4 minute read
Developing graduates into leaders
Developing today’s graduates into tomorrow’s leaders
Since 2001, Waterford Chamber Skillnet has been collaborating successfully with member companies and providers to deliver best practice training and development in the South East. The network has managed to navigate its way successfully through many obstacles over the years, from a worldwide recession and now a worldwide pandemic.
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Member companies approached the network in 2018 to design a graduate offering for the South East. An advisory group was invited by Waterford Chamber Skillnet to take part in the design process, and with representatives from Bausch & Lomb, Sanofi, Dawn Meats, Ernst & Young Waterford, Sun Life Financial, and SE2 in attendance, a pilot programme was born.
The first pilot programme ran from October 2018 to March 2019 with five companies placing 33 graduates. While the programme was a big success, Waterford Chamber Skillnet was fully aware that the needs of industry, and the needs of learners are constantly changing, so extensive feedback was sourced from all stakeholders involved – graduates, companies and trainers. Taking all feedback into consideration, year 2 of the programme became the Waterford Chamber Skillnet Graduate Accelerator Programme, running from October 2019 to June 2020, with eight companies placing 60 graduates.
Year 2 of the Graduate Accelerator Programme had the added complication of Covid-19, when in March 2020 Waterford Chamber Skillnet had to rapidly respond overnight by moving all training, which was face-to-face, to online. Moving the programme online and with full commitment and support from the companies, trainers and graduates meant the programme finished on time and successfully in June 2020.
Network Manager Sara Mullally and Programme Coordinator Kelly Cummins designed the third year of the Graduate Accelerator Programme, starting on 7th October 2020, to be delivered 100% online, making it more accessible to graduates based nationwide.
Delivered once a month from October to June in line with the academic year, the Graduate Accelerator Programme assists companies in developing a workforce of talent that is fully equipped to understand the core values of a company. The purpose of the programme is to ultimately empower graduates to become more confident and self aware, by offering both practical and soft skills-based training to ease graduates into the world of work, by instilling them with the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to navigate the business world.
Amy Murphy, Quality Validation Engineer Graduate at Jabil Healthcare explains: “I have really enjoyed my time during the programme and it has exceeded all my expectations. I think it is an
excellent opportunity for graduates and makes the transition from college into the working life easier, as the courses delivered allowed me to develop skills that were not taught in college. There was a great selection of courses and it was lovely to meet other graduates from different companies in the same boat as you.”
Sarah Howard, Organisation Capability Manager at Sanofi adds: “13 of our graduates have benefited from attending the various modules and from having the opportunity to apply the learnings in their site roles. The programme has been carefully thought out to meet the needs of a graduate and is now an integral part of the Sanofi graduate programme. Having such a readymade peer network at the start of your career is invaluable and friendships forged on this programme will hopefully support the graduates in the years ahead. The support afforded by Waterford Chamber Skillnet to the participants and their sponsor companies has been exemplary.”
As Covid-19 restrictions continue, this year’s programme will include bite-sized ‘Learn at Lunch’ sessions which will provide a platform for graduates to connect with each other and their trainers, while sharing how they have applied their learning experiences to real world scenarios and network with each other to grow their personal and professional networks.
The flagship Graduate AcceleratorProgramme has gone from strength to strength since it launched in 2018, and was this year shortlisted for an IITD Learning and Development Award for “Best Consultancy Partnership” – winner to be announced on 25th September 2020.
If you are interested in placing your
new hire graduate on this programme, bookings can be made by emailing kelly.cummins@waterfordchamber.ie
TRAINING DATES
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE WORKSHOP
7th & 8th October 2020
PROJECT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
11th & 12th November 2020
COMMUNICATING IN A VUCA WORLD
20th & 21st January 2021
LEAN WHITE BELT
24th & 2th February 2021
UNDERSTANDING YOUR STRENGTHS
24th & 25th March 2021
PROBLEM SOLVING (WITH ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS)
21st & 22nd April 2021
EFFECTIVE PRESENTATIONS
19th & 20th May 2021
RESILIENCE SKILLS – NAVIGATING UNCERTAINTY
23rd & 24th June 2021
PIONEERING ICT RESEARCH ON A GLOBAL SCALE
TSSG research is spearheading the development of next-generation digital technologies enabling seamless tech-mediated innovations to blend with real world commercial and societal applications.
Specialist areas of expertise include:
Future Networks Artificial Intelligence Fog and Cloud Computing Internet of Things High Performance Computing Interactive Technologies Embedded Sensors and Bio-Nano Communications
To discover more about TSSG's cutting edge research projects across multiple industries visit:
