ISPO, the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce’s International Student Placement Office is currently bucking the economic downturn, having experienced the busiest January since the service began. ISPO co-ordinator Ben Littler said:

“We anticipated the start of the year being a quiet time, however, we have placed more than twice as many students as we had expected in January and February and March look set to follow this trend.”

Ben suggested that the current economic climate may be playing a part in generating these successes:

“It stands to reason that businesses would take an extra interest in a service such as ours during times like these. We are an extremely cost effective means by which companies can develop their international trade. ISPO students are funded by the EU, which means that host organisations do not have to pay a salary.”

Another reason that ISPO have been so successful of late is the dramatic increase in applications they have received since the launch of a new website late last year. Ben Said:

“The new website is much more interactive than our old site and it enables interested parties, be they businesses, students or universities, to register an account with us. From a businesses perspective this is helpful in a number of ways. It enables companies to post and mange their own vacancy information for one thing. Also, student applicants automatically receive email updates when an appropriate vacancy becomes live. This enables us to quicker match suitable candidates to a role, thus providing a more effective and efficient service.”

A part of the increased activity has been diversification in the type of placement that ISPO organises. Previously ISPO has largely been involved in sourcing students for sales and marketing roles. More recently however, the service has provided students for sectors as wide ranging as engineering and education.

“Our students are highly educated individuals and can be of enormous benefit to a diverse range of business sectors. Lately we have been placing international students in schools, where they can help with language tuition, as well as in the more traditional, promotional roles of helping UK companies to develop their overseas markets. We receive applications from students of many different disciplines, meaning there is no limit to the type of assistance we can provide.”

Anyone wanting further information on ISPO student placements should contact Ben Littler or Nathalie Hol at the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce on (01332) 851 280 or by email ben.littler@dncc.co.uk; Nathalie.hol@dncc.co.uk