Offer internships
Club 21 is the University of Glasgow’s flagship internship programme. We work with our member organisations to develop high quality internships available exclusively to Glasgow’s most talented and capable students.
Club 21 member organisations are forward thinkers who recognise that a highly skilled and committed workforce is their strongest asset. Member organisations identify short term projects which will add real value to their business and offer these as work experience placements to Glasgow students. In undertaking these projects, our students develop essential employability skills and gain real world work experience.
Club 21 services are free to both employer and students. We support our member organisations by:
- Advertising internships directly to students
- Operating as a first line of application checking, referring only the most capable and qualified organisations on to the business
- Providing additional support to interns through regular contact throughout the internship.
You can learn more about Club 21 throughout this section. If you are wish to discuss your requirements, please contact us.
Membership of Club 21 can benefit business and charities of any size or sector.
Club 21 students represent the next generation graduate workforce. By engaging with these students at an early stage, you will gain:
- An efficient, low cost channel to feed into existing graduate recruitment processes
- A talented student who can bring fresh ideas to the organisation
- A completed project of real benefit to your organisation
- An insight into the range of skills developed through particular degrees
- Business networking opportunities with other Club 21 members and the University of Glasgow community
What do others say?
Arnold Clark Automobiles Ltd
"Club 21 is extremely well-organised and gives businesses the opportunity to find enthusiastic employees who are willing to put their theory into practice."
Lucy Fuller, Arnold Clark Automobiles Ltd.
"The Club 21 programme provides us with an excellent opportunity to revitalise our team and to tackle projects which we wouldn't normally have the opportunity to look at."
Carol Fairchild, Advertising Manager, Arnold Clark Automobiles Ltd.
Amor Group
"Our experiences with Club 21 have been very positive over the past few years. We have developed a collaborative relationship with the Club 21 team, and the interns who have worked with us have become involved in relevant business projects and gained real work experience, enabling them to enhance their existing skills."
Elaine Neilan, HR Manager, Amor Group.
"I found the Club 21 programme a fantastic avenue for enhancing the capacity of our team during the summer, whilst ensuring the student gained an excellent insight into our profession and industry."
Shaun McDougall, Amor Group.
BAA Glasgow Airport
"BAA Glasgow Airport's Maintenance Team had their first experience of the Club 21 programme this summer, and found the experience very positive for both the student and for the rest of the team. It allowed the Maintenance Team to see the value a fresh team member brings to a small team and gave the staff a chance to share their experience and knowledge with someone starting out on their career. We look forward to our next opportunity to participate in the scheme."
Michael McGroggan, Maintenance Operations Manager, BAA Glasgow Airport.
Barr Construction
"The two students we had on site were both able and willing to work, and quickly made a positive contribution to the site team."
John Steel, Barr Construction.
"I believe that the Club 21 process is beneficial to the student as it focuses their on-site activities to reaching specific goals. The process has also been beneficial to our Engineering Department, as we have had the benefit of an additional enthusiastic team member."
Barry Henderson, Barr Construction.
BDO LLP
"We were very impressed by the high standard of applications which were sent to us for consideration, and also by the interest taken by the students when they were on placement."
Laura Lawson, BDO LLP.
"The collaboration between the Club 21 Business Partnership Programme and BDO LLP has worked really well, with high quality undergraduates joining as interns and then being offered a graduate position thereafter."
Jim Gillespie, BDO LLP.
Blue-Chip Marketing
"Club 21 is a well-organised scheme, which helped Blue-Chip Marketing to find a new, vibrant and enthusiastic member of the team."
"Another fantastic year with Club 21!"
Laura Kerrigan, Senior Account Executive, Blue-Chip Marketing.
BNP Paribas Securities Services
"Our team would happily welcome future Club 21 placement students."
Christopher Boyle, BNP Paribas Securities Services.
Clydesdale Bank PLC
"The Club 21 Business Partnership Programme has consistently produced a high calibre of placement candidate."
"Club 21 is excellent for students and for the Bank. The student gains invaluable experience in a customer-facing role and the Bank has the benefit of a highly motivated individual during peak holiday periods. A win-win situation."
Ann Heenan, Branch Manager, Clydesdale Bank PLC.
Devro (Scotland) PLC
"Club 21 always provides high calibre students who contribute to the business during their placements."
Gordon Paul, Devro (Scotland) PLC.
Ecebs Ltd
"The quality of student we received from Club 21 was much higher than other student schemes we had used previously."
Brian McGuiness, Ecebs Ltd.
Glasgow City Marketing Bureau
"The Club 21 programme is very much a win-win situation. We have benefited from additional marketing support at a busy period, and the placement student has gained a good range of marketing skills to augment their academic knowledge. The programme is well managed, from candidate shortlisting to interview schedules, and ongoing support is provided so that the needs of both student and business are equally represented."
Elaine Dickie, Senior Marketing Manager, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.
"The quality and calibre of Club 21 students is excellent."
Aileen Crawford, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.
Halcrow Group Ltd
"The Club 21 programme was a cornerstone in ensuring that we had the best fit candidate for our project, and also that the learning needs and aspirations of that individual were achieved."
Bruce Lunn, Halcrow Group Ltd.
Mazars LLP
"Always supplies good quality candidates."
Carole McGinley, Mazars LLP.
Missiles & Space Batteries Ltd
"Club 21 represents a valuable link to a resource which can bring a new perspective to a company. Additionally there is a relationship building opportunity which may prove beneficial to a company in the future."
Roy Berkley, HR Advisor, Missiles & Space Batteries Ltd.
Pollok Credit Union
"In my three years experience of Club 21 placements, the calibre of participants has been extremely high. All students we have employed have made a huge contribution to our organisation. Pollok Credit Union hope that we will continue to work closely with Club 21 for years to come."
Jacqueline Wylie, Senior Administration Officer, Pollok Credit Union.
SELEX Galileo
"SELEX Galileo are strong supporters of Club 21. We value the work the students do for us and many return as full time employees."
Allan Colquhoun, University Liaison and Emerging Technologies Manager, SELEX Galileo.
The Glasgow School of Art
"Our experience of the Club 21 programme has been extremely positive. The standard of student is high, and Club 21 has operated in a very efficient and professional manner, with just the right level of support offered to both student and employer alike."
Duncan Chappell, The Glasgow School of Art.
"Club 21 students enable us to undertake projects that we would otherwise struggle to complete, given the pressures on our time. The students are enthusiastic and a pleasure to work with, and can bring a fresh perspective to a range of issues."
David Buri, The Glasgow School of Art.
Thales Optronics Ltd
"I am pleased to be able to support the Club 21 Business Partnership Programme, and look forward to welcoming budding software engineering professionals to Thales Optronics in future."
Alistair Blair, Software Discipline Manager, Thales Optronics Ltd.
The Scottish Parliament
"I would strongly recommend Club 21 to any employer. The students are articulate, engaged and intelligent and add to your business."
Jackie Baillie MSP, The Scottish Parliament.
Club 21 business partners benefit from more than just access to our high quality students. By joining Club 21 you will also gain:
- Access to the University of Glasgow business network in the UK and Abroad
- Networking and business development opportunities with other Club 21 members
- Efficient low cost recruitment of graduates through work placement provision
- Opportunities to form closer links with academic staff and schools/colleges and to contribute to curricular development
- Open door access and research links with the University of Glasgow
- Direct access to professional careers advisory staff who can advise on graduate recruitment and liaise with academic schools and colleges
- The opportunity to heighten your company profile in University of Glasgow publications
Involvement in Club 21 can have real impact for your organisation. The case studies below present examples of how some of our existing business partners have benefitted from offering placements through Club 21:
Biofilm Limited
Alan Gibson - Biofilm Limited
The Company
Biofilm Ltd develop and manufacture fast dissolving films for use in food, cosmetic and medical device industries. The company employs around 25 people and is headquartered in Blantyre near Glasgow, where all R&D, manufacturing and commercial operations are based. Working on a business to business basis, our products are manufactured to the requirements of the medical device standard ISO 13485:2003 and cGMP (current good manufacturing practice).
Biofilm and Club 21
Biofilm has utilized the services of Club 21 over several years to produce a short list of high quality students to fill vacation placements. The service offered by the University of Glasgow Careers Service has always delivered motivated and focused candidates who have had a sound technical grounding and are interested in putting their skills to use in a commercial environment. The scheme simplifies the recruitment process, reducing the amount of candidate screening that is required, making the whole process less time consuming.
Working as part of a small project team, placement students have been involved in all aspects of product development work, including batch formulation, prototype manufacture, scale-up from lab to full size manufacture and product testing. The work requires a ‘hands on’ attitude and all have made a significant contribution to the department during their period of employment and have been encouraged to take as much responsibility as possible.
Student Benefits
Industrial placements give an important insight into the workings of commercial business and the real world choices and compromises that have to be made throughout a product’s life cycle. Academic concepts can be applied to live situations, and the importance of accurate record keeping and team work reinforced. The placement scheme gives students a taste of working life in their chosen area of study before having to fully commit to a career path and this experience can be important in shaping future decisions.
Morgan Stanley
Stephen Dowdall - Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley was attracted to Club 21 with the University of Glasgow due to the opportunity it affords to bring in highly educated and skilled students. They add value to our business while we give them the opportunity to develop, understand our firm and build a relationship with us with a view to potentially returning to work with us following the completion of their studies.
The placement opportunity was within the Projects Group of Morgan Stanley. We provide solutions to any office wide problems, manage all projects centrally and support new initiatives. Key focus areas for the year were introducing a European-wide Six Sigma programme and a Global IT in addition to smaller projects.
Club 21 sent seven strong CVs with appropriate skills for the placement. Of these we interviewed three before selecting the most appropriate candidate. An important factor in our decision was the placement student having strong IT skills, the ability to cope with a steep learning curve and excellent communication skills to work quickly and effectively with numerous areas simultaneously.
From a management perspective, I had a weekly meeting with the placement student. In preparation for this, the student prepared a summary of what he had been working on for that week, any training he had undertaken and key learning points from what he had been involved with. This summary was then fed into the Club 21 Placement Learning Diary that we review on a weekly basis. Prior to the student starting, we prepared a training plan. This was a shortened version of one we use for new starts in the Projects area.
Feedback from all those the student interacted with was excellent. Common feedback was: adding value, enthusiasm, professional, good communicator, strong IT skills, diligent. The value the student added to the business and the impact he made has led to us retaining his services on a part-time basis when he returns to university.
Club 21 handles a very high volume of enquiries. You can find answers to some of the more common questions we are asked below. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Eligibility
- Is my organisation eligible to join Club 21?
Almost certainly. Club 21 membership is open to businesses and charities of all sizes and sectors – large, small, long-established or start-up, we’re keen to work with you.
Eligible businesses must:
- Be registered with Companies House
- Have work premises
- Hold valid Employer’s Liability Insurance
Eligible charities must:
- Be registered with the Charities Commission / OSCR
- Have work premises
- Hold valid public liability cover
We may require you to provide proof of the above before we allow you to join the Club 21 Internship Programme.
- What other organisations are members of Club 21?
You can see a list of the other businesses and charities that have joined Club 21 on the current employers section of the student website.
Timing and Format
- How long should an internship last? When can I offer internships?
The majority of Club 21 internships are 6-12 weeks in length, full-time and take place during the summer months. Students are typically available from the start of June until mid-September. Internship start and end dates are flexible to suit your business requirements.
Alternatively, if you would like to offer a voluntary term-time opportunity or a part-time summer internship we will be happy to accommodate your request.
- Is my idea for a student project suitable?
We are happy to advise you on the suitability of your projects for student work. Please contact us by email or telephone to discuss your ideas. We are also happy to meet with you in person if this is preferable.
Costs, resourcing and responsibilities
- Is there a membership fee to join Club 21?
No. Club 21 membership and services are free to both employers and students.
- What are the company's responsibilities during the internship?
You should:
- Provide the student with a contract clearly stating your basic terms and conditions of employment prior to the start of their internship.
- Ensure the student is covered by your company’s insurance policy (or public liability cover for voluntary organisations).
- Provide the student with an induction on arrival including an overview of the internship objectives, introductions to key staff and information on health and safety / fire evacuation procedures.
- Ensure the student is treated the same as any other employee during their internship.
- Agree to provide feedback when contacted by a Club 21 staff member midway through the internship and towards the end of the internship.
- Will it take up the time of my existing staff?
A successful Club 21 student applicant is motivated, proactive and capable of working on their own initiative. While we expect you to clearly explain to the student the objectives for their internship and nominate a member of staff to act as a point of contact for any questions, you should not find the process of managing a Club 21 internship particularly labour-intensive.
- Do I have to pay interns?
All internships (excluding voluntary positions for registered charities) must meet the UK statutory national minimum wage requirements.
We believe that our students make excellent contributions to our partners’ businesses during their internship and deserve to be treated as temporary employees. Offering paid internships also helps to ensure that Club 21 opportunities are open to all students, and that talented individuals are not prevented from applying due to their financial circumstances.