Internships with small business insurance holders could help reduce the problem of rising graduate unemployment, it has been suggested.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) called on the government to establish a new Graduate Employment Scheme to create 5,000 new placements.
According to the organisation, 28 per cent of larger business insurance holders are planning to reduce the number of graduate internships they run, meaning that more focus should be placed on smaller enterprises.
The FSB cited research which claimed over 20 per cent of small business insurance customers would like to take on a graduate worker, although 45 per cent do not know that they are allowed to offer internship programmes.
John Wright, national chairman of the group, commented: "The FSB is calling on the government to invest just £3 million of existing funds to market and develop internships in small businesses - creating an extra 5,000 placement positions for graduates in small firms."
Recently, Tom Hadley, director of external relations at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, claimed that more graduates are looking for internships in the current economic climate, as the activity improves their CV.
