The Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology

Information for Students

Better employability skills help new graduates stand out from the crowd – this is the message of e-
skills UK’s recent survey of employers. Soft skills and business awareness are most in demand, with
employers valuing those who can work in teams, communicate well and understand the effect of their
actions on the wider organisation.

While many higher education courses now help develop these skills, it is widely acknowledged that
student placements are the best way to perfect them. Yet in recent years the number of students
choosing to take placements has almost halved, with fewer than 20% of recent IT graduates having
now participated in some form of placement experience. e-skills UK is working with the support of
employers to reverse this trend and within 5 years aims to raise levels to match those of Europe1
which average 55%.

The e-skills internship is a new scheme developed by employers and universities to facilitate best
practice, boost participation numbers and provide employers with an excellent route to the strongest
graduates. The scheme has enjoyed huge success and proved extremely popular since its launch in
2009, and is already supported by over 30 universities and 200 participating employers.

As a tried and tested framework, the e-skills internship is simple for students to implement and
complements whatever schemes are offered by your university. The straightforward requirements
include submitting monthly work summaries signed off by your employer, and a standardised
employer-defined final report. Employers of all sizes work with e-skills UK on a continuous basis to
ensure that the programme always reflects the most relevant employability skills requirements.

Employers are required to pay £100 per intern, per year to support the scheme, advertise their
vacancies and maintain a national website. Registered students gain a recognised certificate of
employability on successful completion.

You can get more details at www.e-skills.com/internship or register at www.e-skillscommunity.com.

We will then ensure that your employer is willing and able to meet the needs of this national scheme.

Further details are available overleaf.

1
‘The employment of UK graduates: comparisons with Europe’ Report to HEFCE by Centre for Higher Education Research
and Information, The Open University. 2008. http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/rdreports/2008/rd22_08/rd22_08_1.pdf
What’s special about the e-skills internship?
The e-skills internship is defined by employers, supported by government, encouraged by universities and valued by students.
As a national employer led scheme, this means that students who have taken the e-skills internship will have significant
advantages over those on other placement schemes.
The e-skills internship provides a conduit of the best students to employers.
The certificate demonstrates that emphasis has been placed on enhancing specific employability skills that are required by
employers.

What is the e-skills internship?

It’s a certificate of Best Practice. By registering with the scheme, your university, your employer and you are committing to follow
a set of best practices defined by employers. More importantly your employer will be helping you enhance your employability skills
– these are skills that you can’t learn in the classroom. You will be assured of a structured placement with regular reviews and, on
successful completion, you’ll receive a certificate defined by employers for employers.

I’ve heard this is important for the National Skills Academy for IT. What’s that?
In recognition of your achievements and to emphasise the significance of the e-skills internship, you will be eligible to sign up with
the National Skills Academy for IT. This is a brand new venture funded by government to reflect the needs of employers. Don’t
worry about this yet but it will be important after you graduate and develop your career. The important thing is that the e-skills
internship gives credit against this IT professional scheme. It means you have a head start over other computing graduates.

Will I automatically get a certificate after registering?

Not necessarily though we hope the majority of those registered will receive certificates. Certificates are only issued to those
students who successfully complete the placement and whose employer and university feel that they are deserving of the award.
So what do you need to do to pass?
• It’s all about interpersonal skills, communication skills and business awareness so you will be working with your employer to
enhance these. Remember that these are the skills employers are looking to develop. They thought up this scheme to help
you!
• Each month you complete a short form (one page, online) on your achievements over the month. You then upload the report
on the internship website and your manager signs it off.
• As you talk with your line manager, you decide on your goals for the month and they advise you on the best way to meet your
learning outcomes.
• At the end of the year, you both fill in a single page summary sheet. And that’s it!
In exceptional cases, employers and universities can nominate students who should receive a special “with distinction” award. They
can also flag failures!

I’m already taking a placement, can I upgrade to the e-skills internship

Yes. You need the support of your university and your employer but we will help. All you need do is register at http://www.e-
skillscommunity.com/ and we will do the rest.

Does it cost me anything?

No but there is a charge to your employer of £100 which e-skills UK will sort out with your employer. You don’t need to do
anything on the financial side. e-skills UK is a not for profit organisation so money received for the scheme gets put back into
networking events and promotional activities.

What is required to join the e-skills internship?

Just sign up at http://www.e-skillscommunity.com/ and we will do the rest.

Isn’t it a lot of extra work?

No, not at all. In fact many universities have built the e-skills internship into their scheme. Without realising it, your employer will
have been helping to make sure that you meet the learning outcomes of the scheme ensuring that you get the most out of your
year in industry. If it’s not part of a built in scheme then you just have those monthly forms – not much effort for an employer-
endorsed certificate. It will take you a long way!

I’m not doing a Computing degree – is it still relevant?

Yes, definitely. 50% of the students on the scheme at IBM are on non-Computing degrees. It’s all about interpersonal skills,
communication skills and business awareness. You don’t need computing experience to register on this scheme. But the e-skills
internship will make it much easier to get into a career in IT.

Challenge us?
Still not convinced? Please send your questions to the e-skills internship team at internship@e-skills.com.

© Copyright e-skills UK Sector Skills Council Ltd 2000-2010