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ITWales' Student and Graduate Placement season kicks off

Pan-Wales business and technology think-tank, ITWales, is on the look out for companies to take part in its 2008 Student and Graduate Placement Scheme.

The ITWales scheme offers talented computing or ICT undergraduates and graduates the opportunity to work with Welsh SMEs for 10 weeks, helping to forge an ongoing partnership between education and industry in Wales.

Since 1993, ITWales has placed more than 700 computing students, with around 62 per cent going into full time employment in Wales as a direct result. Swansea-based web development company, NetBop Technologies, has employed four full-time students through the programme, a result Managing Director, Andrew Downie, is extremely pleased with: "ITWales' placement scheme has provided us with the perfect formula for finding new IT recruits right on our doorstep. With students and graduates they are young, ambitious and keen to learn - so it becomes a very easy working relationship from the off. The scheme is certainly comparable with any recruitment company we have used out there but this way you're guaranteed a worker with bundles of enthusiasm and drive. The former placements are now an integral part of the business and contribute at a higher level to the development and growth of the business."

ITWales Director, Beti Williams, started the placement scheme in 1993 in response to the "brain drain" from Wales. The scheme was the first of its kind and was so successful that it led to the creation of a multi-disciplinary scheme called Cymru Prosper Wales in 1995, which is now known as GO Wales. ITWales now operates the placement scheme under contract with GO Wales, but is the only organisation that specialises in a particular discipline.

ITWales Placement Co-ordinator, Liz Nash, believes a lot of small businesses aren't aware of the benefits that a student placement can bring: "Because of our strong links with academia, ITWales has a tremendous pool of talent with lots of skills and a variety of experience that's just itching to be tested in a real business environment. However, a lot of businesses think it's going to be a lot of hard work for them, and don't understand the wider skills that students are taught in universities meaning they can be dropped in as a useful extra member of staff almost immediately.

"Many also consider 6-10 weeks too long, and they have to pay too much. In actual fact, if they are an SME they can qualify for significant subsidies, so if they want a technology project completed in 10 weeks, they can get it done for a fraction of the cost of outsourcing to a company."

ITWales Director Beti Williams further adds: "The Welsh Assembly Government is driving for a Knowledge Economy and the ethos of the ITWales placement scheme supports that. We encourage the development of business in Wales by nurturing both SMEs and students, and encouraging the retention of home taught talent. The Welsh Assembly Government sees the creative and technology industries as key growth areas but to prosper it is imperative we continue to develop links between business and academia. We are producing a high calibre of computing and ICT students year on year and what we don't want is for businesses to miss out on opportunities that could give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace."

ITWales works with a number of universities across Wales, including Swansea, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Aberystwyth, Swansea Metropolitan and UWIC. For more information on the placement scheme and how to qualify for a SME subsidy, please contact ITWales on 01792 295881 or email placements@itwales.com.

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