On Wednesday 18^th January, The National Placement & Internship Awards, sponsored by PwC and supported by AGCAS and AGR, were attended by over 300 representatives from both the corporate and higher education world.

The event kicked off with the unveiling of the results from our recent First-Year Student Survey by our On-Campus Promotions team, followed by an incredibly inspiring and motivational key note speech from Olympian and former World Record Holder Steve Backley.

As a few of you have already requested, please see the industry facts and stats mentioned by Ollie during the Awards Ceremony.

You can also click on the link at the bottom of this post to view the presentation slides from the On-Campus Promotions session, ‘An Insight into Engaging with First-Year Students’.

Thanks,

The RMP Team

Ollie’s Facts & Stats of the Higher Education Industry: 

Where do we see the market heading?

In the UK last year there were 1.8 million full-time undergraduate students in higher education. 477,000 started in September, which interestingly is 5.6% up on last year’s stat. This year, with the increased tuition fees coming in for September 2012, UCAS have already seen 15% reduction in university applicants. How do we see this affecting the market?

Fewer students at universities will hit the institutions, and from reading through the 60+ university nominations across the 3 university categories, it’s overwhelming how much they are investing heavily in their employability agenda quoting figures in the tens and hundreds of millions of pounds. With fees rising so significantly, the return on investment from entering university to coming out of the other end is being increasingly scrutinised by students and parents. Therefore we personally see placements and internships playing a much greater role in academia, encouraged through:

• A rise in accredited work-based learning modules

• Increased resource and provision from the university

• Heightened awareness from students, and at an earlier stage

How are employers changing? The recent recession has taught most businesses to be more effective and justify every pound they spend. Across all our 200 clients, we see the average retention rates from undergraduate schemes to graduates is between 60 – 70%. This outlines how in the long term, attracting and retaining the best talent early can be a more successful and efficient form of recruitment. Anecdotally, we are seeing more and more companies engaging with the best talent earlier through starting and growing placement, internship and insight programmes and that’s reflected in our client base doubling in the past year.

Latest Graduate research from the article below in the Telegraph outlines:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/9005585/Graduate-job-competition-hots-up.html

“An extra 50,000 graduates are set to leave university this summer compared with five years ago”

“Employers have already received 19pc more graduate applications for roles compared with last year”

More than half of the recruiters warned graduates with no previous work experience had “little or no chance” of landing a job this year.

Specifically in the investment banking industry, 3 / 4 of investment bank graduate jobs will be taken by candidates who have completed industry placements.

More than a third of new graduate jobs this year will go to students who have already worked for the employer – a record high

In conclusion… All arrows point towards early identification, with placements, internships and insights becoming increasingly important…

-          to students needing to gain work experience before they graduate

-          to universities needing to differentiate themselves through their employability agenda to attract students

-          and to employers looking to recruit the best talent earlier, and most effectively

On-Campus Promotions Presentation Slides:

Please click on the link below to access the slides from the On-Campus Promotions session, ‘An Insight into Engaging with First-Year Students’ hosted by Ali Lindsay and Amber Jones.

An Insight into Engaging with First-Year Students – presentation slides

We are delighted to announce the Winners of the 2012 National Placement & Internship Awards!

The Awards, sponsored by PwC, took place yesterday at City University, London, and were attended by over 350 representatives from both the corporate and higher education world.

The event kicked off with the unveiling of the results from our recent First-Year Student Survey by our On-Campus Promotions team, followed by an incredibly inspiring and motivational key note speech from Olympian and former World Record Holder Steve Backley.

The Awards were then presented by RMP co-founders Oliver Sidwell and Chris Wickson, closing with the announcement of the 2012 ‘Best Placement & Internship Employer’. Congratulations go to Barclays Capital.

For a full overview of the day and to find out which employers, universities and students picked up the prizes, visit our Awards website via the link below.

Check back next week for photos and videos from the day too!

The RMP Team

*Order of Awards presented are as follow:

University Awards:

Best University placement / Careers Service: Brunel University (Highly Commended: University of Dundee). Most Improved Commitment to Employability: University of Birmingham Careers & Employability Centre University Personality of the Year: Jim Wood, Newcastle University (Highly Commended: Graham Kaye-Taylor, Brunel University)

Student Awards:

Best Placement student: Lillian Hiscox, Microsoft Best Intern: Sophie Petrie, HSBC Best Student Contribution to a Small to Medium-sized Enterprise: Michael Daniel McAllister, Buzzlines Travel Best University Society: University of Warwick History Society Best On-Campus Promotions Brand Manager: Amelia Marchant, University of Surrey

Employer Awards:

Best New Provider of Work Experience: Cooper Industries Best Short-term Insight Scheme: Linklaters (Highly Commended: Simmons & Simmons LLP) Best Diversity in Work Experience: Civil Service Fast Stream Best On-campus Marketing Campaign: The Royal Bank of Scotland Group/ThirtyThree (Highly Commended: Ernst & Young/SAS and PwC/ThirtyThree) Best Small or Medium-sized Enterprise: ProspectSoft Distinctive Contribution to Work Experience (Special Judges’ Award): Champions Life Academy Best Medium-sized Employer: SAP Best Placement & internship Employer (Headline Award): Barclays Capital

*Note – the last two Awards were based on student-written reviews from RateMyPlacement who have completed placements and internships

www.rmpawards.co.uk

Thanks to all our sponsors for supporting the National Placement & Internship Awards 2012

Nominations now open in the National Placement & Internships Awards 2012!

Wew are delighted to announce that nominations are now OPEN for the third National Placement & Internships Awards 2012, sponsored by PwC.

Due to be held on Wednesday 18^th January 2012 at City University in London, the Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of employers, universities and students within the world of undergraduate placements and internships.

There are 15 Awards up for grabs, including 7 Awards for employers, 3 for universities and 5 for students. Awards up for grabs include ‘Best Placement Student, Best Intern & Best Society’ with up to £1000 for the winners!

Entering is really quick and simple just visit the website at www.rmpawards.co.uk

And fill in a nomination form before the deadline of Friday 18^th November.

To find out more, click here.

Good luck!

Is University enough anymore?

As many students will be be graduating in the next few months, it seems they are joining a crop of graduates that are already struggling to secure employment. A common phrase you’ll hear from many of these students is.. “I seem to have missed this years crop, so I’m going to fill my time and try again next year…”. The article below, which sights RateMyPlacement as a great source for finding a Placement or Internship, an experience often leading to graduate employment, is named “Graduates: The forgotten generation”. The full feature, by Sam Barrett, can be viewed on Moneywise.

Graduates: The forgotten generation

It seems a degree is no longer a guarantee of a job: one in five graduates left university without a job in 2010, according to the Office for National Statistics. More worryingly, the unemployment rate among new graduates is increasing more rapidly than for the UK workforce as a whole.

Find an internship

Employers are increasingly using internships to cherry-pick candidates. There are thousands of these available, ranging from ‘open days’ to year-long placements. Oliver Sidwell, a founder of ratemyplacement.co.uk, says: “An internship can look very good on your CV and many employers will pick the majority of their graduate recruits from their interns.”

This is what happened to Kimberley Low, 21, from Hinckley in Leicestershire. Now in her third year of law at Oxford University, she had an internship with Linklaters at the end of the second year. As well as being paid £350 a week during the placement, Kimberley also bagged a training contract with the company.

Details of internships can be found through university careers services or by trawling the internet, with sites such as ratemyplacement.co.uk… full of the latest opportunities.

Tough times for young people

Kimberley says: “I applied as soon as details of internships became available at university and spent time making sure my CV and applications really stood out. The application process was pretty tough, with thousands of applicants being whittled down to 30 places. I would definitely recommend it, though. It’s a great way to compare different companies and I learnt so much about the legal profession from the experience.”

Kimberley’s tips for anyone looking to secure an internship are to prepare rigorously by finding out as much as possible about the organisation; show you’re well-rounded by including plenty of extracurricular and work experience on your application form; and be enthusiastic.

“Apply early too,” she adds. “Although the deadline may be months away, some firms, especially the smaller ones, will have filled their internships long before this date.” But not every internship is as positive as Kimberley’s, and horror stories abound of weeks spent making tea or filing for low or even no pay. This is particularly the case in competitive sectors such as the media and architecture.

Improve your Employability

If your reading the article thinking you need to secure a Placement or Internship… look no further! Visit our Jobs section for the lastest Placement and Internship vacancies.

Already secured your Placement or Internship? No problem… why not check out reviews from your peers? You can see what to expect from your Employer, as well as all the other stuff, such as the social life and cost of living! To view 5,000 reviews from students who have been there, done it, take a look at our review section.

The National Placement & Internship Awards

It is important to point out that Kimberley Low, mentioned in the article, was a winner of “Best Intern”, at the 2011, National Placement & Internship Awards. If you think you’ve got what it takes to win an Award, or to find out more, visit our Awards website here.

Kim managed to exceed all expectations during her 4 weeks at Linklaters and her knowledge, manner and quality of work was likened to that of an Associate rather than a Vacation Scheme student. Standing out in a programme full of good people makes her achievements even more fantastic, a worthy winner of the Best Intern Award.

Please leave your thoughts below, we’d love to hear from you! To view the full article, click here to visit Moneywise.

We are all aware of the high levels of graduate unemployment and the rising costs of attending university.

It’s not all bad though!  An article in Personnel Today discusses how important undergraduate work experience is, both for students and employers. Maria Floud, senior graduate recruitment manager at accountancy firm Grant Thornton, states that the increase in university fees is making employers reflect on their schemes and realise how important it is to attract students from an earlier age.

“The internship model used as a key pipeline to the graduate programme is very successful. We recently won the ‘Best Placement and Internship’ award by Rate My Placement, due to the focus we put on ensuring this programme to find great talent earlier on.”

Congratulations to Grant Thornton and thanks for our mention – hopefully this will give employers and students the oomph and encouragement to undertake a placement or internship scheme  :)

If you’re a student there is still time to grab a placement or internship this summer so check out the opportunities on http://www.ratemyplacement.co.uk/search

We are also interested to hear your thoughts so drop us a line with your comments below.

Thanks,

The RateMyPlacement Team

The video of the 2011 National Placement & Internship Awards is here!

The awards, held at Cass Business School on Thursday 20th January, recognised the outstanding achievements of employers, universities and students. With over 200 attendees from the world of graduate recruitment, higher education as well as talented students from the top universities, the event was a huge success.

Take a look at the Video below to see just how good they were! A special thanks goes to the guys at Career Player, it’s a great reflection of the day!

With 14 Awards in total across all stakeholders, the Awards were presented to those who have demonstrated their outstanding achievements in the world of placements and internships…

Click on the button below to find out who took home the Awards…

The winners of the 2011 National Placement & Internship Awards have been announced!

In front of a packed auditorium at Cass Business School on Thursday 20th January, the outstanding achievements of employers, universities and students were celebrated, with over 200 attendees from the world of graduate recruitment, higher education as well as talented students from the top universities.

The morning saw the official launch of our new  On-Campus Promotions venture, with Ali and Alana running an interactive and engaging session around the results from our first Undergraduate Engagement Survey. The ‘ask the audience’ style electronic pads in the audience sparked some interesting results to say the least! More information on this, plus the results of our survey, will be available later this week.

After the break our Key Note Speaker, Zain Latif, explained how his internship experiences helped him become the youngest VP at a major investment bank, and Oliver Sidwell, Co-Founder of  RateMyPlacement.co.uk ran the Awards Ceremony itself.

With 14 Awards in total across all stakeholders, the Awards were presented to those who have demonstrated their outstanding achievements in the world of placements and internships…

Click on the button below to find out who took home the Awards…

The deadline for ALL entries and nominations for the National Placement & Internship Awards 2011 is this Friday 19th November!

Have you exceeded expectations and genuinely made a significant impact to your team, department or business as a whole on your placement or internship? Do you fancy winning £250, enhancing your CV and increasing your employability in the future?

If so we want to hear from you!

Friday 19^th November is the deadline for all entries and nominations for the National Placement & Internship Awards 2011 sponsored by Pwc! This is a fantastic opportunity to be recognised and rewarded for your excellent contribution whilst on placement and/or internship!   To enter, download a nomination form from:

www.ratemyplacementawards.co.uk

Student Awards include:

• Best Placement Student (£250 prize) Sponsored by Accenture
• Best Intern (£250 prize) Sponsored by Lloyds TSB
• Best Student Contribution to Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (£250 prize)
• Best University Society(£1000 prize) Sponsored by UBS

With the deadline for all entries and nominations only a few days away, don’t miss out on your chance to win an Award at the National Placement & Internship Awards 2011!  Visit the website below for more details:

There are also three Awards to recognise the outstanding contribution, support and advice which Universities provide to students in their search for work experience.  These include:

• Best University Placement or Careers Service Sponsored by M&S
• The University with a Forward Thinking Attitude to Work-Based Learning
• University Personality of the year

You can nominate for one or all of the Awards available so don’t miss out on your chance to win!

Good luck

If you have any questions about the National Placement & Internship Awards, please feel free to contact:

Lizzie Brock on 0207 824 5249 / lizzie@ratemyplacement.co.uk

Friday 19th November is the deadline for ALL nominations and entries for the National Placement & Internship Awards 2011, sponsored by pwc!

Due to be held on the 20th January at Cass Business School, London, the Awards are set to be bigger and better in 2011, celebrating the outstanding achievements contributed by employers, universities and students in work placements and internships in the UK today.

There are 14 Awards on offer so make sure you submit a nomination today and reward those who deserve some recognition for their invaluable contributions in the work place!

With only two weeks to go until the deadline for ALL Award nominations, make sure you check out the website to download an application form at  www.ratemyplacementawards.co.uk/enter

Calling all students!

Do you fancy winning £1000 for your society?

We have a fantastic £1000 prize for the winners of the ‘Best University Society’ Award.  We are looking for the university society that goes above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to encouraging their members to gain invaluable work experience and employability skills.

There are several other Awards up for grabs including:

• Best Placement Student – win £250! Sponsored by Accenture
• Best Intern – win £250!
• Best University Placement or Careers Service Sponsored by M&S

To find out more on the 14 Awards available and to make a nomination, visit www.ratemyplacementawards.co.uk/enter

Good luck and we look forward to reading all your nominations

The RateMyPlacement Team