With graduate employers cancelling and reducing opportunities, the employment prospects for students is dire. But for those from disadvantaged backgrounds that don’t have a network or prior work experience to fall back on, the outlook is even worse.
To tackle this growing social mobility crisis, award-winning charity, upReach are launching a new range of Assessed Virtual Internships exclusively for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Offered to over 1,000 disadvantaged students, and delivered by industry experts from leading City firms, the programme promises to transform opportunities for a generation.
Existing mass-market “virtual experiences” are limited in their impact. Most are only a few days long, and few offer the same benefits as in-person work experience or events. Networking with current employees, interacting with fellow participants and working in teams on real-life projects are key features missing from most programmes. Critically, most mass-market virtual internships lack any real form of assessment, making it hard for employers to recognise the performance of participants.
John Craven, CEO of upReach, said “upReach Assessed Virtual Internships are unique in that they combine expert training and networking opportunities with team projects and performance assessment. During the four week programme, interns are continuously assessed, with feedback provided on weekly projects and an end of internship assessment centre. The assessment aspect makes it more credible to graduate recruiters than unassessed virtual work experience opportunities that are open to all.”
Working in partnership with industry experts from firms such as BlackRock to deliver high quality technical training, upReach are offering opportunities in sectors including Investment Banking, Law and Consulting. Training will be given in soft and hard skills, from communication skills to coding, and a variety of networking opportunities will give students a chance to grow their professional network. Participants will be assessed throughout the virtual four week programme, with top performers being recommended for graduate positions at upReach’s partner employers – that include leading firms such as Bank of America, Deloitte, McKinsey and Slaughter and May.
The new Internship programme is being offered to over 1,000 disadvantaged students graduating in 2020 or 2021 who are supported by upReach, with students finding out this week if their application has been successful.