Bhavisha Vanmali: Life after Uni – Industry experience essential
Bhavisha Vanmali is a Business & Marketing graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University who is currently a Research & Marketing intern at Barrs Court Engineering via a Step placement. After graduating, like most people I was still very unsure what I wanted to pursue as a career. I studied Business and Marketing which I really…
Universities and smaller businesses: a case of market failure or a failure in marketing?
On my first day as a Research Fellow at the then newly designated Nottingham Trent University, part of my overall staff induction included a pleasant hour with the University’s Industrial Liaison Officer, who excitedly told me that, “SMEs were the future” and that’s where I should focus efforts if I wanted to identify more placement…
Meetup: NottsProgs
Here at Step we are always looking for imaginative ways to engage with potential candidates for our roles, rather than relying on traditional advertising. Our job is to arrange internships and whilst we all have plenty of experience in doing this, we aren’t always experts in the technicalities of what our internships involve. With these…
Leon Pinnock: ‘No Mean Feat’
Leon Pinnock, a business studies graduate from Leeds Metropolitan University undertook an eight week placement at Silicone Engineering Ltd, a silicone manufacturer that supplies to a variety of industry sectors. The outcome of Leon’s project was to work alongside line managers contributing to the first step in the implementation of new performance management systems. This…
Charlotte Miller: Life after Uni & Step! Why more small businesses should be opening the floodgates
Sitting at the back of a mind numbingly dull evolution lecture in my second year of university I glanced around at my peers and thought to myself ‘what on earth am I going to do with my life?!’ Much to the disappointment of my tutor, I had already expressed my disdain at my prospects of…
Bethany Pickles: Sandwich Placements at Puma – More than just an intern

Our guest blog is written by Step candidate; Bethany Pickles, a Manchester Metropolitan Undergraduate currently undertaking a Merchandising Sandwich Placement at PUMA. During my second year at Manchester Metropolitan University where I am studying Fashion Buying and Merchandising, we had the option to start applying for placements for our third year studies. Placement year…
Skills and Buzzwords
When I graduated from my undergrad degree in 2009 I was very much that terrified graduate who didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. That’s why I applied to do a Masters degree next, in order to come up with ‘a plan’. When I graduated again in 2011 I still didn’t know,…
Paul Fleckney: Step Alumni Down Under
We love to hear from Step Alumni. With so many folk having participated in the Step Programme over the years, their personal stories provide a real insight in to how a short term placement can open up all sorts of graduate career pathways. Earlier this year, I was able to make contact with Paul Fleckney…
Laura Hussain: From intern to employer another Step success story!
Lara Husain studied Anatomy, Developmental and Human Biology BSc at King’s College London, and started her Step internship shortly after her final exams as she wanted to have experience of working full-time in an office environment. The role was to work in the King’s College London employer liaison team, talking to employers about the various…