Written by James Eaton, Director of Digital Scientists
The Benefits of Hiring Interns from Local Colleges – HSDC
Have you considered how your business could benefit from hiring T Level students from local colleges? At HSDC, comprising Havant, South Downs, and Alton campuses, we take immense pride in collaborating with local businesses to provide valuable work experience opportunities for our students. Over recent years, we have seen tremendous success through partnerships with companies like Digital Scientists, who have hosted students from both our campuses and other local institutions.
By welcoming students into your workforce, your company can benefit from motivated, well-trained individuals without incurring extra costs. These students, often from T Level and vocational courses, bring fresh perspectives and contemporary knowledge to the workplace, providing innovative solutions and positive contributions to your business operations. Businesses help cultivate a skilled team and reinforce community ties, ensuring a steady pipeline of dedicated future employees.
Student Intern Success Stories:
Hamish Hamilton-McGinty, a standout student from our Digital IT Support Services & Infrastructure – Network Engineer T Level course at HSDC South Downs Campus, joined Digital Scientists in March. Initially working one day a week, he transitioned to full-time in May to fulfil his required work experience hours. Hamish’s practical application of skills learned in his course has enabled him to join the team and perform various tasks in support of larger projects. These projects include following various SEO strategies for different customers in the service and e-commerce industries, as well as working to improve the usability and accessibility of a website for a Portsmouth based beauty salon. Hamish has optimised images for site accessibility, followed best practices for page structure and laying out content in the most user-friendly and appealing way, as well as performing more technical tasks such as updating metadata in the site’s code. On the eCommerce side, he has also prepared customer product data for updating a customer’s website, covering some 3,000 product specifications, which required skillful use of .csv files and server/data infrastructure.
Not only this, Hamish has also been dabbling with large language models (artificial intelligence) such as Chat GPT. Digital Scientists has specifically trained GPTs to perform various tasks and functionality to streamline their internal processes and handle their larger research projects. Hamish utilised a GPT with data from Google to produce a dataset comprising of in excess of 10,000 queries that formulated a vital part of a new strategy Digital Scientists was developing for one of its SEO clients.
Hamish reflects on his experience:
“Joining Digital Scientists has been an incredible opportunity to apply my college knowledge to real-world tasks. I’ve automated workflows and optimised repetitive tasks, allowing me to tackle more complex projects. I’ve also gotten to grips with some analytical tools like Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console to survey data and understand user behaviour for better content production. The supportive environment and help from colleagues has been instrumental in my professional growth. I’m excited to see what lies in store for my future work progression.”
Why Partner with HSDC?
Students on work experience must complete a minimum of 315 hours, ensuring they gain substantial exposure to real-world working environments. This requirement helps students apply theoretical knowledge in practical settings and develop critical soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. These well-rounded experiences make HSDC interns highly valuable to any organisation, often bringing a higher level of readiness and maturity to their roles, as well as an outsider perspective which has been proven to help businesses grow and change positively.
Broadening Opportunities Across Industries
HSDC is committed to covering placements in diverse industries, including animal care, IT, engineering, construction, catering, and professional services. By partnering with us, your business can play a pivotal role in shaping the future workforce, providing students with essential skills and experiences that prepare them for successful careers.
Hiring T Level students from local colleges like HSDC is more than just a cost-effective staffing solution; it’s an investment in the future. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, businesses contribute to the community, build a bridge between education and industry, and ensure students are well-prepared for the demands of the professional world. At HSDC, we encourage businesses to join us in this initiative, supporting local education and nurturing the next generation of skilled workers.
James Eaton, the Director of Digital Scientists, states:
“In the current environment of the highest tax levels seen in decades, running a competitive business is extremely challenging. Increased costs inevitably lead to significantly greater expenses for consumers. Businesses like ours often form the backbone of SMEs and corporates, and if our costs are high, this impacts end consumers. By reducing our costs and adopting this practice more widely, we could have a substantial positive impact. There are numerous benefits for businesses in hiring students from colleges, not just financially but also in terms of social ties and community cohesion. I highly commend HSDC for their approach to securing placements for their students, and I hope other businesses can recognise the benefits to themselves, their customers, and the wider community.”
Find out more about our T Level courses and Industry Placements for Businesses here