Body to place 500th intern

The organisation, which was spun out from the Centre for Scottish Public Policy think-tank in 2010, has already placed 350 graduates with businesses, charities and public sector bodies.

The news follows chief executive Joy Lewis telling Scotland on Sunday, The Scotsman’s, sister paper, that she hopes the body will secure further funding from the Scottish Government, having received £800,000 from Holyrood and the European Union.

Lewis has unveiled a “corporate fostering programme”, under which larger companies sponsor start-up businesses or social enterprises to take on graduates, creating a “feeder system” from which bigger firms could then recruit staff.