September 13th, 2021 marks an important date for employers of all sizes and sectors in the Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) – with the launch of ‘Venture Graduate', the redesigned and revitalised graduate recruitment service provided at zero cost to any organisation in South East Wales, by the expert in-house graduate recruitment team at CCR.

The restructured graduate scheme offers employers a streamlined, easy-to-use and highly focused service – taking away the logistical challenges and investment in resources which can prove a major obstacle preventing many SME and larger enterprises from attracting the best graduate talent.

A streamlined, easy-to-use, tightly targeted and highly focused recruitment service, delivered by a dedicated expert team 

“We’ve totally reworked the scheme and have built an even more targeted and focused delivery on a cohort model, which will run as three separate programmes throughout the year, with the first programme starting this month” explains Geraldine O’Sullivan, Graduate Development Officer and part of the dedicated Venture team at CCR.   

“The first cohort opens for employers to join the programme on September 13th and will remain open until October 17th. During this period, we will work closely with the employer on the role or roles they need to fill – then we’ll create the job description, advertise the vacancies and conduct a two-stage interview process that includes structured video interviews followed by an assessment centre for those candidates who clearly have the competencies and behaviours to meet the job specification and match the culture fit. From there, we’ll draw up a carefully selected shortlist of candidates for the employer to select from at the final interview stage. With the whole process taking less than three months from start to finish. All delivered completely free of charge.”

Employers should talk to us right now if they want to join this first cohort in September

The new Venture Graduate structure is built on in-depth research with a number of universities and a variety of industries, refining the best possible way to identify the ‘right’ graduate for the ‘right role’ – with the whole process geared to giving maximum benefit for all stakeholders.

The team is completely committed to making sure that the graduates applying for the roles get a really positive candidate experience, which will include constructive feedback at every opportunity – with any graduate not finding a role by the end of the cohort going automatically into a talent pool, ready to be matched with any suitable role that becomes available, quickly and efficiently.

“We’re incredibly excited about Venture Graduate and what it will do for employers and graduate candidates' said Nicola Somerville Head of New Business and Inclusive Growth for CCR. “It will improve the talent pipeline outcomes for everyone in the region – and I would urge any employer looking to bring in the best talent to contact us right now and become part of this first cohort.”