SMEs recruit students to develop international trade

Working within a national team of UKTI Language and Culture Advisers on UKTI’s National Students for International Business Programme, Ameeta Virk approached the University to represent the needs of South West companies lacking expertise in language skills.

30% of students at the University of Exeter hail from outside of the UK, from 146 countries. Last year 400 students either studied or  worked abroad as part of the Erasmus scheme. Even more students and Alumni engaged in learning a language with the University of Exeter's Foreign Language Centre.

The British Council states that employers are looking for "candidates who can navigate a workplace that transcends national and cultural borders, particularly for positions that require interaction with individuals and organisations from nationalities and cultural backgrounds different from their own" (Culture at Work, 2013). 

Exeter’s Employability and Graduate Development service, working in partnership with UKTI South West,  are currently developing the International Business Professional Pathway for students. This will offer students the opportunity to undertake specific export strategy training; access specialist resources and support and paid internships with SMEs.

Georgina Foster, Owner of Beauxoxo, a hair accessories business based in Dorset, recently recruited ‘Early Market Researchers’ for 4 countries, through Student Business Partnerships: Exeter’s student internship scheme. Georgina fed back ” I am incredibly impressed by the students from Exeter; they submitted some of the best applications I have ever had. As a result picking just one student for this project has been challenging, so I ended up employing four to research markets in South Korea, Japan, Australia and Canada.”

If you would like to develop your exports with the help of an Exeter student please contact Jo McCreedie, Employer Liaison Officer, University of Exeter, j.mccreedie@exeter.ac.uk or 01392722617