Research has shown that graduate recruitment suffered the biggest drop since 2008, as employers cut back on hiring to cope with the pandemic. André Rogaczewski, CEO and Co-founder at Netcompany explains how virtual interviewing and digital training courses have helped the IT consultancy continue to attract emerging talent.
A survey by the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) has found that the number of graduate jobs declined by 12% in 2020, and the majority of employers anticipate a further decline this year.
The ISE Student Recruitment Survey 2020 reported that this is the largest fall in graduate recruitment since 2008/9, when the market contracted by 25%.
The impact of COVID-19 has meant that employers have had to make significant adjustments to their recruitment processes. As with many of our face-to-face or once office-based activities, recruitment has also moved online.
Shifting to the digital approach
The ISE report found that almost half (42%) of employers found it difficult to fill IT jobs in programming and development. While the pandemic certainly presented a unique set of challenges for Netcompany in terms of selecting, onboarding, training and developing new recruits, we’ve successfully shifted our recruitment approach towards evolving digital methods.
We identified, interviewed and remotely onboarded a total of 40 graduate-level and 95 more experienced new colleagues in the UK in 2020. The pandemic has required us to create a virtual interview process, where we have introduced new tools to make virtual interviewing easier for candidates, such as a live sharing board. We are also currently working on 14 live roles, including a number in our Systems Integration team. We are making offers across other business units too.
While it wasn’t possible to provide our full academy training during the pandemic, which relies on face-to-face teamwork, we are about to launch our virtual academy courses that will allow us to continue to train in all core areas remotely for as long as required.
Long-term remote working
We’ve discovered that candidates, including graduates, are interested to know more about long-term remote working post-lockdown. By adjusting our approach to recruitment we’ve been able to expand the Netcompany team in the middle of a global pandemic, but we are conscious that the online/remote setup is not suited to all business models. We are viewing this approach as a short-to-long-term strategy, rather than a permanent way of working. It’s important to remember that:
- Meeting clients face-to-face offers the best conditions for team working and client/consultancy relationships
- Remote working can be a real challenge for large-scale projects, collaborative working and complex group work
- Being together and having fun is an essential part of work life, and without being able to interact face-to-face, the social aspect is under pressure
Finding a post-pandemic solution
As companies try to decide the best way forward for their workers, and amid the ongoing uncertainty, many are looking at hybrid working: combining remote work with office work, as a long-term solution.
We are continuing to grow our UK base, and will be welcoming our staff back to a newly expanded Leeds office as soon as UK restrictions are lifted.
We have seen such a large expansion of work in the North of England, that we are able to open additional workspace to cater for our growing teams, and we’re looking forward to welcoming them back to their desks and collaborative workspaces, while also offering remote working.
Historically, graduates have been the first to fall victim to economic setbacks, but we’ve continued to make a conscious effort to invest in new talent in the UK, during the pandemic, Brexit, and beyond.
A huge part of Netcompany’s success stems from a strong belief that graduates coming straight out of university have the mindset and theoretical knowledge that makes them a perfect fit for the way we approach, develop and execute IT projects.
We make sure our graduates get to be a part of an entire project lifecycle, so they gain a lot of hands-on experience.
COVID-19 has turned many lives and career plans upside down, and the process of recruiting and onboarding new employees has changed dramatically. But, despite the challenges and uncertainty we must continue to offer real career opportunities. Not just so young people can develop and experience the world of work, but that the pipeline of emerging talent, fresh ideas and innovative approaches continues to be fed.
The pandemic presented an all-too real use case for digital transformation, so it is crucial that post-COVID, we don’t leave talented tech graduates behind.
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Source: http://hrnews.co.uk/the-workplace-of-the-future-recruiting-new-tech-talent/
