New £250,000 graduate placement scheme launched

A new £250,000 project will enable University of Wolverhampton graduates to secure valuable experience working in Spain and the Netherlands.

Graduates will spend 12 weeks working in companies ranging from engineering and construction to event management and IT firms.

Funding for the scheme, which aims to enhance the graduates’ employability, has been provided by the Leonardo Lifelong Learning Mobility programme.

Thirty Wolverhampton graduates will be placed in Seville in Spain while a further 35 graduates will spend time in The Hague, in the Netherlands.

The University has run successful placement schemes in the Netherlands before with funding from Leonardo da Vinci programme, an EU initiative to support education and training.

Helene Turley, Employer Engagement Manager, said: “This scheme will enable graduates to gain valuable experience working in a different European country on various exciting projects. For our graduates, this is an opportunity to develop important employability skills which will stand them in excellent stead when they go on to seek employment, whether that is in the UK or overseas.

“Graduates who have completed previous placements have reported back that it has enabled them to experience a different way of life and culture, while gaining work experience and learning another language.”

The Developing Employability and Mobility Skills for the UK Unemployed project, based in the Netherlands, is worth almost €163,000 (approx. £131,000) while the Developing European Employability Skills, in Spain, is worth nearly €138,000 (approx. (£111,000).

The project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

Wolverhampton graduates can contact the Careers and Employment Centre on 01902 32 3400