AN initiative has been set up to link businesses based in Worcestershire and Hereford-shire with university students and graduates.

Graduate Advantage is an Advantage West Midlands funded project that specialises in offering free business support and recruitment service to maximise links between students in higher education and business.

"There is a wealth of talent in the West Midlands within the universities and a strong enthusiasm within the students and graduates to gain experience and offer their ideas and skills to companies who would like to grow and become more competitive in the market," said Dan Davies, regional co-ordinator for the project in Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

"Graduate Advantage can help to recruit these individuals and support the companies so they can make the most of the opportunities."

Graduate Advantage has worked with different sized companies in the region where students have conducted short term projects into areas including marketing, customer surveys, IT support, report writing and product launches.

Froya Ltd, a rural based internet development company teamed up with Rachael Watkins via Graduate Advantage. Rachael is studying BA Business Management and Sports at University of Worcester.

Both have benefited from the placement. Froya had a fresh pair of eyes to review current marketing strategy while Rachael worked within the team to suggest new ideas and spoke to clients to see what they would like from the company. Ben Kinnaird, managing director of Froya, said: "Rachael has exceeded all prior expectations for a student placement because of a strong mixture between her personality and her ideas on marketing.

"I believe that programmes such as Graduate Advantage help small businesses capitalise on the benefit of employing young people and open the way to the huge amount of talent that is out there," said Ben.

Companies can choose between a variety of programmes to create the right recruitment solutions.

Contact Dan Davies, regional co-ordinator on 07768 483547 or e-mail d.l.davies@graduate advantage.co.uk