Students get business start-up

A group of students from the University of Edinburgh and Heriot Watt University yesterday held the first event of its kind in the UK dedicated to giving practical advice on how to get hired by a business start-up.

Start|ed said it aims to give students the skills and connections to get work experience in a start-up, as the event brought together about 75 students from Edinburgh’s universities with entrepreneurs from Scottish start-ups, scaleups and incubators.

The event – at Skyscanner’s offices in Quartermile One Edinburgh – was organised by students who see start-ups as dynamic and innovative working environments away from the templates of Big Business

It came amid apparent growing dissatisfaction with corporate culture among recent graduates, with a survey by the Institute of Student Employers saying that a total of one in six dropped out of a graduate scheme in 2017. That was up from a 9 per cent dropout rate in 2016.

Ellie Jarvie, a 3rd year business student at the University of Edinburgh, said: “As a student we only hear from companies that can afford to throw money at advertising their graduate schemes.

“We want to show students that working 9am to 9pm for a huge corporation is not the only option, and that by connecting students to start-ups there is a way out of this box.”

Colin Hewitt, chief executive and founder of the cloudbased cash management and forecasting tool Float, commented: “It’s so vital for the startup community in any city to have great connections to the universities and colleges.

“It’s a two-way stream for companies engaging with talented graduates – and for students finding jobs locally and not having to look elsewhere.”