October 2006 News

Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr/May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

Codeworks Connect celebrates a century of student & graduate placement

A hugely successful placement scheme run by Codeworks Connect has now placed more than 100 top students and graduates in North East digital technology companies.
                                                                                                                     
The 100th placement mark was reached during the process to place this year’s batch of students with a range of companies across the region. Students and graduates from all five of the region’s universities have been involved in the scheme.

Stuart Wilkinson, 20, of Scott Logic was officially named as the 100th placement.  During his recent induction to the scheme at St James' Park, Stuart met the first placement student, Naomi Atkinson, 23. Naomi spent the summer of 2004 working for new media agency TH_NK and was so impressive that the company took her on full-time. 

The placement scheme is promoted and run by Codeworks Connect, the trade association for the North East’s digital industries. The scheme addresses one of Connect’s overall aims of halting the 'brain drain' of talented students and graduates to elsewhere in the UK, keeping them in the North East to work within the region's thriving digital industries.

Herb Kim, CEO of Codeworks, says: “The success of the scheme relies on participation from the students, universities and companies, and Codeworks Connect would like to thank them all for their support over the last three years.

“This is an important initiative for the region, and the 100+ students and 50 companies that have taken part have reaped significant mutual benefits. We estimate the value to businesses to be around £4million, and an astonishing 90% of graduates taking part in the scheme have secured longer term work as a direct result.”

Stuart Wilkinson, student placement with Scott Logic says: “I am honoured to be named as the 100th student placement. The scheme has enabled me to gain work experience in an exciting North East company working in the digital sector. The placement is a natural progression from my studies at Durham University and I hope that it will lead to full-time employment.

“I would like to thank Codeworks Connect and Scott Logic for giving me this great opportunity.”

The Codeworks Connect Student Placement Scheme takes some of the region’s most valuable potential assets and places them in cutting-edge digital businesses.
Connect supports the placements for 10 weeks in the first instance, and often companies are keen to keep on the students on a permanent basis once the placement period ends.

The quality and talent of the graduates has been so high that many participating companies take on students year after year, and the scheme has become one of the most popular benefits amongst Connect members.

Sunderland-based The Leighton Group has been a big fan of the scheme, and sees it as a key part of its recruitment process.

Paul Callaghan, Chairman of the Leighton Group, says: "Leighton has been a strong supporter of Codeworks’ placement programme, which is aimed at both reducing the graduate brain drain from the region and helping digital companies like us recruit the best and brightest employees.

"I believe that graduate retention is absolutely essential to the region’s future prosperity and that the Codeworks’ programme has made a significant contribution to this in the digital sector."

Any student or graduate who wants to be considered for a placement should call Naomi Jackson, Skills Development Executive at Codeworks, on 0191 211 2592 or email naomi.Jackson@codeworks.net