Applicants flock to Swindon recruiter’s new graduate trainee scheme

Applicants flock to Swindon recruiter’s new graduate trainee scheme

A graduate training scheme set up by a Swindon recruitment company to attract new people into the industry has been hailed a success.

The scheme, set up by Outsource UK and launched in March, has already generated a interest and half of the six positions have been filled. A second assessment day is due to be held on May 17 for potential candidates, where it is hoped the final three will be recruited.

In the recruitment industry, a training programme for raw talent is almost unheard of, as most companies look to bring in only those who already have recruitment experience.

Outsource UK supplies permanent, interim and consultancy IT personnel to a range of companies throughout the UK. Recently, figures revealed that demand for IT labour and skills in the UK had outstripped supply for the first time since the end of 2008, as the volume of advertised positions on offer exceeded the number of 'ready candidates' in the labour market.

“We set up the training scheme to take on six graduates – or people of graduate calibre – to train them in recruitment with a view to having a permanent position with us at the end of their six month process,” said Anna Stretch, Outsource UK’s recruitment and training manager. “We have been very impressed with the calibre of applicants but we would like still more people to apply, particularly raw graduates straight from university. The market for IT personnel is growing and to ensure we are able to meet the demand it is essential that we recruit and retain a high calibre of our own employees.”

Successful applicants will be trained in all aspects of recruitment and have the option to take a professional recruitment qualification through the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), the industry’s governing body. “By taking on and training our own people we can ensure they are of the highest quality and maintain the high standards we have set,” said Anna.

Based in the heart of Swindon’s railway heritage area, Outsource UK, which has just marked its 20th anniversary, has a string of accolades to its name. It holds the REC audited status and is accredited by APSCo - the Association of Professional Staffing Companies. This year the company entered a published list of the top 100 largest Swindon companies. It also came 9th in Recruiter magazine’s recent list of the Top 50 Fast Recruiters.