management Archives - Planet Recruitment

Challenges and Opportunities Facing IT Graduates

April 26, 2024/in business, business trends, challenges, Graduates, it, leadership, management, people, recruitment /by Alex Walker

The recruitment world frequently engages in discussions about the challenges and opportunities facing IT graduates, given the persistent demand for skilled professionals in the Information Technology sector.

However, despite the growing number of IT graduates entering the workforce, many of them seem to experience stressful times, especially when transitioning from academia to the professional world of work, according to some sources.

In this blog, we explore the cultural shifts, skills gaps and strategies that can empower young graduates to thrive in the IT industry and help businesses leverage the graduate talent pool.

Navigating the Cultural Shift: Transitioning from Campus to the IT Industry.

Recent surveys show that University grads often find themselves feeling “exhausted,” “lost,” and “anxious” as they step into the workforce. Contrary to popular belief, these struggles are not solely generational but cultural. The shift from education to the professional world involves three critical dimensions: Feedback, Relationships and Accountability.

Empowering IT Graduates: The Crucial Role of Feedback

In academia, feedback is an integral part of the academic program and fundamental to the successful completion of the course. Frequent and structured feedback is usually initiated and led by educators to address areas of concern and move forward.

In the workplace, it becomes more sporadic and nuanced. Graduates must adapt to receiving constructive criticism and learn to use it for growth. Especially IT Graduates should take ownership of their learning and development progress, actively seeking opportunities to demonstrate the application of the feedback in practice. This approach is often overlooked and underestimated but helps form positive relationships in the workplace that are fundamental to success.

Meaningful Connections: Building Relationships as IT Graduates

As previously mentioned, building professional relationships is essential. Networking, mentoring, and collaboration are vital skills in the early stages, especially in highly technical fields such as IT. IT Graduates should embrace opportunities and connect with colleagues, managers and industry professionals. One way to address this could be through community or work-based projects, showing enthusiasm and showcasing aptitude and accountability. This is critically important when you try to establish yourself in a professional environment.

Accountability And Personal Development

The transition from a structured academic environment to a more autonomous work setting can be daunting. Graduates must take ownership of their tasks, meet deadlines, and demonstrate reliability. This often goes together with a skill gap assessment and making a provision for ongoing learning. While degrees provide foundational knowledge, the rapidly changing technical landscape necessitates continuous learning. Employers seek candidates with relevant skills, regardless of their educational background.

Opportunities and Adaptability

This shows the importance of seeking further training and investing in personal development. In doing so, graduates demonstrate adaptability and suitability especially when choosing a career in an ever-evolving field such as IT and Engineering.

Perhaps the best advice, naturally, is to stay curious, explore emerging technologies, and seek professional development opportunities.

Some examples of areas of further development for IT graduates include:

Programming: Proficiency in programming languages (Python, Java, C++) is crucial. Graduates should work on real-world projects to hone their coding skills.

Cloud Computing: Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) are integral to modern IT. Familiarity with cloud services and deployment is advantageous.

Cybersecurity: Protecting digital assets is paramount. Basic knowledge of cybersecurity principles and practices is valuable.

Conclusion

To summarise, entering the workforce can be daunting, but with the right mindset and continuous learning, recent graduates can thrive. Smart companies should foster a supportive culture, and young employees should invest time and effort in mastering the necessary skills. The journey from campus to cubicle is a transformative one, and graduates have the opportunity to shape their own success stories.

If you are looking for an employment opportunity in the IT and Engineering field, reach out to our friendly team at Planet Recruitment. Start your new journey with us.

Read more about The Recruitment Skills Shortage..

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Returning to work

May 18, 2020/in business, covid, General, leadership, management, people, recruitment /by Darren Fuller

Following that ‘announcement’ from the Prime Minister last Sunday, and further clarification since, we’re all expecting people to gradually begin to return to work over the next while. However what does that mean for employers and employees? What do you need to do to be ready?

Thankfully, other countries have already began this process and we are able to learn from their lessons. Adopting clear and concise safety measures, flexibility and transparency are key to easing the transition for employees returning to the workplace. Health & Safety must remain the top priority in order to keep our teams safe and health as well as regaining their confidence that it’s safe to come back.

The guidelines can be a little daunting so we have compiled some points to hopefully ease the transition into what will become a new ‘normal’ within the workplace – ‘Get comfortable with the uncomfortable’!

1. Focus on Door to Door health and safety of employees

This means providing in-facility safeguards to staff. Where possible, provide masks, hand sanitiser, employee temperature screenings and social distancing. Regular and aggressive cleaning schedules for buildings and facilities. But employees could equally be at risk when they commute, eat lunch or meet clients, so anticipate and respond proactively to such risks.

Some quick wins…

– Ensure social distancing in offices – reduce hot desking, restrict the number of people in meeting rooms, shared spaces and kitchens. Think about reshuffling your floor plans, allow those who can remain working from home to do so and consider staggered opening times to reduce congestion at peak times.

– Distance Assembly line workers – allocate more time between shifts and think about reducing expectations for production because it may take people longer to move around.

– In other countries, mainly Asia, they have started to conduct health & safety checks at entry. This might be a while-off here in the UK, but the future could see us measuring body temperatures when employees arrive and asking for regular health declarations.

Waitress with meat dish serving catering table with food snacks during party event

2. Stagger your workforce’s return

I touched on this in the last point but it’s something that will really help. Most companies in other countries have begun returning employees to the workplace in phases. Look at your people, their roles and skills and decide who should return first, who can remain working from home and if necessary, who to remain on furlough.

Also, ask for volunteers. Ask who is happy to return first, those that declare themselves fit and healthy and confident to be back. Similarly, ask who is happy to keep working from home. Remote working isn’t for everyone, but some people thrive on it.

3. Maintain frequent two-way communication.

Leverage all the tools available to you. Use town hall settings if you’re communicating to those already back to site. Emails to the wider teams and intranets if you can. Proactive, frequent and transparent communications about policies and plans, the reasoning behind them and a clear timeline will help employees understand your thinking and ease them through the transition.

Ask for feedback. This is something that we haven’t gone though before so none of us have all the answers. Being felt like their opinion is valued, then employees are much more likely to buy into your plans.

industrail background of caucasian mechanics engineer operating lathe machine for metalwork in metal work factory

4. Plan for a protracted period of disruption

“Get comfortable with the uncomfortable”. What do I mean by that? Basically, be prepared to react and respond repeatedly as things develop.

The back to work process will come in cycles so you may need to repeat and adapt multiple times. Furthermore, make it easier for employees to adapt. Some ways you can do this…

– Provide and update technology, including hardware, software and security.

– Fortify remote working policies. People are likely to be working from home for some time so use what you have learnt over the last couple of months.

– Be flexible. People might need some leeway as they adjust. Some might be weary or even scared and might need time to fully get back into the swing of things.

Remember, as I said, none of us have gone though any of this before… none of us know all the answers. If you find yourself struggling, unsure or feel like you need some advice, please just pick up the phone. We’re talking to lots of businesses over all industries who are going through this so might just have the answer you’re looking for…

Market Trends as seen by Planet Recruitment

April 21, 2020/in business, business trends, leadership, management /by Darren Fuller