THE investment firm NEL Fund Managers has taken on its first student intern as he learns more about the industry before looking to join it.

Morgan Edwards is spending 12 months at the Newcastle firm as part of his business studies degree at Northumbria University.

Morgan, who is from Darlington, will spend the first part of his placement as an investment administrator, and will also work with the portfolio team on a range of duties relating to NEL’s investee businesses.

And as well as providing him with useful knowledge about the sorts of roles he might fulfil after he completes his degree, the placement will also enable Morgan to gather information for his final- year dissertation.

He said: “My aim is to work in the finance area of business, and when I looked at the different options I had for finding a placement, NEL seemed to provide the best fit with my ambitions.

“I didn’t really know what to expect when I walked through the door on my first day, but there’s been lots of variety and very interesting topics to deal with so far and I’m really enjoying the job.

“My aim is to build a platform from which I can start to develop my future career, and I’ve already learned a great deal from the NEL team that I’ll use both in my academic studies and in working towards finding my first post-graduate job.”

Yvonne Gale, portfolio director at NEL Fund Managers, which manages the £20m Finance For Business North East Fund, said: “Getting a start in any career is tough for graduates in today’s climate, and having that little bit of direct experience can be the difference between someone getting or losing out on a post-graduate job.

“We therefore decided to offer this placement to help someone who was keen to enter our industry get some hands-on knowledge of the work they might eventually do.

“Morgan has settled in really well with us, and is providing extremely useful support to the team as we work through the many investment inquiries and applications that we receive regarding the Growth Fund.”