John Lewis & Partners join The Bedford College Group’s Employer Partnership Scheme

The Bedford College Group is excited to announce that John Lewis & Partners has become the second employer to sign up for the Group’s Employer Partnership Scheme.

Although John Lewis & Partners is a national employer across the UK, The Bedford College Group is specifically collaborating with the teams at Magna Park 1 & 2 in Milton Keynes. This ensures that the local community will benefit from a partnership which focuses on local jobs.

Having signed up for the Employer Partnership Scheme, John Lewis & Partners have committed to offering another Supported Internship this year. They have also hosted an industry field trip for Business and Computing staff and will be working with the Electrical Installation and Engineering curriculum areas in the new year.

The scheme, which launched in August 2024, is a mutually beneficial initiative designed to ‘join the dots’ between industry and education. Employers within the Scheme make a commitment to engage with the Group regularly throughout the academic year, creating a foundation for sustained collaboration, innovation and growth.

Employers benefit from this new scheme in multiple ways, the most prominent being direct access to our students to aid recruitment. On top of this, employers can directly influence the curriculum available for students to gain all the appropriate skills needed in the workplace.

Students across the Group also benefit from exposure to local employers, hands-on experience and enhanced employability prospects to add to their CVs.

Up until October 2024, the Scheme has already been the catalyst for five students from Bedford College and Central Bedfordshire College to undertake internships at the Magna Park premises. Following on from this, two have since gone on to secure permanent Warehouse Operative roles at the site.

The Employer Partnership Scheme is now open to workplaces from various industries and sectors. If your business would be interested in partnering with The Bedford College Group, register your interest by emailing partnerships@bedford.ac.uk to find out more information.