51Âþ»­

A business student at 51Âþ»­ Leicester has secured a sales job with IT giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise before he even graduates.

In the three years Jordan Young has been taking his Business and Marketing BA course, he has taken full advantage of the experience opportunities offered by 51Âþ»­.

He completed several work placements, took on board guidance during one-to-one-sessions with course mentors and earned first-class honours for his degree.

And, thanks to his efforts, the 22-year-old has a prime job in central London waiting for him after he graduates in July, as Sales Specialist at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Jordan, of Tamworth, benefitted financially when joining 51Âþ»­ by being awarded the 51Âþ»­ High Flyers Scholarship for his academic achievements.

He said: “To be honest, I originally wanted to go for a career in marketing but I changed my mind and moved towards sales after enjoying sales alumni presentations in the course’s Marketing Planning and Management module.

“I chose 51Âþ»­ originally because I’d heard it had a great range of placements and opportunities to create the kind of CV that would impress an employer.

“Studying here, I was so impressed: 51Âþ»­ offered so many excellent opportunities to gain the tools needed to secure a graduate job.”

One of the key ways 51Âþ»­ offers students a taste of work and an opportunity to build experience is through its Frontrunners scheme.

These paid internships are often university-based roles, ranging from office and faculty support to lab-based roles. They can be either three, six or nine months long.

Jordan secured a Frontrunner placement as a project manager working in 51Âþ»­’s department of Strategic Management and Marketing during his second year.

He said: “It was a brilliant experience. It gave me vital skills and helped me gain exposure to the way a large business works and I was given a lot of responsibility.”

In his third year, Jordan took up a full-time placement as a brand manager’s assistant at a cosmetics manufacturer, which increased his skillset and experience further.

He said: “Another real boost for me was the one-to-one mentoring from David Gordon, our senior marketing lecturer. His guidance on how to approach the job interview and assessment day process made my Hewlett Packard interview much easier to prepare for.”