From Campus to Community – Internships, Networking and Volunteering with Gayle Thomson

In this episode of Scale HER Up – The Female Entrepreneur Show, I’m joined by Gayle Thomson, Employer Engagement Advisor in the Careers and Employability Service at the University of Aberdeen. Gayle works at the heart of the university’s strategy to expand work-based learning, connecting employers with students through internships, part-time roles, volunteering, mentoring and short-term shadowing opportunities.

Gayle explains why real-world experience is so important for students’ employability and confidence – and why it’s a genuine win–win for businesses too. She breaks down the university’s part-time, term-time internship programme: 70 hours over seven weeks, fully funded for SMEs and charities, with all the recruitment admin handled by the university. We talk about the impact on small businesses, using Brenda’s own podcast intern as a live example.

We also dive into Gayle’s 25-year career journey in careers and employability – from community careers work and 22 years as a careers adviser at RGU, to a full pivot into employer engagement at the University of Aberdeen. She shares how she went from walking round Granite Expo without speaking to anyone, to becoming a confident networker who now happily works a room and sees value in every conversation.

Another big theme in this episode is volunteering. Gayle talks about her long-standing commitment to charities including Befriend a Child, Team Jak, Marie Curie, Maggie’s, Clan, Charlie House and the transformational experience of helping deliver the Tall Ships event in Aberdeen. She shares how volunteering supported her through personal change, why it’s so rewarding, and how business owners and busy professionals can still find realistic ways to get involved. Gayle Thomson

If you’re a business owner curious about hosting an intern, looking to deepen your talent pipeline, or wondering how to build volunteering into your life and business, this conversation is full of uplifting, practical insight.

In this episode, we cover:

1. What an Employer Engagement Advisor actually does and how Gayle works with employers to create opportunities for students
2. The university’s push for more work-based learning: internships, volunteering, part-time jobs, mentoring and shadowing
3. How the part-time, term-time internship scheme works: 70 hours, 10 hours a week, fully funded and admin-light for employers
4. Why these internships are especially valuable for SMEs, charities and creative or cultural organisations
5. The “win–win” stories: students gaining experience and confidence while employers get real projects delivered and often retain interns afterwards
6. Gayle’s 25-year careers journey across Step Ahead/Skills Development Scotland, the University of Aberdeen, RGU and back to Aberdeen in a new role
7. How she transformed her relationship with networking – from wanting to leave an event to confidently talking to every stand in the room
8. The power of LinkedIn and long-term relationships between universities, students and employers
9. Gayle’s volunteering story: from Sunday school and Brownies to Befriend a Child, cancer charities, Team Jak, Tall Ships and more
10. Why charities are so vital to communities and how events rely on volunteers to run
11. Practical encouragement for people who think they “don’t have time” to volunteer – and how to involve friends, family, partners and even dogs
12. Her message about pushing out of your comfort zone, trying new things and letting that shape your confidence and career