Twelve high-flying graduates battled snow and ice to attend the first residential training course of the TalentScotland Graduate Placement Programme in the Highlands and Islands in December.
The £1.5 million programme delivered by Strathclyde's Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship and Robert Gordon University, is designed to give graduates real-life business experience and help ambitious companies achieve growth.
The programme in the Highlands and Islands is managed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) with Scottish Enterprise (SE) managing the programme for the rest of Scotland. The graduates are working with businesses to help them innovate or develop new products and processes, while gaining vital work experience after completing their studies.
Dr Jonathan Levie, of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, said: "The programme is attracting high calibre graduates who have the ability to make a real difference to the companies they work with. Our role is to help them develop into strong leaders so they can ultimately drive business growth.
"Strathclyde has a strong track record of working with business, industry and the public sector and we're delighted to be working with the TalentScotland programme."
Among the graduates were James Williamson, a Strathclyde engineering graduate at BSW Timber, and Chris Putt at Highland Dr LevieActivities in Kinlochlaggan.
James said: "I spent four years learning from books, but the real learning starts in the workplace."
Chris added: "I have learned how to present the knowledge I have in my head using the tools and techniques we have discussed during this week. I can now use these to present and discuss ideas and actions with my boss and others."
Funding from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) has made the development and delivery of this tailored course possible. Up to 600 graduates in Scotland will benefit from this course between 2010 and 2013.
The TalentScotland Graduate Placement Programme is also supported by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Service and the European Regional Development Fund.