Damar Training’s Recruitment Team offers specialist advice and support to help employers get the best candidates for the roles within their organisations. In part one of our blog, we speak to Sabina Adam and Hannah Bennett, Recruitment Co-Ordinators at Damar Training to find out more about the pivotal role they play in supporting our employer clients.
Tell us about your function within Damar Training?
In a nutshell we are a dedicated team who help employers find the best candidates for their apprenticeship vacancies. We also support applicants finding apprenticeships within high quality organisations.
What are the main elements of your roles when supporting an employer?
The main responsibility of our role is to help an employer source the best candidate for their apprenticeship vacancy. We support our clients by providing direction and best practice in creating job adverts which will attract the best candidates.
We ensure all roles are advertised within two working days of being received from our employers. These are advertised on our website, the “Get My First job” website and the Government’s “Find An Apprenticeship” website. We will also look at our database of potential candidates to see who could be a good fit for the role being advertised.
Also as part of our service, we screen all applications within two days of them being submitted to assess candidate suitability for the role and shortlist candidates for interview. Throughout the interview process we will liaise with the candidates informing them to attending online or in-person interviews, we provide regular feedback on the status of the vacancy and how it is progressing.
We’ll share the good news with successful candidates ensuring they are fully informed on their new role and the apprenticeship that they will be undertaking. We also give feedback to unsuccessful candidates providing direction on how they can be successful in the future.
What are the top 3 tips an employer should consider when advertising for an apprenticeship vacancy?
Firstly, they should think about their offer, one of the key reasons that people consider an apprenticeship pathway is down to the career progression opportunities it has offer.
Secondly, it’s a candidate-driven market, so the best way to attract more quality applicants is to offer a competitive package.
Finally, take your time when writing the advert. If you have a job description for the apprenticeship role, it can be tempting to copy and paste the content into the vacancy advert, but a job description is a formal and functional document that describes duties and responsibilities. We also advise our clients to think about how they share the benefits of working with them in terms of their culture and values.
Looking at the apprenticeship vacancy, what can an employer do to make it more appealing?
Look at your company description, don’t just state what sector you in, bring your company to life and describe the sector you operate in and what sets you apart.
With the job title keep it simple and obvious but try to be creative. We see more success in recruiting into roles titled Lettings Negotiator or Medical Receptionist rather than Business Administrator. Also keep sentences short and descriptive, with the aim of enticing applicants to read more about the role.
The duties section it is important to give an accurate insight into what the successful candidate will be doing in their role on a day-to-day basis.
What should an employer do once they have advertised an apprenticeship vacancy?
Be active and be responsive, the best candidates will apply for multiple apprenticeship vacancies and will get snapped up quickly, as an employer you can’t afford to be slow in getting back to people.
What is an important aspect of the recruitment process an employer should focus on?
Remember the applicant is interviewing you, as well as you them! Create a welcoming atmosphere at the interview stage. A majority of people get nervous at interviews, but this can be more applicable to someone who is completely new to the process. so make the process comfortable and clear for candidates, so they know what to expect during the interview and be supportive and welcoming on the day. It doesn’t need to be an intense grilling!
CLICK HERE to read part 2 of our blog where Sabina Adam and Hannah Bennett give some tips when applying for apprenticeship vacancies.