Merseyside students! Want to bridge the gap between your studies and your career?

Relevant work experience is highly valued by employers, but as a student the right opportunities are sometimes hard to find. You may have worked behind a bar, or perhaps you've waited on in a restaurant, but to get ahead of the competition in the jobs market, you will need to offer that 'something extra'.

Several universities run work-placement schemes in the north-west, which offer you the chance to get some relevant experience under your belt. One example is Business Bridge, a collaboration between four universities in the region:

• University of Liverpool
• Liverpool John Moores University
• Liverpool Hope University
• University of Chester.

Opportunities range from designing science-based holiday activities for children, to translating information for French and Spanish visitors to the Isle of Man TT races. Whichever option you choose, it will be relevant to your course and, more importantly, to your future career.

The Business Bridge approach is to ask employers to set out details of a project and the skills they want. You register your interest in a project and apply. Once you are working, the process is kept under review for the duration of the placement so that both sides get exactly what they need.

The outcome is the employer finds a skilled and enthusiastic worker to help fulfil an immediate business need, while you gain the valuable work experience that could give you the edge when you start looking for work.

To take advantage of the Business Bridge programme, you must be enrolled at one of the four participating universities, or be a student at another university, but living in Cheshire or Merseyside during the holidays.

To find out how Business Bridge could help you, visit www.business-bridge.org.uk.