Tag Archives: graduates

News

Haines Watts welcomes six trainees to its West Midlands offices

Leading accountancy and business advisory firm Haines Watts has welcomed six new trainees and graduates to join the firm’s operations in the West Midlands.

The graduates and school leavers will take up a host of positions across its offices in Birmingham, Tamworth, Worcester, Ashby, and Hereford, joining their current crop of 24 other regional trainees.

To welcome the new team members on board, the graduates attended a regional welcome induction at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) headquarters in London recently, where they met their peers from around the country and heard from previous trainees and partners on their career progression.

Baljit Kaur, Regional HR Advisor in the West Midlands, commented: “Our trainee induction was a fantastic opportunity to welcome our 2022 cohort of new starters.

“They had a fun-filled, informative day getting to know each other and gaining insights from our existing trainee group, about life as a trainee and the journey ahead. They also heard from senior partners and owners of the firm about their stories, the values that run through our people and brand, the clients we work with and ambitions our leaders have for the future of Haines Watts.

“The innovative ideas generated during various tasks were excellent and I was delighted to see them developing relationships with their peers from other offices across the UK. They’re at the start of a very exciting journey at and I look forward to seeing the ideas and energy that they bring.”

Haines Watts prides itself on its commitment to talent development, investing over £20K per candidate in creating an academy dedicated to the continued development of staff, as well as an accredited training programme.

This commitment will continue with all the new starters, who will be joining different training routes, including ACA, ACCA or the tax pathway.

Kasim Khan, Audit and Accounts Trainee, said: “The reason I chose to join Haines Watts was due to the personal aspect of the course and training; it seemed like a firm that you were more accepted into and somewhere that really cared about my progression.

“If I had chosen to accept an offer from one of the top four, I would have been seen as a number not an individual. I can already really see the connection, and support from colleagues and managers alike.

“The highlight from the induction day was meeting a group of semi seniors. They were very supportive, given they have been in the same position as us and understood our feelings and what was running through our minds.”

Charlie Gordon, Audit and Accounts Trainee, concluded: “What drew me to Haines Watts was the emphasis it has on employee wellbeing, as well as the focus on communication with clients, instead of just focusing on the numbers.

“The day was really useful for making new connections with likeminded individuals across the country. I’m now really looking forward to getting stuck into work, getting involved with the team and meeting clients.”

Haines Watts is a leading advisor to owner-managed businesses in the UK. As a Top 15 firm, the company delivers a wide range of advisory services and solutions across Tax, Audit and Accounts that enables aspirational business owners to achieve their goals.

News

SureCloud’s Graduate Scheme Attracts Bright Young Talent As Intake Numbers Continue To Grow

SureCloud’s graduate scheme has helped develop the careers of some of the best GRC talent in the industry and continues to be a big draw for graduates, with several more set to join in September 2021. 

SureCloud, a leading provider of Gartner-recognized governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) SaaS solutions, and tech-enabled risk and cybersecurity subscription services, today announced that it would be accepting seven more graduates into its successful graduation scheme by the end of 2021.

Graduates who have previously joined SureCloud via the scheme have gone on to influence the company in highly significant ways, bringing in fresh ideas and developing existing processes for the benefit of its customers. One such graduate is Ruth Bayley, who has just been announced as a finalist in the “GRC Graduate of the Year” category in the upcoming Women in GRC Awards 2021. She was selected for her passion for learning, boosting team collaboration, and success in delivering best-of-breed GRC solutions to customers.

Established in 2018, SureCloud’s graduate scheme began with two aspiring young graduates that have both gone on to play key roles within the business. The scheme has onboarded a total of 29 graduates to date, with several more due to enrol in the scheme later this month.

Seb Squire, who joined the graduate scheme as a GRC Implementations Consultant in March 2021, commented:

“My first six months at SureCloud have been really exciting; there’s been a great variety of opportunities and projects made available to me so early on in my career, which have allowed me to progress and further develop my skill set.” When asked whether he would recommend the graduate scheme to others as a gateway to working with SureCloud and in the GRC industry in general, he said; “These months have been a great experience, and I am looking forward to working on more projects in the near future and continuing to develop in my role as an Implementations Consultant. A big thank you to all of my colleagues for making my transition into the company so smooth and welcoming.”

When the graduate scheme launched, SureCloud was vocal about its plans to bring fresh, young, bright talent into the fold to encourage new ideas and innovative thinking.

Verity Chinnery, GRC Senior Director at SureCloud, played a critical role in creating and shaping the scheme, pulling the training content together, and building the hiring and onboarding process. She commented: “Bringing in fresh talent is critical for us as a business, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve managed to achieve so far with the graduate scheme. It’s made it easier to get diverse and talented individuals through the door who are looking to kick-start their careers, and we as a business have become heavily invested in their success and development. There are limited ways for young professionals to gain the level of responsibility and hands-on experience in GRC that SureCloud can offer so early in their career, so watching the scheme go from strength to strength and continue to attract amazing talent is an absolute joy.”

In addition to its graduate scheme, SureCloud is also launching an immersive cyber training scheme later this year and is currently interviewing candidates for the program, including graduates, school leavers, and people seeking a career change.

News

World Youth Skills Day 2020: supporting the future of business

As the 2020 World Youth Skills Day takes place in a global economy that is still contending with business closures, international talent acquisition and management firm, Alexander Mann Solutions, has urged employers and recruiters to support education leavers during these difficult times.

The annual celebration of global emerging talent – an initiative run by the United Nations – aims to combat youth unemployment internationally. Currently, around one in five young people are NEET: Not in Employment, Education or Training, with Covid-19 set to exacerbate this issue.

According to Alexander Mann Solutions, employers and recruiters need to work together to offer greater support to emerging talent to not only help them find work, but also secure the future skills businesses need to thrive.

Jane Clark, Global Head of Emerging Talent Consulting at Alexander Mann Solutions, explains:

“There’s no doubt that times are tough for organisations worldwide at the moment, but we can’t forget that it’s difficult for our critical talent pools too. The likes of education leavers are facing a real challenge trying to seek employment and training in a Covid-19 environment. But this talent pool will ultimately play a significant role in the future success of companies worldwide, and what we all do today to support the hiring and up-skilling of these individuals, will define how successful our businesses can be in the future.

“Without the training and development that’s available through the likes of graduate programmes and internships, companies will quickly find themselves facing a dearth of talented individuals to drive growth. As we celebrate World Youth Skills Day, I urge employers to consider what more they can do to support this crucial talent pool and refrain from cutting back on investment into the future workforce.”