Graduate Placements - Knowledge Trahsfer Partnerships Undergraduate Placements - Shell Stop
Graduate Placements - Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) is a UK-wide programme enabling businesses to improve their competitiveness, productivity and performance.
A KTP achieves this through the formation of a Partnership between your business and an academic institution (such as a university, further education college or research and technology organisation), enabling you to access skills and expertise to help your business develop.
The knowledge sought is embedded into the business through a project, or projects, undertaken by a recent graduate (known as the Associate) and specifically recruited to work on that project.
KTPs can vary in length from 1 to 3 years (classic KTP) and from 10-40 weeks (shorter KTP), depending on the needs of the business and the desired outcomes. KTP is part-funded by a Government grant. The budget for any individual KTP, and a business contribution to it, depends on the details of the specific Partnership.
A small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) having less than 250 employees would be expected to contribute about a third of the costs involved in the project. A business that does not qualify as an SME or which has more than 250 employees would contribute around half of a long-term strategic project’s costs and around two-thirds of a short-term tactical project’s costs.
Currently, average annual full costs for a long-term strategic project are around £60,000, and the weekly cost for a short-term tactical project (10-40 weeks) is around £1,000.
This contributes to the costs of the Knowledge Base Supervisor and the Associate employment and development. Your contribution not only gives you the services of your KTP Associate but also the time and expertise of the academics or researchers working with you. In the case of a long-term strategic KTP, it also provides expert guidance from a KTP Adviser.
KTP may not be appropriate for every business. Very small businesses, or very recent start-ups, may not have the capacity to provide support for the KTP Associate or the resources to commit to the project. A business also needs to be able to show that it is financially viable for the period of the KTP and this will be discussed in the early stages.
For further details, click here.
Undergraduate Placements - Shell Step
There are a variety of internal undergraduate placement schemes available and the majority of universities will have Placement Officers responsible for overseeing them.
One of the best external placement schemes is provided by Shell Step and has been designed to help SMEs to tackle those important projects which they may identified some while ago but may not have had the time or staff to tackle them as yet.
Undergraduates, often in their penultimate year of full time study, are recruited to work at your premises on a project over an 8 to 12 week period during July and August. Typically they will already be living in the area or have returned home for the summer holidays. This means that they might be from a regional university or from a university elsewhere in the country.
Shell Step helps to identify and recruit the UK’s brightest undergraduates, finds the right person for the specific structured project(s) and matches them with the specific needs of SME’s, introducing fresh ideas and new skills, technologies or processes into their businesses. The achievements for both the businesses and the graduates are amazing with results often initiating a real step change in their business.
The typical cost to the company is £210 per week (with no tax or NI involvement). In addition, there may be a small administration fee of up to £250 per placement, per company.
Projects need to be realistic and achievable within the 8 to 12 week timescale and can range from IT/accountancy systems, designing and implementing web sites, ISO, H & S, designing company literature, marketing, engineering/mechanical, environmental audits etc. You identify the project and Shell Step will work with you to match those skills required to complete that project with the right undergraduate.
Successful or innovative projects can be submitted to regional or National competitions, bringing additional positive publicity for the business and the student. Many companies are so pleased with the results that they offer their Step students further employment.
For further details of Shell Step success stories, please click here.
Richard Wheeler