Government Minister praises Belfast Recruitment Academy

London-headquartered talent acquisition and management firm, Alexander Mann Solutions, has celebrated the fourth cohort of its Belfast Recruitment Academy by welcoming 15 new graduate hires from the programme.

This cohort saw 19 individuals in total go through the training scheme designed by the Department for the Economy, Alexander Mann Solutions and Belfast Metropolitan College. Part of the Assured Skills initiative, the Recruitment Academy provides school and college leavers with the skills and experience required to pursue a career in talent acquisition and management as well as two recognised qualifications to help them gain employment.

Launched in 2014, the Recruitment Academy has proven hugely successful, with 44% of the team currently based in the Belfast Global Client Service Centre made up of Academy graduates.

Speaking about the Academy Economy Minister, Simon Hamilton said:

“I am committed to working closely with companies to meet their skills needs and supporting Northern Ireland’s graduates in their search for jobs. Developing a highly skilled workforce is essential to improving productivity and sustainable economic growth. Programmes such as the Alexander Mann Solutions Recruitment Academy are vital in providing the next generation of the workforce with the skills to gain employment as well as an insight and experience of the world of work. The Assured Skills Academy Model is a tried and trusted process of aligning the skills provision from our colleges to ensure it meets the needs of companies such as Alexander Mann Solutions find the skilled and job-ready pool of potential employees to meet their recruitment needs.”

John Collington, Group Director of Operations at Alexander Mann Solutions added:

“People are the foundation for success at Alexander Mann Solutions. One of the main reasons we chose Belfast as a key Global Client Service Centre was the potential pool of talent in the city and across Northern Ireland. We’re delighted that potential has turned into a reality, as we combine qualified Academy graduates with our wide range of experienced talent, resulting in our Global Client Service Centre going from strength to strength. Serving clients across Europe and the Americas, we remain on target to have over 200 colleagues here in Northern Ireland by 2017.”

Dermot Glynn, one of the recent graduates, commented on his experience:

“The Academy goes beyond simply training us to be Sourcers. The first few weeks we focused on learning more about ourselves, both individually and as a group which is made up of a variety of backgrounds. The latter three weeks, we have all experienced tremendous professional growth, while developing a whole new set of skills to enable us to perform in a Sourcing role. We have had an amazing opportunity to learn and grow with a company that truly cares about us.”

ENDS