Cardiff Capital Region’s Venture Graduates understand the needs and challenges of public sector recruitment. When Monmouthshire County Council connected with Venture Graduates, it was a natural partnership to harness the right skillsets and talent for local authorities in Southeast Wales. 

The Power of Transferable Skills

Richard Jones, Performance and Data Insight Manager at Monmouthshire County Council, shared his thoughts on finding the right skills for local government:

“Our types of roles involve using different transferable skills but applying those within the context of legislation experience in local government. We wanted to focus on attracting employees with those transferable skills that we could then develop within the context of the local government sector.

“We chose the Venture Graduate scheme to refine our job adverts and job description, focusing on what type of skills and attitudes we need to attract from the scheme’s existing network of high-quality graduates.”
Michael Jordan, Project Funding Lead for Economy, Employment and Skills at Monmouthshire County Council, shared a similar sentiment:

“We’re a small team with different experiences and backgrounds, with a variety of skillsets. We wanted to recruit someone who was open to developing and receptive to new ideas, but also able to bring their own fresh perspective.  Having a Venture graduate onboard has certainly developed my own managerial

Embracing Fresh Perspectives

Venture Graduates recognise the importance of bringing new and innovative perspectives to an organisation. Graduates bring fresh ideas to their roles – allowing organisations to benefit from different skills and ways of working.

Richard highlights how their Venture graduate, Hannah Carter, impressed the team: 

“Hannah made an impression on the team in terms of fresh skills and perspective, with her enthusiasm being so valuable for a graduate who has just left university.

“We’re fortunate that we’ve managed to secure Hannah in a in a full-time role within the organisation, which is testament to the skills and development experience Hannah has made in the last twelve months. I’m grateful for the initial support from Venture Graduates and for Hannah for growing with us, approaching the challenges we’ve presented to her with great acumen and with great outcomes in terms of the work she’s now leading on.”

Michael reinforces how new ways of thinking are central to the public sector: 

“It’s an incredibly challenging time for the public sector, but it can be really rewarding as well. We are always trying to do more with less, but that has developed a mindset in local authorities that we have to do things differently – we have to innovate and change. So, whilst it is, in one sense, a scary time, it’s also exciting as well, because there’s opportunity that comes with change.”

Continued Learning and Development

Alongside ongoing recruitment expertise and support, Venture Graduates offer continued learning and development opportunities to all appointed graduates.

Graduates at Monmouthshire County Council have taken part in the Career Accelerator Programme (CAP), which gives individuals the opportunity to gain a formal microcredential of their choice, in areas such as Project Management, Climate Change and Sustainability, and People Leadership.

Richard highlights how this attracted the Council to the Venture Graduate Programme: 

“We wanted the candidate to be able to continue to learn and develop. What attracted us to the Venture Programme is the learning – the formal learning scheme in the CAP, as well as the informal network of other graduates.

“It was really important to us that we were providing those opportunities and supporting graduates within our organisation. We liked that the CAP provided more formal learning opportunities and informal network to develop their skills, and working with different providers such as Venture strengthens that ongoing development.

Michael adds: 

“I know there’s a peer support network there for the graduates who took part in the microcredential. So as a manager, knowing that there was other support aside from me, in a selfish sense, does take off some of the pressure. That’s been hugely beneficial for me, and it’s been a really positive experience.”

If you are an employer looking for an innovative and fresh perspective to add to your business, contact the business team at [email protected] or submit your vacancy here.