Darogan Talent Wales' Graduate Hub, has announced it has secured new investment from Equal Education Partners.
Originally founded in 2018, with this new investment Darogan will have the additional resources, expertise and financial support to deliver on its mission to help solve the ‘brain drain’ of graduate talent away from Wales.
Darogan’s core mission will continue to be highlighting the graduate opportunities in Wales for students and recent graduates, by working with employers in Wales on marketing, advertising and promoting their roles. This includes directly reaching out to students based in universities outside of Wales, who represent more than a third of all students from Wales. To date, the Company has developed close partnerships with several employers in Wales to support their talent acquisition strategies, including the Cardiff Capital Region’s Venture Graduate Programme, Acorn by Synergie, M-SParc, and Darwin Gray, and is looking to add to this network in the coming months.
Darogan will also provide expert consultancy services, using the latest data and research methods, to support organisations in Wales attract graduates and better understand the skills challenge they are facing. The consultancy service comes after Darogan consulted a number of businesses about their aims and needs, to build an expert in-house offering with the support of Equal’s team.
Leading the new business, Owain James will be Darogan’s Chief Executive Officer, working full-time on its expansion and growth. As a result of Equal’s investment, its co-founder and CEO Liam Rahman joins Darogan as Non-Executive Director. Darogan’s co-founder, Theo Davies-Lewis, will continue to be involved in Darogan’s strategic direction in his capacity as Non-Executive Director. Darogan’s mission remains as prescient as ever, with data from HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) revealing that Wales lost 10% more graduates than it gained in the 2020/21 academic year. To prepare for this new phase of growth in 2024 and to tackle the scale of the challenge at hand, over recent months Darogan has intensified its outreach to student networks and societies across the UK, alongside accelerating discussions with corporate partners on supporting businesses on their talent acquisition.
Owain James, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“It’s exciting to be part of this new phase of growth, and dedicate my whole energy to tackling the challenge of the brain drain in Wales. We have a busy academic year ahead, as we reach out to students across the UK to showcase the best of what Wales has to offer. If you have opportunities for students or recent graduates, we want to hear from you.”
Liam Rahman, Non-Executive Director, commented:
“I’ve always believed in the limitless potential of Welsh talent and that belief drives so much of what we do at Equal. Through investing in Darogan, Equal can play an even bigger role in attracting the best graduate talent to Wales.
I look forward to supporting Owain and the Darogan team to deliver excellent job opportunities for graduates and to promote Wales as an attractive place to build a career, doing our bit to build a nation where innovation, opportunity, and ambition know no bounds.”
Theo Davies-Lewis, Non-Executive Director, added:
“I am delighted to be part of Darogan’s long-term future, working closely with Owain and Liam to maximise our positive impact on the Welsh economy. Darogan fills a crucial gap in the job market in Wales, and I have no doubt that our relevance will grow in the years to come.”
