With exam season drawing to a close and the distant horizon of real life drawing ever closer, young students across the country will be fretting to secure a work placement and the chance to prove that they truly are capable of functioning in the adult world.

It is a competitive market to enter. Hard-grafting students from Britain’s top universities keen to work in business, finance, or accounting will find the internship hunt the easiest. They are more likely to find generously paid work in a major city for a big player in the market of their choice.

But for...