Graduate placement scheme

A scheme aimed at placing more graduates into the low-carbon vehicle and marine energy industries has been launched by the government.

The minister of state for higher education, David Lammy, announced the creation of the Low Carbon Future Leaders placement scheme, as apart of an initiative to give 1,500 graduates an opportunity to gain paid work experience in sectors that will provide future jobs.

Lammy said: ‘Our young people are key to the UK’s future success in winning the jobs of the future, which is why we have created the Future Leaders initiative. This will give graduates opportunities in a fast growing and increasingly important industry, improving their future job prospects while providing businesses with their specialist knowledge and skills.

‘Backing Young Britain is not just a response to the recession but an investment in our future. This is why we launched the Graduate Talent Pool, matching graduates to more than 5,000 internships, and announced 47,000 new jobs for young people as part of the Future Jobs Fund.

'We also made an additional 10,000 university places available this year for STEM subjects to ensure we continue to provide highly skilled individuals for these sectors.’

The Low Carbon Future Leaders programme will work alongside the Graduate Talent Pool matching service, which provides more than 5,000 internships and as well as 24,000 additional postgraduate places supported by the Professional and Career Development loans next year.

The initiative is part of the Backing Young Britain campaign that is providing funding of £40m for new internships and work placements for graduates and 10,000 places for non-graduates.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is currently working with universities and regional partners to establish the best way of implementing the programme.