Step

What Step does

Step (legal name: Step Recruitment Ltd) is a UK-based private graduate recruitment agency headquartered in Nottingham. Founded in 1986 as the Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP), the firm connects students and recent graduates with UK businesses for internships, sandwich-year placements, permanent graduate hires, postgraduate placements, and specialist programmes such as the Speaker's Parliamentary Placement Scheme.

The company's product surface comprises discrete placement products: 8-12 week Graduate Internships, year-long Sandwich Placements, Permanent Graduate Hires, the Step Summer Internship Programme, the Step Further employability programme, and Postgraduate Placements. The underlying technology stack is built on industry-standard SaaS rather than proprietary infrastructure: HubSpot serves as the CRM, and JobAdder functions as the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). The candidate database of 40,000+ graduates, augmented by approximately 1,000 new registrations per month, forms the core operating asset and is managed through these systems to match employer demand with pre-screened talent.

Step operates a transaction-based fee model, charging employers flat placement fees for recruitment services rather than a subscription or SaaS revenue stream. Customers span UK corporates and mid-market firms including PUMA, Smith Stone Walters, TecQuipment, and Planer Limited, with roles concentrated in engineering and commercial functions. Distribution relies on long-standing university partnerships and trade-body accreditations (APSCo, EMC, FSB), plus credentials such as Cyber Essentials and Disability Confident. No funding rounds, M&A activity, or international expansion are evident in the input data, suggesting a stable, mature operating profile with Managing Director Tamsin Millns leading a team of 11-50 employees.

Name

Step

Legal name

Step Recruitment Ltd

Website

https://step.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Step (Step Recruitment Ltd) is a UK-based graduate recruitment agency, headquartered in Nottingham and founded in 1986, that connects students and recent graduates with UK employers for internships, sandwich-year placements, and permanent graduate roles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Graduate Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Job Placement, Matching & Career Navigation Services (EDAAAOAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Career Exploration & Job Shadowing Programs (EDAMAKAC)

Keywords

• Graduate recruitment services
• Student internship placement
• Early careers hiring
• Permanent graduate jobs
• Sandwich year placement

Headquarters

HQ city

Nottingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Recruitment Fee Services: Step generates revenue by charging employers for placing graduates and students in internships, placements, and permanent positions. The company operates as an Employment Business for contract assignments and as an Employment Agency for permanent appointments, following The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. They charge a flat fee that covers screening, interviews, and candidate management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Step is a UK graduate and student recruitment agency that helps businesses recruit enterprising students and recent graduates for short-term paid internships (8-12 weeks), year-long sandwich placements, postgraduate placements, and full-time permanent positions. The agency sources, screens, and manages candidates on behalf of employers using a database of over 40,000 individuals and direct relationships with most UK universities, charging employers a flat recruitment fee.

Product overview

Step is a graduate recruitment agency that operates as a traditional recruitment service rather than a software platform. The company offers a portfolio of services connecting businesses with students and recent graduates, including graduate internships (8-12 weeks), sandwich/year-long placements, and permanent graduate hires. Supporting programmes include the Step Summer Internship Programme, Step Further employability programme, and Speaker's Parliamentary Placement Scheme. Services for employers include candidate sourcing, screening, interviewing support, and ongoing placement management through their database of over 40,000 students and graduates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Graduate Internships Short-term paid work placements lasting 8 to 12 weeks, providing UK businesses with motivated, work-ready graduates for project-based assignments.
• Sandwich Placements Year-long undergraduate placements providing UK businesses with continuity, fresh ideas, and an early talent pipeline through structured sandwich-year programmes.
• Permanent Graduate Hires Full-time permanent recruitment service helping UK businesses hire graduates who align with company values and future growth plans.
• Postgraduate Placements

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully placed graduates in permanent roles at companies including TecQuipment, where a graduate intern was hired permanently and later became Head of Marketing at IPSE
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and foundational.

• University of GreenwichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStep has a dedicated page for University of Greenwich on their website, indicating a significant partnership. The university offers sandwich placements and postgraduate placements through Step. Merin, a student from University of Greenwich's Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering program, secured a placement through Step. Step provides placement services specifically for Greenwich students and graduates.
• Shell UK Social InvestmentfoundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerStep was originally established in 1986 following a conversation between staff in Durham Business School and the far-sighted team in Shell UK's social investment department. The original name was Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP acronym). This founding partnership established Step's mission of creating meaningful paid internship opportunities.
• Durham Business SchoolfoundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded Step in 1986 alongside Shell UK as part of a social investment initiative to place students in business-critical projects at small businesses.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Target Jobs: Target Jobs is a UK graduate recruitment advertising and careers information platform serving students, graduates, and employers. It directly competes with Step's offering of placements, internships, and graduate recruitment services, particularly through its employer listings and university-facing content.
• RateMyPlacement: RateMyPlacement is a UK-based industrial placement and internship matching platform connecting students with sandwich-year and internship opportunities at UK employers. It directly overlaps with Step's sandwich placement and graduate internship services, including its focus on SMEs and large employers running annual placement programmes.
• Bright Network: Bright Network is a UK-based graduate recruitment platform connecting undergraduates and graduates with employers via events, memberships, and job-matching technology. It is a direct peer to Step given its similar UK university-anchored graduate hiring focus, two-sided marketplace model, and stated mission of placing 'future' graduate talent.
• Prospects: Prospects (operated by Jisc) is a UK graduate careers and employability service that connects higher-education graduates with employers through job listings, career guidance, and recruitment events. It is comparable to Step in that both operate at the intersection of universities, graduates, and employers delivering placement and early-career hiring outcomes.
• Milkround: Milkround is a UK graduate jobs board and recruitment platform focused on entry-level roles, internships, placements, and graduate schemes. It competes directly with Step by aggregating UK employer opportunities for students and graduates through university partnerships and an online marketplace.

Broad incumbents

• Reed: Reed is a major UK and global recruitment firm with a long-standing graduate and permanent placement division serving employers and job seekers across industries. It is comparable to Step as a broad incumbent offering early-career and permanent placement services within a much wider recruitment portfolio across the UK.
• Michael Page: Michael Page is a large global recruitment firm operating across multiple sectors including entry-level, graduate, and professional permanent placements in the UK. It is comparable as a broad incumbent providing permanent graduate hiring services alongside its wider portfolio of professional recruitment solutions.
• Hays: Hays is a global recruitment firm with a UK presence spanning permanent, temp, and graduate hiring across multiple sectors. It is comparable as a broad incumbent that includes early-career and graduate recruitment as part of a wider recruitment services portfolio and shares Step's UK employer-client base.

Others

• CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) — Recruitment Standards Body: CIPD is the UK professional body for HR and people development, setting standards and providing training, events, and policy guidance relevant to graduate recruitment and employability. It is comparable to Step as an ecosystem/standards participant shaping the early-career hiring environment that Step operates in, while not directly competing for placement fees.

Emerging players

• Shortlist: Shortlist is a graduate and student recruitment platform offering matching and candidate management tools to employers running early-career programmes. It is comparable to Step as an emerging player delivering early-career hiring via technology-enabled placement workflows, although it operates with a more software-led model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/step-recruitment
• Xx.com/stepplacements

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Step