The University of Sheffield is participating in the Santander Universities Employability Scheme 2021. We have 10 x £1000 grants available for SMEs and Charities within the Sheffield City Region to apply for, to host a student internship of between 70 and 108 hours. Funding is not allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Who can take part?

Scheme process

Funding details

FAQs

Payment process

Hear from previous organisations and interns on their experience of the scheme:

For any queries about the scheme please contact:

Jessica Keen

Senior Administrator (Bursaries and Work Experience)

employabilityprogrammes@sheffield.ac.uk

Who can take part?

Organisations that:

• Have 250 employees or less, and an annual turnover of less than £50million
• Are a UK company, sole trader, partnership, or charity based in the Sheffield City Region*
• Can offer a valuable internship that helps students develop their employability, with the option for it to be held remotely

We are particularly interested in receiving applications from organisations in sectors where unpaid work experience is the norm so we can provide a paid experience for a student in this area, and/or in sectors that the current pandemic has hit hardest so we can support local businesses in these areas.

Students of any year can apply and we are looking to support applications from students from diverse backgrounds.

*Sheffield City Region covers organisations that are registered within the council areas of Barnsley, Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Doncaster, NE Derbyshire, Rotherham and Sheffield. Look up your postcode here - we will check your postcode against this when reviewing applications. 

Scheme process

1. You apply to the scheme within the funding application period detailed in the timeline. After the application closing date, we will assess all applications and allocate funding. As funding is limited, we will provide it to the internships we feel are a high developmental opportunity for our students where they will gain a wide range of experience. The application form can be accessed here.
2. If successful, we will advertise the internship to students, and promote via targeted communications, student newsletters and departmental contacts.
3. Candidates will send us their covering letter and CV; we will collate all applications and send these to you after the vacancy closing date.
4. Candidates are interviewed and selected by you. It is also your responsibility to complete all relevant eligibility to work checks at the interview.
5. Once a suitable candidate has been identified, you will complete our Letter of Expectation which includes a funding and health and safety agreement. We will also start the process of setting you up as a vendor with the University if you are not already registered.
6. Your selected candidate is employed by you and paid via your payroll. All internships need to have ended by 31st October 2021.
7. You will send us an invoice, and the funding will be processed to you.
8. During the internship, we will be in touch to see how you and the intern are getting on. Your dedicated Santander University Relationship Manager may also be in touch.

Recruitment support

To ensure that we offer the highest quality internships for our students, we will assess each application and prioritise funding for projects that:

• Have a clear focus with milestones and definable internship outcomes
• Develops the student professionally
• Demonstrates a commitment to supporting the student

You are welcome to contact us before you submit an application with any queries about the internship you are thinking of.

As part of the internship we expect the intern to produce a reflective piece on their internship, to be used to promote the scheme and internships more widely, to other students. This could be a case study, a video, a poster etc. Time to complete this will need to be included in the internship timeframe.

Please see our Santander Universities Employability Scheme - Recruitment Guidance for advice on writing your application, and support for the recruitment process should you be successful in your application.

Once your application has been approved, we will advertise the internship to students and promote via targeted communications, student newsletters, and departmental contacts. We are available for you to contact at any point throughout the internship with any questions.

Timeline

Funding details

Funding is limited and we are unable to provide it to every organisation that applies. Funding is not allocated on a first-come-first-served basis, rather we assess your application - for information on what we are looking for, please see our recruitment guidance. Funding cannot be reserved for you indefinitely and if we are unable to fill an approved vacancy after several attempts at advertising, please be aware that we will contact you and funding will be reallocated to other employers. Similarly if you do not keep up contact with us throughout the recruitment process, or fail to send us the required documents by the final deadline, then we reserve the right to withdraw the funding allocated to you and redistribute this to another employer.

• The student wage is equivalent to £8.72 per hour
• Santander Universities will provide a grant of £1000 for an internship of between 70 and 108 hours. This is a flat rate whether the internship is 70 hours or 108 hours (or anywhere in between) - any funding that is not used on the student’s wages, can be used to cover employer on-costs associated with PAYE.
• Any extension of the internship past the agreed term must be fully funded by the organisation.

Claiming funding

• The Santander Universities contributions have been allocated to, and are held by the University of Sheffield on Santander Universities behalf.
• When we collate the applications together and send these on to you, we will start the payment process by requesting the documents required for us to set you up as a vendor at the University. 
• To claim the funding, you need to email an invoice to us once the internship has started and you have been registered as a vendor. If for any unexpected reason the internship finishes early, the funding amount will be worked out pro-rata and you will need to repay the excess. Please contact us if this occurs.
• Payment will be made within 30 days of the invoice being accepted as valid and undisputed.
• You are expected to pay the student via your own payroll and use the funding provided to reimburse the cost of the individual’s pay (at a rate of £8.72 per hour).
• Full details of the payment process, including information on what is needed on the invoice, can be found here.

FAQs

How do I apply for funding?

You will need to complete our online application form and submit this before the deadline of Sunday 11 April 2021.

Which organisations are eligible to apply to the scheme?

You are eligible to apply to the programme if you have 250 employees or less, have an annual turnover of less than £50million and are a UK company, sole trader, partnership or charity, based within the Sheffield City Region.*

We are particularly interested in receiving applications from organisations in sectors where unpaid work experience is the norm so we can provide a paid experience for a student in this area, and/or in sectors that the current pandemic has hit hardest so we can support local businesses in these areas.

*Sheffield City Region covers organisations that are registered within the council areas of Barnsley, Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Doncaster, NE Derbyshire, Rotherham and Sheffield. Look up your postcode here - we will check your postcode against this when reviewing applications. 

How do you assess applications?

The application form asks for information about you as an organisation, a description of the project, what skills the individual will develop by completing the internship and what skills and attributes you are looking for in candidates. We are looking for internships that offer valuable career experience, regular supervision and guidance, and opportunities to reflect on professional progress.

For support on writing your application, please view our Recruitment Guidance.

Will I have the opportunity to modify my application if it is unsuccessful?

Unfortunately, there is insufficient time and resource for us to read applications and ask for modifications, rather we review all submissions together after the deadline and allocate funding to the strongest applications.

This is a competitive process with limited funding, and as a result, we are unable to provide funding to everyone who applies. Should you be unsuccessful in your application we will provide feedback as to why, and would welcome an application from you in the following year. Should you wish to talk about the content of your application before you submit it, please do get in touch.

How much are the students paid?

The student will be paid £8.72 an hour - you are welcome to pay over this amount but must cover the additional costs.

Which students are eligible to apply for the internships?

Students of any year can apply and we are looking to support applications from students from diverse backgrounds. Once a student has completed a project, they cannot complete another one as part of the programme in the 2020/21 funding year.

When can the internships start?

This is dependent on whether the internship will be completed part-time or not. If it is to be completed part-time it can start before the end of term (for a maximum of 16 hours per week), but if you are looking for them to complete the project full-time (35 hours per week) they can start from the 14th June 2021. All projects need to have been completed by 31st October 2021.

What is the method for delivering the projects?

This will be dependent on the current situation and COVID government guidelines, but all projects will need to have the option of being completed remotely. The method of delivery will be decided between yourselves and the successful candidate.

How many hours per week can the internship be?

You have the option of spreading out the internship hours however works for you and the student. If the internship is going to start during term time (before 14th June 2021) then the maximum hours it can be per week is 16. From 14th June 2021, students should be able to work full time (35 hours per week).

Can I receive funding for more than one internship?

You can apply for funding for more than one internship but will need to complete a separate proposal form for each. You can recruit up to a maximum of three students in total across the 2020/21 scheme - this includes any student you may recruit as part of another institution’s Santander Universities Employability Scheme.

Can I receive funding if I have already taken part in previous cycles?

There is no restriction on you taking part in the programme again if you have participated in a previous funding year. You can recruit up to a maximum of three students in total across the 2020/21 scheme - this includes any student you may recruit as part of another institution’s Santander Universities Employability Scheme.

Can I receive more funding if I want to extend the internship?

You will receive £1000 as a flat rate for a project of between 70 and 108 hours. Any extension of the internship must be funded wholly by yourselves.

As the organisation, do I have the final say over who I recruit for the role?

Yes! We will post the vacancy for you, promote it through our communication channels, and ask students to send their covering letter and CV to us. After the closing date, we will collate all applications for your role and send these to you. You will then be able to complete your usual recruitment process, including eligibility to work checks.

Is there a lot of paperwork to complete?

Once you have been successful in your application we will send you a Letter of Expectation which needs to be completed before the internship starts, and an induction checklist to complete at the start of the internship. We will also send you a short evaluation form at the end of the year to complete. This will be about your experience of the scheme and is crucial in helping us develop the scheme for the following year. 

We will also need to get you set up as a vendor on our system if you are not already registered and will need an invoice from you so we can process your payment. Full details on the payment process can be found here.

As part of the scheme, Santander Universities request that you post about the internship on social media, using #santanderuniuk

I already have an individual in mind, can I backfill the vacancy?

All internships need to be advertised through us and cannot be backfilled.

Payment process

The funding provided is to be used for the intern’s wages at a rate of £8.72 per hour. As the host organisation, you are expected to take the student on as an employee and pay them through your own payroll system in the appropriate payment reference period. The funding provided is to cover the student’s wages; any funding leftover can be used to cover on-costs associated with PAYE etc.

There are two stages to claiming the funding; vendor registration and an invoice.

Vendor registration

Before we can start to process the payment to you, we will need to set you up as a vendor with the university. To do this we will need you to send two attachments in the form of:

1. Official signed company letterhead, invoice, or quote which must show:

a) Company name, address, contact details, and all bank details for the payee

b) Registered company number and vat number (if applicable)

2. Official bank documentation which shows the bank's logo, account name and all relevant bank details for the payee. This includes any international account numbers particular to the country of origin. Please see the ‘International Transactions’ guidance on the finance website for more detail. As evidence we can accept copies of bank statements (no monetary values are required and can be blocked out), signed letters from the bank, paying in slips, blank cheques, and print screens/downloads from online banking

Once we have received this information, we will request you to be set up as a vendor. It can take up to two weeks for the setup process to be complete.

Invoice

To process your payment to you, we will require you to send an invoice. This should quote ‘Santander Universities Employability Scheme Funding’, and be made out to:

University of Sheffield Careers Service
Edgar Allen House
241 Glossop Road
Sheffield
S10 2GW

The invoice should also include:

• A unique invoice reference
• Invoice/tax date
• University of Sheffield purchase order number - we will send you this in advance
• A statement that this is VAT free
• The name of the intern(s); if claiming for more than one intern please itemise this
• Dates of the period claimed for (internship start and end date)
• Total amount
• Bank details of where the payment is to be made
• Contact details for any invoice queries

An example of an invoice can be downloaded from this page: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/finance/staff-information/help/payments/invoice/invoice-essentials

Pending successful vendor registration, payment will be made within 30 days of the invoice being accepted as valid and undisputed.

All information will need to be sent to employabilityprogrammes@sheffield.ac.uk