Birmingham-based Premier Risk Management Ltd is defying the doom and gloom of the recession after taking on its first ever graduate.
The independent commercial insurance broker has utilised graduate recruitment specialist Grad Central’s expertise and employed 24 year old Gemma Nash as a trainee account executive.
Nelle Hawkins, Director at Premier Risk Management Ltd, commented: "We have a small but highly experienced team of five employees but were looking to expand this to help support our business growth.
"The most important skills we were looking for in a candidate were the ones you cannot teach. Obviously we can train people how to work in insurance, but being presentable, friendly and able to work on their own initiative cannot be taught. Grad Central contacted us about the advantages of getting a graduate for this position and we were really impressed by their approach."
Matching skills to requirements
Grad Central, which is funded by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM), was launched earlier this year to match graduate talent with job opportunities throughout the region. It is the only dedicated graduate recruitment service solely focused on the West Midlands that can offer employers a totally free service for their first graduate recruit.
Continued Nelle: "Unlike many recruitment agencies out there, Grad Central were not pushy, they were genuinely interested in our company and wanted to help. Mark Gilligan, our consultant, listened exactly to our requirements and sent CV’s to match these. From there, we interviewed four candidates, all of which were ideally suited to the role. However, we could only take one graduate on, so after the second round of interviews we decided to offer Gemma the position based on her ambition to make a career from the industry."
Gemma, who lives in Lichfield, graduated from Loughborough University last year with a degree in Psychology. As a trainee account executive, she will be responsible for developing relationships with existing customers and looking for new business opportunities. As part of the graduate position, Premier Risk is providing a complete induction and on the job training, along with ongoing external training to help develop her skills.
Gemma said: "I’m absolutely ecstatic to have been placed in my first career job, especially as I realise how difficult it is at the moment to actually find work. Grad Central supported me every step of the way to help make the process as hassle free as possible and find the best employer to match my experience and aspirations."
Nelle concluded: "Even though this is the first time we have employed a graduate, we have been so impressed with Grad Central’s professional service and the quality of the graduates they put forward that they will definitely be our first port of call when we are looking at recruiting again."