Telent graduates and apprentices – a team of soaring stars

A pandemic on the horizon

Following the application stage, successful candidates were asked to undertake a face to face interview with graduate assessments taking place in March and apprenticeship assessments taking place in both May and June. Here, we met some talented candidates and offered a number of roles as a result. An additional two graduate assessments were due to take place the following week. However, in line with company guidance, national circumstances and the venue closing, these events were cancelled.

Owing to the global pandemic, it was unlikely that traditional assessment centre methods would allow us to achieve our recruitment goals this year. Thinking ahead, the learning and development team began to plan virtual assessment solutions to continue to recruit in a fair way with minimal bias. Telent’s aim to convey a friendly family feel throughout the recruitment process was weaved into each assessment.

The first virtual assessments took place in May and continued until the beginning of August.

More than 31 new colleagues were inducted over two days, including a virtual session to help new team members adjust to distant working, “speed networking” with Telent’s executive team and even a virtual pub quiz. Telent’s new graduates and apprentices welcomed this virtual approach, with one stating “I was very pleased to see that so much emphasis is placed on continuous development and it was good to interact with directors”.

“We wanted to continue the family feel in the run-up to their first day” said Richard Giddings, Graduate and Apprenticeship Manager at Telent. “That’s why we sent them a box of treats, breakfast for their first day, even including a plant for their home office”.

The sky’s the limit

All in all, six project management graduates, ten engineering graduates, six network services apprentices and nine transport apprentices were hired. The new graduates and apprentices are based across the country, with locations including Chorley, London, Camberley, Warwick and Liverpool.

Telent’s apprenticeships and graduate schemes aim to address and eliminate skills shortages across the industry by helping to develop the next generation of talent. Congratulations to all our new recruits who we hope are at the beginning of a long and successful career with Telent!

For more information about Telent’s apprenticeship and graduate careers programs and view its latest vacancies, please visit: https://Telent.com/careers