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Charlie Sell of Arrows Group Global is offering free mentoring and training to increase the flow of rising young talent in the channel.
With sixteen years of experience in the tech recruitment industry, Charlie can see objectively that when it comes to increasing the numbers of women and minority groups in tech, it’s no good moving a few people around at the top. The industry needs a steady flow of fresh talent and they need to be nurtured and supported to become what Charlie calls ‘Job Ready’. FutureScale is the product designed to deliver this.
A knowledge academy for STEM grads, FutureScale takes the SELECT, DEVELOP, DEPLOY & SUPPORT approach, where hirers invest in training STEM graduates through a two-year continuous learning journey to full employment with them. The only requirement is that they are committed and passionate about a STEM career and that they are bright and capable of staying the course. Candidates undergo a bias-free assessment for selection, not based on what school they went to, or who they know, but purely on their potential. They are then interviewed by potential hirers and if successful undergo an intense three-month training program, for free. They then have a job with that hirer at the end of the course.
The training alone is worth £5,000, but FutureScale offers a far greater value to STEM graduates in that it promises to double their market value after two years of training and employment with the hirer. (FutureScale graduates’ market value estimated at £40/50k p/a versus their market value straight out of University at £27k p/a).
The academy does away entirely with the cliché of hirers wanting ‘a grad with three year’s-experience, as, with FutureScale, that’s exactly what they’re getting. Even better, their grads are tuned into their brands from the off, fully engaged in the company culture and embedded community and ready to go. The cost of investing in FutureScale grads is very competitive to hirers too, saving up to £300 per day on an equivalent consultant day rate.
The plan is for FutureScale to be a continuous learning journey for Charlie, the Universities and hirers involved too, as they will be able to identify the barriers and issues causing the drop-off rate when it comes to women and minority groups, and to all those hoping to embark on STEM careers. What better way to uncover unconscious bias than to see it in action?
“We always talk about why there aren’t as many women in tech as we’d like, but it’s often left to the minority of women to raise the point. We should be challenging the language throughout the recruitment process, right from school. In an industry with an abundance of men, writing the job specs and the courses in very male-orientated language, it’s no wonder women become switched off. I want to call out to all the men in tech to be vocal about changing this dynamic.”
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