Internships

An internship is a paid period of work experience. It lets your business hire a student or graduate that has access to knowledge and skills that you wouldn't find elsewhere.

Best of all, our Unitemps team provide a fully managed recruitment process to make sure you get the right candidate for the job.

Why internships?

Our internships are a proven success, with over 90% of our employers choosing to take their interns on as full-time employees.

• Advantages of an internship for employers:
• A great way to inject fresh ideas and new thinking into your business
• Drive the delivery of a short-term project
• They are a link with our university and access to our expertise and facilities
• Opportunity to give a student real life work experience and enhance the employability in your region

Funding to recurit interns

We have funding available* for businesses in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire to employ a Staffordshire University student or graduate interns. 

How does the funding work?

• Unitemps will place a student or graduate to your business via a 3-month internship.
• You will work closely with your Unitemps consultant to create an internship brief detailing the job description, hours required, location and rates of pay for the successful applicant.
• Each month you will receive a credit note with your funding discount applied.
• On the completion of the internship, you will have the opportunity to offer your intern a permanent contract with your business

Who can apply for funding?

Currently available to SMEs in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire.

• Only available for roles offering a minimum of 16 working hours per week.
• Open to specialist roles, such as the following: Web Development, Marketing, Engineering, Accounting, Mechanical Design, Specialist Administration, etc.

All applicants to complete a short form to confirm eligibility.

*Funding is subject to eligibility and until funds last.

Internship options

Virtual internships

Virtual internships are a great way for employers from all around the country to tap into high-calibre talent and skills at Staffordshire University. Not bound by the location of your office and geographical proximity to university, virtual interns can deliver tasks and projects for your business remotely through digital means.

Our digitally savvy students and graduates are equipped with the right digital and technical skills to work on projects in marketing, digital design, software engineering, data and so on.  

Making virtual internships work for your businesses

Some important things to consider when hiring an intern/placement student are:

• How and when you will communicate with each other. There are many online tools to help you, such as Skype, Microsoft Team and instant messaging.
• Providing line manager support and mentoring to help you and the intern create a positive experience.
• Any IT requirements such as access to resources, security and support.
• Your responsibilities as an employer, such as employment rights for the intern, payroll, holiday entitlements, liability insurance and health and safety for homeworkers.
• You’ll also find providing quality internships guidance on the Gov.uk site.

Graduate internships 

A graduate level position where a graduate works full-time for at least 12 weeks. After this period the employer has the option to take the candidate on permanently.

Student internships 

A part time position that is suitable for a current student working between 10 to 20 hours a week for at least 12 weeks. This position should relate to their area of study.

Who can apply?

Our internships are open to all Staffordshire based employers looking to inject ideas and fresh thinking into their business.