Sponsored degrees
The Guru, sage in the ways of work, will guide you over the river of doubt to the mountain of truth. Or tell you about sponsorship through uni, whichever you prefer…
What is sponsorship?
Sponsorship is an arrangement between a student and an employer. The student gets money, work experience and often the possibility of a job after graduation, while the employer feeds on the ideas of a bright, fresh student and if all goes to plan needs to spend less time and money on recruiting fresh graduates as they have a ready seasoned student ripe for employment. Everyone wins!
The advantages
Sponsorship ticks a number of student-friendly boxes:
- Money! Money! Money! Degrees are expensive and part-time term-time jobs are not always suitable. Students will work for a prearranged number of weeks in university vacations, receive a professional salary and often a termly allowance. You could be earning £10,000 for a gap sponsorship, £12,000+ on a sandwich placement, £250 a week in a vacation and £1000+ as a yearly bursary. (These are guidelines only, don’t seek out the guru looking for cash if the deal you find is different.)
- Training! Your CV will ooze professional, relevant experience and offer potential employers further proof of ability, initiative, business maturity and your immense employability.
- Early birds! The earlier you gain the professional training, the quicker you head the job queue.
- Flexibility! Experience with one employer can be taken to another and offer you more flexibility in the graduate market. If you tire of an employer, most sponsorship schemes will let you discard your sponsor.
- Short bursts! Every vacation, you can gain little tasters of different companies and professions.
- Guaranteed holiday job and more! You will have an easier time finding holiday work and may even miss out on the dubious joys of selection panels for graduate jobs if your sponsor offers you a job beforehand.
- Gap Year sponsorship! It’s a breather from education and your business sense will improve.
- Networking potential! The contacts gathered could come in handy in the future.
- Sandwich placements! Exchange programmes abroad, like Erasmus and Socrates! These options are available at University and while only the former tends to be a moneyspinner, they all offer extra experiences and employability.
- Safe bet! A sponsored placement will really let you see what a company and profession is like from the inside, allowing you to make an easy decision about any further employment offered.
- Adult experience! Every placement will bring the chance to work with all ages and types removing you from your safe student bubble. Team and communication skills will be enhanced.
What’s the catch?
The guru has always been a massive fan of these schemes but there are pitfalls:
- A number of sponsors – admittedly a decreasing number – contract a sponsored student to service beyond university and will expect you to repay money if you leave before that contract finishes. Be wary of any scheme that commits you to stay with an employer for longer than you feel happy with. Don’t be tempted by a lump sum, and read your contract carefully or have it checked by your family solicitor before signing!
- No job is guaranteed at the end of a sponsorship. An employer can discard you, so ensure you have a good awareness of other options and stay active in all the job fairs.
- The company that sponsors you is stopping you find out about rivals. Some students could find themselves trapped by accepting a job too early!
- Vacation work might inhibit your other interests, restrict new experiences and tear you away from friends.
- Some students feel that a sponsorship scheme means you are on interview all the time, if always with the same employer/ department.
- Some employers may dot sponsorships around to spread the word about their company and be less keen to develop each student they take on.
- Like with deferred entry, the adult doom and gloom posse will be convinced you’ll never return to education if you have a great sponsored year with a company pre-uni. Equally, the money might tempt you into scrapping uni and avoiding the perils of the student budget. (Which turns out to be the right decision for some people, mind.)
- As with all good schemes there are age limits, subject and grade requirements and deadlines to master.
How do I find them?
Sponsorship is there for those who look. Some unis and professional institutions will alert students to sponsorship schemes, scholarships and bursaries available while others will scatter this info on their websites or in their literature to be discovered by the more intrepid.
Online, www.everythingyouwantedtoknow.com is probably the best option for tracking the most opportunities quickest and helpfully has subject specific listings.
Gap Year schemes: Year in Industry (introducing students to a number of companies), IBM, KPMG, Deloitte, PWC and Accenture are among many who offer a placement pre-uni that may lead to sponsorship through university.
Employer Sponsored courses: A growing number of universities and companies are joining forces to offer degrees that integrate academic study with professional exams and practical paid work experience. For example, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, The Institute of Chartered Accountants and Newcastle University jointly offer a BA in Accounting and Finance called ‘Flying Start’ (www.ncl.ac.uk/flyingstart), or have a look at what Siemens have to offer (www.siemens.co.uk/free-degrees).
Once at University: A number of placements/ internships can be snapped up early in the first term at uni. Watch your noticeboards, check with the Careers Service, and attend Job Fairs – something will drop your way if you persist.
Contacts: Who you know helps – approach known contacts with a specifically tailored CV.
Cold-calling: Ring and visit suitable employers and ask about possible schemes. An impressive CV or interview might even lead to the initiation of such a scheme.
Wider wisdom!
As always, talk to your own careers guru, Connexions adviser, Head of 6th, university admissions officers and current students.
Useful websites include:
www.gapyear.com – info on Brit gap schemes
www.ucas.com – specific course information
www.prospects.ac.uk – fantastic links with employers
www.everythingyouwantedtoknow.com – excellent info on placements and scholarships available
www.scholarship-search.org.uk – Hot Courses link with info on other funding opportunities
www.woodyswebwatch.com – general guru wisdom
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