Are you an SME, Charity or Public Sector organisation looking to hire graduate level talent in 2026?
LJMU are inviting you to collaborate with them to develop a talent pipeline through the recruitment of our final-year undergraduate students!
Why Participate?
Through the Discovery Internship programme, LJMU will fund 140hrs of salary so you can gain access to enthusiastic individuals who can add value to your business and meet your recruitment needs.
You can help bridge the gap between education and employment, giving students invaluable hands-on experience that could lead to you finding your new employee.
What Are We Looking For?
Submit project ideas that:
- Have potential to lead to meaningful employment for successful candidates.
- Provide soon to be graduates with relevant learning and skill development opportunities.
- Address specific needs in your business.
- One of the key criteria for this cohort is for the potential of this internship role to develop into a graduate position or longer-term internship. (Subject to the company funding additional hours beyond the 140 that will be funded by LJMU). The process for extending the internship is straightforward – Unitemps will invoice you for hours worked.
The project form is now open for an anticipated start date on Monday 11th May 2026. If you want to get involved, please ensure you complete all company appraisal questions at the beginning of the project form and meet the eligibility criteria. The anticipated timeline can be found below:
- Monday 23rd February 2026 – Internship adverts launch to students
- Sunday 15th March – Adverts close to students
- Week commencing Monday 30th March – Applications to employers sent
- throughout week
- Monday 11th May 2026 – Internships start
- Friday 10th July 2026 – All hours to be completed by this date
The project form can be found here. Please complete and submit this project form by midday on Friday 6th February 2026.
Project eligibility criteria:
- Will add value to the organisation and skills development of the final year student.
- Hours not used to cover the role of another employee.
- Hours not used to take away the role of another employee.
- Potential for internship to develop into a graduate role or extended internship beyond the LJMU 140 funded hours.
Organisation eligibility criteria (negotiable based on project):
- Ideally 250 employees or less
- Not owned by LJMU staff
- Ideally based in the Liverpool City Region
Businesses and organisations that have participated in our internships programme before are welcome to reapply although we are especially keen to support partners who are yet to benefit.
Prior to completing this form, if you have any questions or queries, please email internships@ljmu.ac.uk