Tip 7
Offer work experience
"Work experience can provide a low risk opportunity for you to find future recruits. You may find that it gives you the chance to assess their potential to your organisation and to develop the skills in them that you need. Work experience placements can help you to recruit the cream and also to open doors to non-traditional recruits, such as women returners, who want to move into an IT role for the first time or develop new skills." - Benet Northcote, Head of Operations, CTN
Is there such a thing as a typical work placement student, keen to improve on coffee making and photocopying skills, able to ask questions at inconvenient moments and most likely related to the MD or a senior line manager. This is, one would hope, a gross generalization, but demonstrates a not uncommon occurrence. It really doesnt have to be this way. Admittedly it may be pleasant for us to have an office dogs body once a year gaining an insight into the world of work but surely the annual migration from universities and colleges, training companies and job centers could be a little more productive.
Many IT companies around the UK lament the lack of technical skills and the lack of business understanding of potential new recruits. For the benefit of finding someone with the above skills recruitment agencies will happily relieve employers of 20% of a recruits 1st year salary.
Universities, colleges, training companies and job centers are full of individuals trained to learn, wanting to be motivated by our industry, wanting to be given an opportunity to develop their social and interpersonal skills and find out the characteristics of individuals successful in the world of work. On short-term placement, these individuals may be in a position to undertake or complete projects traditionally performed by high charging freelance consultants. In the long term, placements may allow employers to see potential new employees interacting with colleagues and clients in a way that no interview process can ever offer. Is it any surprise that a recent survey has shown that 75% of employers offering work placements in the last twelve months expect to offer one of the places a permanent role?
Work placements also help employers to make partnerships with local educational establishments. Employers bemoan the fact that universities are not turning out graduates ready for the world of work whilst refusing to engage with them. For example, one company recently found itself desperate for graduates with skills in Director version 8, but couldn't find universities that specifically teach this as a course. The company now offers a final year project in conjunction with a university, which addresses a core project for the company while using Director 8. The students are getting business experience, learning a new product and the company is helping to produce a steady production line of recruits.
So, what stops employers offering placements. Yes, they do take time and resources to get right, but how long does a recruitment process take? Yes, finding students and making contact with universities takes time but the STEP Programme and university PlaceNet find numerous motivated students every year keen to gain business experience. The National Centre for Work Experience is a good place to start to find out what information is available for companies wanting to offer placements.
Work placements offer companies a cost-effective chance to motivate people about the opportunities in the sector and build their employability skills at the same time as potentially solving some recruitment headaches.
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