In any case, a boutique should only take on a ‘Smart’ when it has a real job or project to offer – where the student’s skills, energy and relatively low wages mean they can add value almost immediately.

So when they graduate, what will keep the young person at the boutique firm?

Three factors make it more likely:

1. They are now more valuable to the company, who are therefore prepared to pay them more. What makes a ‘Smart’ more valuable than a typical graduate? • They were amongst the best students to start with – it is how they were selected for the program. • They have learnt the specific job and office skills for this employer. • They know the company culture, which makes them more effective. So compared to an untried, unknown new graduate, they are simply worth more and can be wooed with money plus more responsibility and challenge

2. The company has had time to plan ahead to fit the part-timer into a permanent role. Both parties have knowledge of the other – they can select and mould a job that suits.

3. Despite employers’ skepticism about Generation Y, they are like older people in one key area. Most don’t want to change for change’s sake. They are usually grateful for the opportunity to have had a real job while studying. Finally, they have formed relationships in the company, probably the strongest glue of all.

All this being said, some of the part-timers will still leave when they graduate as they will want a different role. However this is less of a problem for the employer than when a full-time graduate leaves. The part time student has been happily doing lower-level work at significantly lower cost than a graduate.

Even if they don’t go on to a lengthy analyst career at the boutique, they were still profitable for the small firm in the time they were employed.