Unemployed graduates bloom with Blue Orchid
Unemployed graduates bloom with Blue Orchid
Leading business support agency Blue Orchid is announcing today that it has exceeded targets set for its Graduate Talent Programme (GTP). It has secured 131 placements for unemployed university graduates, with more than half gaining employment directly from the placement scheme.
The GTP operates on Merseyside and provides structured support for jobless graduates to help make them ‘oven ready’ for work. This includes job interview training, job searching and CV writing workshops. Critically the GTP also finds work placements for graduates in firms looking to take on young people following a successful trial.
Blue Orchid managing director Heather Hayes said the firm is delighted to have helped so many young people since the GTP was launched a year ago. She said 170 unemployed graduates accessed training from Blue Orchid. Of those, 131 went onto a placement with 115 graduates completing. 58 graduates secured employment directly from the placement scheme while a further 50 secured jobs with the help of Blue Orchid’s employability skills training.
Mrs Hayes said Blue Orchid has exceeded its target to place 50pc of graduates set by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) which funds the programme.
“Last year saw the highest level of graduate unemployment in 15 years,” she said. “So it means a great deal to the team here at Blue Orchid to have had such a success rate of finding graduates the jobs they so desperately need. We know there is real talent out there but many young people do need extra help. With our contacts in the business community and our highly skilled team of trainers we know we can make a big difference. We can give confidence, we can offer practical advice and we can open doors.”
Mrs Hayes said Blue Orchid is actively looking for more Merseyside firms interested in taking graduates on and benefitting from the cost effective work trial programme.
“An average of 480,000 people start university each year and as we have seen, it does not guarantee a graduate level job,” she said. “So programmes like this are extremely valuable. A key selling point of the GTP is that it gives firms the chance to ‘test out’ a potential employee before employing them, while at the same time giving the graduate the work experience they really need to get on. And in the vast majority of cases the placements do become full time positions. So it really is a win win situation for the employer and the graduate.”
Liverpool local Leanne Grant gained a 1st Class Honours Degree in Design Futures with Fashion from The University of Salford. The 24-year-old went on to do a four month placement in Hollywood, Los Angeles after graduation but on returning to the UK, was unable to find work. Leanne spent a number of months trying without success to secure employment before joining Blue Orchid’s Graduate Talent Programme in May 2010. She attended many workshops with Blue Orchid and through them was able to secure an internship with the Plaza Collection Fashion House.
Leanne said: “The training I received was excellent and the placement Blue Orchid secured for me really put my skills into practice. I was able to build up a number of industry contacts and even generated potential business leads for the firm. After the internship I was offered a full time paid position within Plaza as their Account Executive. This time last year I was struggling to find employment and now I am excelling in my role within the fashion industry. Blue Orchid was so useful and supportive, and I would recommend the programme to all graduates who are in the same position that I was.”
