In her job as recruitment manager at BCF, Kate Kidman The main thing that employers look for in graduates is

M: Now? Mrs. Kidman, can you tell us something about your job as a HR manager at BCF?
F: Yes. I’m responsible for all aspects of staff recruitment, including policy making. That’s for all staff from secretarial to executive level. I make sure that everyone’s following the right procedures. I’m also involved in the interviewing and selection of management staff. That’s for all the stores.
M: You have another role in recruitment, don’t you? With the AGE?
F: Yes, I chair the executive committee.
M: Can you tell us a bit more about the Association?
F: Yes, at the moment, the AGE consists of a group of major employers of graduates, but more and more graduates are being recruited by small and medium-sized companies, so I expect the membership of the Association will change along with that. We have quite a range of activities, we have information service through which we give advice to any graduate employer and we also supply statistics to the education sector. For the future, we’re hoping to develop as a training body, particularly working with new graduate recruiters. So, in general, you could say that we exist to spread good practice.
M: There’ve been quite a few changes in Higher Education over the last few years, of course. As a graduate recruiter, these must have been quite important to you.
F: Yes. Universities and colleges have certainly changed. They’re far less elitist now than they used to he. And, yes, they’ve opened their doors to much wider range of people. And there are different types of courses now. There are short, modular courses in languages and business skills and of course these are all helpful when it comes to looking for a job.
M: Do you think that further changes are needed in the future?
F: Yes, I do. I think that colleges need to listen to what employers are saying about the need for people to learn to work in groups. In this situation, people get used to cooperating and sharing information. Of course, at the moment, we’ve got examination systems that doesn’t allow for collaboration. So it seems to me that more teamwork is required when it comes to studying.
M: What kind of skills would you say employers are looking for? I mean, are graduates ready for work?
F: Well, as always, some are, and some aren’t. You see, the colleges have achieved good exam results, but this isn’t always what employers are looking for. Certainly in the service sector, employers want people who can interact with customers and who can work as part of a team. The ability of using computers and all the other new technology isn’t such an issue anymore. I suppose employers feel they can take it for granted now and it’s very easy to train people.
M: And how does a company decide whether a graduate has the desired skills? For example, what is the selection procedure at BCF?
F: Well, the first stage consists of individual interviews. These are followed by group exercises and they last about 24 hours. I suppose ideally they should be longer. But there are some practical constraints.  Anyway the process itself gives people the opportunity to display certain skills, like the ability to work in a team or the ability to plan and organize.
M: Do these skills develop after selection?
F: We can teach graduate employees certain things, such as leadership technique, and we also encourage certain things with rewards, initiative, for example. But the basis of our approach is career development for all graduates, not just the real high fliers. We actually think the companies benefit more from improving the performance of the typical graduates, not just a selected few.
M: Kate Kidman. Thanks for joining us.