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Students take step closer to jobs in business 'boot camp'

Monday 12th July 2010

While the Association of Graduate Recruiters reported intense pressure for jobs with a 7% reduction in job opportunities, 54 university students who are set to graduate in 2012/2013 got a glimpse of the real world at the annual summer business "boot camp" for aspiring business people, organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Giving their views on their prospects post university, despite the rising levels of debt that graduates are facing, the overwhelming majority of the group of first-year students at the PwC Insight Academy said they believed a degree was as valuable as ever. They cited valuable preparation for their career and the development of their personal skills as key reasons why they were prepared to pay the price for university, whatever it cost.

Applications to PwC's five-day residential business skills academy, which aims to develop first-year student's employability and personal skills, have risen by 58% since last year suggesting that students are looking to build their portfolio of work experience earlier on in their career to stand out among fellow graduates.

Sonja Stockton, director of recruitment, PwC said: "Typically, first-year university students don’t make the most of valuable work experience opportunities in holiday time. But the academy creates a business environment where students work together on an assignment as they would do in the real world, and as a result they can develop business insight and the kind of employability skills we are looking for.

"It’s also a chance for students to learn negotiation skills, building professional relationships and finding appropriate solutions, which are skills required for a successful business career."

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