THE CHALLENGES OF GRADUATE HIRING IN THE NEW NORMAL

Graduates leaving University with a degree in their elected field are now finding it increasingly difficult to obtain roles related to their degree subjects. On the other hand, companies continue to use competency-based interviews when seeking new talent, despite the fact that graduates since 2020 have all had their university experiences, and consequently their working experiences affected by Covid.

It is time to shift the narrative and encourage both employers and those seeking graduate-level employment to adapt to the new working world we find ourselves in, as it is here to stay. The new focus within talent acquisition and new hire training should surround recognising the passions and transferrable skills gained through both work-related and wider experiences and acknowledging how these can be converted into valuable workplace proficiencies. As long as candidates are able to channel these skills and passions into their work then they are set to thrive.

This is where Capita’s IT skills enablement programme, Novus, can help. We provide a solution for today’s employment issues for both clients and candidates. Novus aims to bridge the gap between university and the workplace. Upon completing their degree courses, graduates often feel slightly at a loss, as their course was subject driven, rather than being a direct route into a chosen profession. Novus provides candidates with the opportunity to level up their skills from their degrees into the workplace, whilst gaining hands-on work experience.
 

With no financial barriers to entry, our candidates encompass a wide variety of backgrounds, allowing us to provide clients with more diverse workforces. Our programme provides companies with new talent in a risk-free manner, as organisations can choose whether the candidate is the right fit for them.

Our goal is to ensure that both clients and candidates are satisfied with their placements, therefore we work hard to match trainees to the correct businesses and to help adjust placements when needed. Novus gives candidates from all backgrounds the chance to work for blue-chip clients, helping them gain on-hand experience, whilst also aiding in the development of their skills, expertise and confidence. Candidates are also free to put themselves forward for any role advertised within Novus, supported by our team.

We are proud to enable all candidates in their elected field and aim to accelerate their chosen career path. We support our candidates through their career journeys with pay progressions and bonuses based on continuous professional development, empowering candidates to add value to our client’s organisations and encouraging longevity within their placement. The choice afforded to our candidates, alongside the renumeration proccess means that the large majority of our placements result in a move to a permanent role after two years of training.

Furthermore, following Covid our Novus programme has moved online, meaning that candidates no longer need to travel to our training centres to take part. This has led to a greater diversity within our candidate pool, something which greatly benefits our clients. The importance of diversity within the workforce is something we have heard about numerous times. It has been proven that increased diversity in teams helps boost creativity and innovation, and our candidates can help organisations achieve this.

As we continue through 2022, successful businesses will be those who continue to prioritise diversity within their employment strategies. Employers need to expedite the diversification of their workforce. We can help, not only through the hiring of our candidates, but also thanks to the wide variety of transferrable skills they bring. These skills can consequently be developed into business and corporate skills, allowing the candidates to thrive and bring value to organisations. Moreover, clients are able to mould their Novus solution alongside other Capita Modular People Solution services, enabling us to enrich and coordinate your solution choices.

To find out more about how our Novus programme and our wider Modular People Solutions offerings can assist your business in the hiring of risk-free, trained new talent, click here.