A leading letting agent in the north-east has benefited from the expertise of Robert Gordon University (RGU) students.
Northwood Lettings Aberdeen took on two management students from RGU for a marketing focussed work experience project to help strengthen its presence across the region.
James Straughan and Hajrah Ahmed, who are both fourth year management students, put their learning into action for the project, which saw them develop a new website, produce digital content and establish social media channels for Northwood in order to raise its profile as an established local letting agent.
The students were put forward for the project through Talent Exchange, a unique work experience scheme for the north-east which provides businesses with flexible access the skills and knowledge of RGU students.
Impact of Student-Driven Projects on Local Businesses
Northwood’s owner, Laura Mearns, was impressed with the students’ work throughout the project which has significantly benefited her local business.
Laura said: “I’ve taken on students for a few years now and have always been really impressed with their knowledge and skills. It’s the first time we have used Talent Exchange which great for small and medium sized businesses as it offers flexible work experience projects which are tailored to the specific needs of a company.
“Our students brought fresh ideas which have really helped to drive our marketing forward. They were able to look at some of the challenges which we hadn’t had an opportunity to focus on due to resources in a small business so they were a great addition to our team.”
Laura says that the benefit of Talent Exchange extends beyond that of the business as the students also got a valuable work experience opportunity.
She said: “We ensured that the students were given full ownership of the project and were responsible for its delivery. We gave them freedom to be creative with ideas and they had a huge amount of responsibility in managing the website changes as well as creating new social media channels and content for the pages.
“The project also helped them to develop their soft skills by gaining experience of working as part of a team and seeing the day to day operations of an office environment.”
Talent Exchange’s Impact Across 25 Sectors
Following its launch in September 2014, Talent Exchange has worked with a total of 413 businesses from across 25 different sectors ranging from oil and gas, property and recruitment to healthcare, tourism and hospitality.
Established with funding from the Scottish Funding Council, it offers flexible solutions to a business including one-off challenges, short-term projects and placements of varying lengths.
