A Worcestershire-based company that provides consultancy advice and training to defence agencies across the globe has introduced its first ever graduate scheme with the help of regional graduate recruitment specialist Grad Central.
3SDL, who employ 25 people at its headquarters on Malvern Hills Science Park, was looking for the brightest young talent that the region had to offer to support the growth of its worldwide operations.
Matt May, Chief Operations Officer at 3SDL, commented: “We are a knowledge business, therefore our strength has to be our people. The majority of our consultants are ex-armed forces or from large international defence organisations. As part of our growth, we felt it was vital to compliment this by bringing fresh new talent into the business. They had to be high calibre candidates, essentially the cream of the crop that had the drive and enthusiasm to make a career in such an important sector.
Ed Evans, Trainee Consultant at 3SDL
“Unfortunately, we had been searching for graduates with little success for the last 18 months. A key requirement for our industry is security clearance and many of the recruitment agencies we had dealt with just couldn’t understand this, meaning many of the candidates were unsuitable, wasting valuable time and resources. This changed when we were introduced to Grad Central. Its team of consultants were like a breath of fresh air, taking away the hassle and helping us every step of the way through the process. What’s more, because its service is totally free, we got a first rate service with no fees.”
Grad Central, which is funded by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM), is specifically designed to match business needs with graduate talent and is the only dedicated service focused solely for West Midlands companies. In addition, a major benefit is it can offer employers a totally free service for their first graduate recruitment.
Lucy Dinsdale, project manager for Grad Central, said: “This was quite a specific brief that required careful planning and research to meet 3SDL’s criteria. In addition, candidates were put through an intensive two-day selection process. It was therefore imperative that the people we put forward were up to the test.”
Following the interviews, 3SDL appointed Grad Central’s candidate Edward Evans to the role of trainee consultant. Edward was ideally suited to the role based on his degree in environmental engineering from the University of Nottingham and his previous experience with the air environment from his university air squadron days. Highlighting its commitment to bringing young talent into the business, the company has also appointed local resident Tom Preece as another trainee consultant and taken on two school leavers into apprenticeship schemes.
Continued Matt May: “It really is an exciting time for our business and we are delighted with how well the new recruits have integrated into the team in such a short space of time. Within the first two weeks they are already making presentations to senior management and working on fee-based contracts, which is testament to the ability they bring with them.”