IT services is earmarked as the top growth industry in the new economy, a survey by auditors Ernst & Young concludes. By Helen Beckett [Published 15/09/2010]
"Services will lead Europe’s leading industry," states Waking up to the New Economy. "In 2010, information and communication technologies crown the list of industries leading European growth, followed by energy and utilities, financial services and clean techs".
Hardly surprising then that IT services are a destination for ambitious graduates and good news that FDM has announced it is hiring 500 UK graduates this year. The international service provider has made a speciality of training up graduates fit for the dynamic and demanding world of IT service provision.
Here, two FDM recruiters for its graduate academy explain what the company seeks from candidates, their training and future roles.
Q: How is FDM different to other service providers?
A: We’re extremely client-focussed. We introduced a new component, the project management stream, onto our academy programme at a client suggestion. Our client focus is also the reason that graduates are contractually bound to stay with us for two years and to be entirely flexible about their work location. Clients expect a team that is deployed to stay and complete a project – and if they want to change the location of a project, our team goes with them. That’s a big differentiator.
Q What roles do graduates work in?
A: We have six streams where graduates can fit:
• Those who join the two .NET and Java streams are put into developer roles, often with financial clients as these form 46 per cent of our client base. They’ll likely work on large-scale legacy projects for traders.
• Application support. Again this is often working alongside traders, liaising with users and technical members of the team.
• Testing. Usually these graduates will work for our client BSkyB, working in their Manchester testing laboratory, doing manual and automated tests.
• Project management. This is a newer and our graduates work alongside experienced projects managers, helping them to ensure they meet targets and deliverables.
• Infrastructure. This is the hardware side to IT and consists of implementing and maintaining networks, messaging and security, for example.
Q: What qualifications do candidates need?
A: A degree is necessary, preferably IT-related, ideally computer science or software engineering. However maths and physics graduates also do well for us, even biological science graduates.
Q: What makes a candidate stand out?
A: A passion for IT. This is especially true of non-IT graduates who need to prove their interest - it may be they’ve gained some knowledge and experience in their spare time. An archaeology graduate from last year had taught himself Java as a hobby.
Q: What is the recruitment process of the FDM’s Academy programme?
A: It’s in three parts: there’s a telephone interview, a logic test and finally, a technical assessment. The telephone interview is a preliminary screening; the logic test is a thorough examination of a candidate’s analytical abilities. The technical assessment is the longest part and is conducted over two and a half days. Here, candidates are asked to individually code an application that is specified, plus there is a group debate about a technology topic, and candidates also make a presentation to the group.
Q: What tips do you have for candidates?
A: Be prepared. For the telephone interview, it’s surprising the number of candidates who haven’t done basic research from our website about our company or the kind of roles available. For the technical assessment, we offer an e-learning platform where candidates can learn or refresh their Unix skills, which is the language used for the technical project. It’s advisable to spend up to a couple of weeks on this if you’re new to IT or a bit rusty.
With thanks to Pippa Susskind and Louise Raycraft, Academy consultants, FDM.
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