A recruitment organisation which has help find jobs for University of Bradford graduates and other Yorkshire university students is expanding its remit after becoming part of a UK-wide operation.

Social enterprise Graduates Yorkshire, working closely with university careers services, has placed more than 20,000 graduates from the region’s 12 universities in work since its launch in 2007. In 2010 it was named the UK’s best regional job board at the National Online Recruitment Awards.

The graduate recruitment service is set for further growth following the successful transition of the operation to Gradcore which will match up former students and employers across the UK.

Graduates Yorkshire was set up by Martin Edmondson and Yorkshire Universities, a membership association representing all 12 regional higher education institutions. The latest move follows the exit of Yorkshire Universities from the partnership this year.

Gradcore will be led by chief executive Martin Edmondson who says the transition will provide a platform for continued expansion of graduate recruitment services further across the UK, while retaining a core presence in Yorkshire.

Mr Edmondson said: “Gradcore is now in a position to further develop all commercial aspects of the business and advance our business model across the UK. We are very proud of what we have achieved with Graduates Yorkshire – with the support of Yorkshire Universities – but this is the right time to take the business in a new direction.

“Gradcore already works with more than 30 different universities across the UK, and delivers national and global graduate schemes for major employers, work we intend to build upon in the near future.

“Users of the Graduates Yorkshire website and services will notice no difference to the level of service and all online searches will be directed to the new Yorkshire Graduates website.”

Gradcore has more than 50,000 registered graduate users on its yorkshire graduates.co.uk site and works with more than 7,000 employers across Yorkshire.

Mr Edmondson said: “There are more than 100 universities in the UK which we are now keen to engage with as we expand the business further. We will also continue to have a strong social element to the business, supporting unemployed graduates into work.”

Professor David Fleming, chairman of the board of directors of Yorkshire Universities and vice-chancellor at York St John University, said: “The board of Yorkshire Universities felt the time was right to make this change as we move to concentrate on our core activities in support of the region’s universities. We wish Martin and his team continued success in the future.”