In STEP

Citation

(2001), "In STEP", Work Study, Vol. 50 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2001.07950baf.005

In STEP

In STEP

Keywords: Undergraduates, Career development, Small to medium-sized enterprises

The Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP) is the UK's leading undergraduate work placement programme. Established in 1986, and receiving core funding from the Government's Small Business Service (SBS) and Shell UK Ltd, the programme provides technological and IT solutions to business and manufacturing process problems, while encouraging graduates to pursue careers in the SME sector.

By offering undergraduates project based summer placements of eight weeks duration, STEP helps produce the flow of talented, entrepreneurial young people desperately needed to enhance the competitiveness of British business. To date, STEP has helped thousands of young people to enhance their employability: research by the University of Warwick has shown that by completing a STEP placement, undergraduates more than double their chances of being offered a job immediately on graduation.

At a cost of less than £1,000 per eight-week placement, a real contribution is made to the development of host organisations: in 2000, 60 per cent of companies identified skills shortages as a result of the placement, and 82 per cent reported that the placement would have a positive long term impact on the business. Most made monetary gains in excess of £2,000, with some profiting by in excess of £20,000 over one year as a result of the placement.

In response to demand from companies, students and policy makers, STEP is now expanding to offer a greater range of placement solutions. The existing summer programme will continue to offer 1,500 eight-week placement opportunities each year. In addition to this, "STEP Solutions" placements will be available at other times of the year and will be more flexible in terms of length and structure.

Every year STEP students take part in a UK-wide competition for the title "Most Enterprising Student". Awards and cash prizes are also given in other categories, showcasing a stunning array of young talent, vision and application.

STEP is delivered at local level by a network of agencies based in Business Links, TECs university careers services and other organisations active in higher education and training. The programme is managed by STEP Enterprise Limited, London.

The following cases are examples of STEP success …

Natasha Hirst, Cardiff University, BSc Chemistry, Firm Footing Floorcare Ltd

Firm Footing Floorcare Ltd is a new start-up business, formed by three venturers participating in the University of Warwick Science Park business initiative, TeamStart.

When Natasha was drafted in, the company was not yet trading and consisted of the three directors, with no premises and no products!

The company had identified a business opportunity for a regular use maintenance product designed to make vinyl floors less slippery; it was Natasha's task to develop this product.

Natasha set to work in the laboratories at the University of Warwick Science Park testing samples of different chemicals including solid additives, waxy polymers and emulsion polymers for non-slip properties, and various surfactants for cleaning power and wetting ability along with drying agents, de-foaming additives and biocides.

The project progressed with many twists and turns, but has nevertheless been extremely successful in achieving the objectives.

Natahsa arrived at a formulation with outstanding performance which is based on a novel set of polymers and additives that form a treatment that cleans the floor and leaves a non-slip finish – there are currently no other products with these qualities on the market.

Quality control testing and field trials are now being carried out to ensure that Natasha's product is suitable to be marketed, which gives Firm Footing Floorcare their first product to begin trading with.

Lucy Wheeler, The British Institute for Brain Injured Children (BIBIC)

BIBIC is a national charity that helps children with brain injuries to maximise their potential and live their lives to the full. Like many charities, they have a very tight budget and try to squeeze every ounce of value out of their resources. The charity was suffering from a low profile that was not helped by inappropriate literature and an outdated logo. Their major stumbling block was a lack of money to overcome this problem. STEP, they thought, might be the answer.

Lucy was asked to analyse the existing literature, design a new corporate logo, produce new materials, develop an inhouse style and, in a nutshell, bring BIBIC into the twenty-first century. All this had to be completed in eight weeks on a budget of precisely zero.

As a law student with no background in marketing or design, it would be a steep learning curve for Lucy. She rose to the challenge. According to Pam Brooks of BIBIC, "What struck us most about Lucy was her enthusiasm and tenacity in tackling a difficult brief". They took her position very seriously and set out to help her learn as much as possible in exchange for her work. They gave her maximum responsibility, but were always available to guide her whenever necessary.

How did she cope? After undertaking extensive research, Lucy decided on an ambitious plan of action. She persuaded a London design company to design the logo and literature for free and found sponsors to cover the print costs. She re-wrote the text, modernised the charity's image and developed a cost-effective, multi-purpose corporate pack that the charity can afford to use in the future. Lucy also organised a high-profile fundraising ball to re-launch the charity.

Unsurprisingly, BIBIC were delighted. Lucy saved the charity £10,000 on the logo and literature – a massive 16 per cent of their annual budget that they could ill have afforded to spend on the project. She made new contacts for the charity and set them firmly on the road to a higher profile and greater success in the future.

Lucy also felt that she had benefited enormously in terms of new skills, invaluable work experience and an understanding of business. She found STEP very different from the work experience available to most students where "you tend to make tea or look over someone's shoulder". This was tangible, hands-on experience. Lucy was very proud of her contribution to the charity and stated that "I have never achieved so much non-academically".

Stuart Conroy, University of Dundee, BA Accountancy, R Hogg & Sons, Co Antrim

R Hogg & Sons are a quarry operating in Magherafelt, Kilhoyle and Cappagh, Ireland. The three sites produce various sizes of stone, and also produce bitmac and asphalt, which are used for surfacing roads. The company has operated for 150 years and its systems and processes had become set in stone!

Stuart's task was to provide a monthly cost report to management, which highlighted the running cost of the business and provided the individual costs of contracts undertaken.

He spent the first week of the project getting accustomed to the way that the organisation operated speaking to employees to understand their functions, examining the manufacturing process to enable cost centres to be created and reviewing the current computing system, analysing its capabilities and current software packages. Stuart discovered that the computers kept crashing, so he set about fixing the glitches in the system and developed a link to enable e-mail function between the quarries.

He divided the manufacturing processes into blasting rock, crushing rock, tar plant, lorry transport, small contract, large contracts and mobile plant. These were then subdivided into individual processes so that each hour worked and each purchase invoice could be allocated to these cost centres. Time sheets were developed for each worker by talking to the staff to gain the simplest format. Stuart then created a database program to assign hours worked to the cost centres.

He selected the Sage Line 50 accountancy package to analyse the purchases made by the organisation which works in tandem with the final accounting package, training the administration staff in its use as he went along. He input the past quarters purchase invoices into the system and was able to produce a quarterly report for purchases.

With the reporting system up and running, Stuart set to work on a recording system for sales so that a basic sales figure can be set against costs.

A manual was produced to encompass the whole systems operation so that Stuart could be sure the system would operate without his presence, producing different manuals for the different members of staff.

During his project, Stuart found many different areas where he could save the company money, varying from the way that the offices communicated through to stationery and phone supplies.

Fred Hogg, managing director, R. Hogg & Sons Ltd said: "Stuart has saved the company £10,000 over a one-year period, while providing the organisation with a valuable management accounting tool. The costing system prepares monthly and quarterly reports, which can be used to show profitability, performance and enable make or buy decisions".

For more information, see www.step.org.uk