Businesses in Lincolnshire now have the opportunity to access high level graduate skills for short to medium term work placements thanks to a new initiative funded by Lincolnshire Enterprise.

Running between February 2009 and January 2010, a specialist graduate work placement service, developed exclusively for Lincolnshire’s businesses, will be delivered by HotProspects, the East Midlands Graduate Recruitment Service. With the support of Lincolnshire Enterprise, all the associated recruitment costs for the work placements will be completely grant-funded for an initial period - all employers have to find is the salary negotiated for the graduate placements.

Elizabeth Wilson, HotProspects’ Project Manager for Lincolnshire, commented. ”The programme has been developed exclusively for Lincolnshire in response to research carried out with employers, students and graduates.  It will support first year higher education students and new graduates by providing opportunities for short-term temporary placements within Lincolnshire’s businesses. The real bonus is that it will also meet the needs of students to gain practical or vocational experience, whilst giving businesses access to higher level skills.”

Andrew Thurston, Chief Executive of Lincolnshire Enterprise, said, “Recruitment costs associated with employing a graduate can often be prohibitive, so by funding these costs for an initial work placement we hope that many more businesses will benefit from tapping into Lincolnshire’s graduate resource. We are sure that this programme will make a measurable change in employers’ attitudes towards employing our local graduates to help ensure they stay and work in Lincolnshire into the future.”

Lincolnshire-based company Quest Computer Systems know exactly how hard it can be to access higher level skills. Lorraine Bellis, a partner at Quest, commented, “As a small business we need to access highly skilled talent on a project-by-project basis. Structured placements allow graduates or students to get stuck into a project from start to finish. Placements also let graduates be a part of our business during the project, which is something you don’t get using other temporary resources.”

The ultimate aim of the programme is to improve the retention of graduates in Lincolnshire by increasing the number of organisations employing higher skilled staff from the graduate population.

Any businesses interested in the work placement programme and would like to discuss recruiting for a short to medium term student or graduate resource, should get in touch with HotProspects on 0845 450 5460.