University of Northampton awarded £70k grant to fund programme to help BAME students find jobs

The University of Northampton has been awarded a grant of £70,000 to fund a programme which aims to reduce the gap in the level of success between white and BAME students on graduation.
The University of Northampton's new Waterside Campus opens in SeptemberThe University of Northampton's new Waterside Campus opens in September
The University of Northampton's new Waterside Campus opens in September

The Enterprise Boost Accelerator will seek to provide greater opportunities for BAME (black, Asian, and minority ethnic) students by encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset and building their business skills during a two-day course.

The university is one of 15 institutions across the UK to receive the grant from the Santander Universities Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Fund.

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Professor Nick Petford, the vice-chancellor at the University of Northampton, said: “Our intensive two-day programme will teach the techniques and skills needed to make participants successful in the business world.

"Students will be able to test, explore and refine very early stage ideas and identify which markets certain products fit into. As a result, they will be able to transfer the skills they learn in the future when it comes to graduating and starting their career.”

While 66 per cent of white graduates entered into full-time employment in 2016 once they left the University of Northampton only 38 per cent of black graduess and 46 per cent of Asian graduates gained jobs.

The project aims to reduce the gap by developing skills such as being business focused, creativity, resilience, problem-solving and time management – all which will be easily transferred into the workplace.

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Santander Universities Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Fund is a £1 million fund designed to support universities in delivering large-scale projects.

Matt Hutnell, director at Santander Universities, said: “We are delighted to award this grant to the University of Northampton, which will support such a fantastic programme that teaches the skills needed to start a career or set up a new business and we look forward to hearing about the experiences of those who join the course.”