With many of Birmingham’s businesses and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) realising the benefits of graduate skills and their long-term value, BHSF explains how it has actively encouraged and recruited young talent from the region for many years.
(Featured in this picture: Mike Chapman, Human Resource and Quality Management Director for BHSF with Sunita Mistry (left) and Melanie White who were successfully placed in graduate schemes at the Birmingham-based company after leaving university.)
The Birmingham-based not-for-profit employee benefits provider has grown significantly since it was founded in 1873, offering health-related insurance plans to over 250,000 policyholders and their families within the UK on a corporate and individual basis.
Its 3,000 client organisations include some of the UK’s biggest names like Allied Carpets, Argos, Sainsbury’s and General Motors, along with many hundreds of SMEs and smaller businesses. With its workforce currently standing at around 135 employees, BHSF recognises the strength and value, which graduates can bring to the Company.
Mike Chapman, Human Resource and Quality Management Director is actively involved with the recruitment process at BHSF and describes the importance of local businesses investing in the class of 2009: “Graduates bring new ideas and fresh approaches which we harness in our change management programmes.”
This year’s graduates are entering the job market at an extremely tough time, where the saying “survival of the fittest” has never been more appropriate. However, as graduates will be looking to stand out from the crowd in such testing times they will be more determined than ever to make the right impression on potential employers.
With specialist graduate recruitment agencies like Grad Central encouraging individuals to be persistent, local companies should realise how much of a positive impact graduates can be to the future success of their businesses.
Grad Central is a dedicated graduate recruitment service funded by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands (AWM), which is solely focused on matchmaking graduates and businesses within the West Midlands and offers businesses access to a totally free recruitment service.
Lucy Cheatham, Marketing Director at Grad Central highlights the advantages of hiring a graduate in such financially restricted times: “It’s understandable that businesses will be tightening the purse strings in the current climate, but this doesn’t mean that they will have to compromise on the quality of their staff. Bringing graduate talent into a business is often a great way to ignite new ideas and give a fresh approach to your growth plans. The ‘generation Y’ graduate can also give businesses the edge in today’s digital age, where the pace of change and adoption of new technologies and social media practise is so fast.
“Grad Central can help to eliminate costly recruitment fees by offering employers a totally free service for their first graduate placement; perfect for companies who want to follow in similar footsteps to BHSF.”
BHSF has a 12-month graduate development programme through which successful applicants gain exposure to a variety of departments and disciplines within the company, including sales and marketing, customer service and finance. Graduates are provided with opportunities to work on projects central to the company’s business plan, as well as developing their project management skills through secondments in the local community, which builds on its philanthropic roots.
Mike added: “Graduates involved within the programme spend time understanding key business processes, and this is supplemented with project opportunities enabling them to use their initiative and develop their transferable skills.”
Melanie White and Sunita Mistry are two examples of graduates who have demonstrated their capabilities to progress within an SME. They were keen to develop their business skills after graduating from Nottingham Trent University, and were interested in applying for graduate schemes.
Melanie is currently a HR Officer at BHSF and has worked there for four years. She has been given various opportunities to lead projects, including those designated to her by Peter Maskell, chief executive of BHSF during her role as Executive Assistant. She was also short listed in the ‘2009 Young Achiever of the Year’ contest organised by the Birmingham Insurance Institute.
She explained that: “Businesses are always looking for something unique when recruiting new talent. Graduates not only need to have a strong academic background but demonstrate commercial awareness and a good ‘fit’ with the organisation to which they are applying.”
Sunita has also been rewarded for her successes at BHSF where she now works as a Lead Quality Auditor and making it as a finalist at this year’s ‘Birmingham Young Professional of the Year’ awards. Sunita commented: “The different roles I have held at BHSF have enabled me to develop my key transferable skills and establish a career path.”
It is important for graduates to constantly update their skills both within and outside university life demonstrating to graduate employers that they are well-rounded.
