Students at the London School of Business and Finance will be "guaranteed" a graduate-level, full-time position if they gain at least a 2:2 in a new BA course costing up to ?9,950 a year.

Any qualifying graduate of the Trium programme who fails to secure a job will be given ?2,500 under the cashback scheme - about 8 per cent of their total tuition fees.

The private provider, which has 16,000 students at its four UK campuses, said students would do an internship during the course to boost their employability and would receive intensive career support throughout their studies.

Several blue-chip firms had also agreed to employ students, who will study financial services, international business, marketing or accounting.

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Valery Kisilevsky, group managing director, said strong links with business had enabled the college to offer the refund, which may be a sign of things to come as competition for students hots up between publicly funded and private institutions.

"We have just signed an agreement with Accenture for 240 placements for our graduates," Mr Kisilevsky said. "We have arrangements with many businesses and have combined our careers service and corporate department.

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"There are about 2 million graduates struggling to find jobs. It's not the quality of the degree or education that is the problem, but they are lacking certain skills. Having language skills and work experience are key aspects that will add to the undergraduate programme."

The deal is believed to be the first to make a cashback payment available for a three-year undergraduate degree in the UK. Students will also be given an iPad 2 as part of the degree, with most course materials provided digitally.

The college's programmes are validated by partners including the Grenoble Graduate School of Business, the University of Wales, the University of Bradford and the University of Central Lancashire.

jack.grove@tsleducation.com.