It’s hard work

DR JOANNA BERRY is a director of engagement at Newcastle University Business School. The business school boasts that 98 per cent of its students find a job within six months of leaving.

It also has a dedicated placements officer whose responsibility is to find students internships in the real world of work.

Dr Berry says a good degree is regarded only as “ground zero”, with students being encouraged to make themselves more employable by adding various skills.

“It is extremely challenging out there for all our students and it is never more important that they have employability skills, and that is built into our programmes right from the start.

“We have organised placements with the likes of Microsoft and L’Oreal, where students are given responsibility for launching products themselves.

“We also bring in employers so they can tell our students what is expected of them when they interview.

“We talk to employers a lot and we understand what they want. They are looking for students who have not only got a good degree, but may have shown leadership qualities or other attributes.

“Employers tell us that it is frustrating in the extreme when they interview a young candidate and find, for example, that they have not researched the company or have not presented themselves very well.

“The unemployment figures that we see today for any undergraduate or sixth form student are startling and will give them huge food for thought.

“It is not good enough now to come out with solely a degree, because that is not going to give you something better than thousands of students already have.”

JAMES RAMSBOTHAM is chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), which describes itself as the region’s largest independent apprenticeships provider.

Mr Ramsbotham says the organisation has campaigned long and hard to help more businesses access the “countless benefits”

associated with the recruitment of young apprentices and welcomes moves to boost numbers.

“The issue for many small to medium-sized businesses has not been a lack of desire to take on apprentices, quite the contrary,” he says.

“The reluctance was mainly down to the often misguided perception that it is a timeconsuming, costly and bureaucratic process to negotiate. We work hard to ensure apprentice recruitment is as painless as possible for firms.

“Apprenticeships are an ideal way of addressing key business needs and recruiting and developing a highly-skilled workforce that can be moulded to meet individual needs.

“They bring considerable value to employers, individuals and the economy as a whole.

“NECC currently has its highest number of employed apprentices in training in two years, which represents a 30 per cent increase over the past year.

“For many companies, apprenticeships are a critical way of training young people and adults to fill specific roles within their organisations, helping both the individual and business develop together.

“Removing red tape, making education more accessible and flexible and covering a percentage of the costs of an apprenticeship will not only help boost workforce skills levels, but also help address the worrying rise in youth unemployment.”

NICK RICHARDSON has been out of work six months and is signing on at his local job centre.

Mr Richardson, 21, from Darlington, left the University of Central Lancashire over the summer with a 2:1 degree in sports journalism, but says it has been difficult to find any kind of job.

“I have been applying for any sort of job I can get. The problem is I have applied for traineeships in broadcast journalism, but have been told that because I have got a degree I am too skilled,” he says.

“Then, when I’ve applied for proper jobs, I am too inexperienced. It feels like I am in limbo.

“I have applied for 15 to 20 jobs and seven or eight of those have been in journalism.

“I’ve also applied to Royal Mail, who have offered me some work just over Christmas, Marks and Spencer, Coral Bookmakers, the police, and a call centre.

“It is very much a sign of the times at the moment.

Everyone is making cuts.

“My long-term aim is to be a broadcast journalist, but given the current circumstances out there, I will work for any number of employers, a call centre or a shop perhaps, just to get full-time work.

“It is very disappointing that I have found myself in this situation, especially when my family have supported me through university and helped with finances and stuff.”

PAUL OLDRIDGE is regional director of construction firm Southdale, which has been behind mixed housing projects across the North and the Midlands worth more than £250m. It has 21 apprentices across two sites in Darlington and Loftus, east Cleveland, and is looking for more.

“Businesses have a moral and commercial obligation to take on apprentices and young people from within the communities in which they operate,” he says. “It is vital new blood is brought into our country’s industries, otherwise we will reach a point where there are huge skills shortages.

“This has been a particular issue in the construction sector in recent years, so we see it as vital that young people are employed, trained and nurtured to become the workforce of tomorrow.”