students and…
Figures From The House of Commons BAME Internship Programme
After a long and very competitive application and interview process, the recruitment has been completed on the House of Commons 12-month internship programme and we’re delighted to announce that three students have successfully been appointed, with start dates targeted for November. Aim of the House of Commons Programme The aim of the programme was…
“Why use Step when my local Uni will do everything for free?”
“My local University offers businesses a free service, why should I pay for yours?” This is a question we sometimes hear at Step, and on the face of it, it’s a reasonable question, particularly when European funding is available to take students and graduates from Universities. But what of the many small to medium sized…
The perils of beige job adverts
This Step business blog is a counterpoint to our student-focused blog ‘The perils of beige applications’. At Step we spend a significant part of every day advising candidates and providing feedback on all aspects of their applications. As part of this we guide them on how to avoid a lot of the pitfalls and common…
Paying interns – why does it even matter?
A recent poll conducted by Step found that 41% of respondents believe work experience is the most important asset in being able to secure a graduate job. So if a company is willing to offer this valuable experience and a young person is willing to complete the work and not get paid then everyone’s a…