Placement of the Year Awards 2012

Companies and students win with e-Placement programme.

Mobile app company NN4M has been honoured with an ‘e-Placement of the Year’ award after supporting a pioneering student placement scheme.

Launched in December 2010, e-Placement Scotland aims to boost the number of paid work experience opportunities available across Scotland for students with computing skills.

NN4M were named the top placement provider after taking on Heriot Watt student Alex Macrae as a Software Developer for three months last summer. Company Director Lorraine Howard said: “The placement programme was a very worthwhile and rewarding exercise for our business. Alex was really keen and eager to build on the knowledge he had already gained at University and adapted quickly to a real, live working environment, fitting in with the team perfectly.”

Alex is very enthusiastic about the placement: “My time with NN4M will have a massively beneficial impact on my employability.   I have gained a huge amount of technical experience and at the same time learned a lot about communication, team work and how a successful company works.”

Sally Smith e-Placement Scotland’s Project Director and Head of Computing at Edinburgh Napier said: “NN4M are delivering engaging mobile apps to high street retailers and we are delighted that Alex has had such an impact on their business; so much that they have now offered Alex a permanent post on graduation. They are also advertising another placement, showing confidence in e-Placement Scotland to find a good match every time.”

Simulation software company SIMUL8, who took on University of the West of Scotland student Melissa Ferguson, and web content and security firm Bloxx, who added Edinburgh Napier’s Cameron Nicol to their team during the summer, were also recognised at the award ceremony.

e-Placement Scotland has created more than 300 placements since its inception and in its first year, saw more than 1000 students register on its database.  With the technology sector already facing a major skills shortage, e-Placement Scotland provides a crucial link between academia and business.

Source: ScotlandIS