Praise for students’ internship programme
STUDENTS have been finding out what job opportunities are available locally thanks to an internship scheme being run by the city council and Leicester’s two universities.
The Leicester: Graduate City project places second-year university students with local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for a six-week internship. It is to provide employers with access to students’ skills, while students get the chance to experience the working environment and find out more about the range of opportunities on offer in Leicester and Leicestershire.
Thirty-seven students have just completed the first round of internships, where they were placed at businesses including a community radio station, a halal food delivery business, a textiles manufacturer and a legal firm.
Students were also placed in creative and educational services, logistics and distribution, a regeneration project and an organisation that helps to support Leicester’s diverse communities.
Asmaa Abdalla, 20, is studying MChem Chemistry with a year in industry at the University of Leicester. She was placed at Reactive Components Ltd. She said: “This was my first experience of the world of work.
“Being faced with new challenges, receiving problems to solve, and analysing the data after conducting new experiments are all things I have enjoyed during my internship. It was a great experience and I was lucky enough to be offered employment, so I am looking forward to working at my internship place at least until September.
“This internship has demonstrated there are great employment opportunities in Leicester.”
BA (Hons) contour fashion student Rhea Francois, 24, from De Montfort University, carried out her internship at textiles manufacturer Basic Premier Ltd.
She said: “I have been working on site, measuring and fitting garments, doing pattern amendments and using specialist software.
“I have enjoyed working in a fastpaced environment and meeting new people. Every day has been different so there has always been something for me to do which I have really enjoyed.
“I think that internships are very useful because they help to give a bigger picture of what jobs are out there for you in a certain industry. They also provide skills that you would not necessarily learn whilst studying.
“Staying in Leicester is something I will consider when I graduate now.”
The Leicester: Graduate City project will run until February 2023, offering a series of six-week internships for second-year students
It is a £1.6 million scheme partfunded by the European Social Fund (£840,000), with additional funding from Leicester City Council (around £309,000), De Montfort University (nearly £214,000) and the University of Leicester (nearly £317,000). Employers interested in joining can email: