A new initiative aimed at making it easier for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to hire young people has launched. 

The organisers hope it will break the cycle of ‘no work experience, no job’ faced by many in the labour market.

The new Graduate Foundation College (GFC), set up by Financial Skills Partnership (FSP), an industry partnership and skills champion for the sector, offers 150 selected unemployed graduates a concentrated 10-week pre-employment training course preparing them to join financial advisory firms. 

When they have completed their training, these graduates will join SME practices in Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, London and Manchester for a minimum of six months of paid industry experience.

The GFC was developed with the support of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, and major sector employers including Aviva, Just Retirement, Scottish Widows and Tenet, and Redland Business Solutions. 

Liz Field, FSP’s chief executive, adds: “The key advantage is that the graduates can hit the ground running and make an immediate contribution to the practices they join without the drain on resources of an induction programme which many smaller practices simply cannot provide.”