A global IT firm is hoping to tap into the graduate talent available in Leeds by employing 500 professionals by 2017 as part of a strategy to increase its client base around Yorkshire.
FDM Group, which is one of Britain’s largest IT service providers, has moved its northern centre from Manchester to Leeds in a bid to find graduate talent.
Increasing graduate headcount
While the Leeds office currently employs 100 staff, Chief Executive Rod Flavell plans to dramatically increase its headcount in response to current demand.
Moving the firm to Leeds became a “no-brainer” as the city is known for its strong tech pull, he added.
Mr Flavell also noted that FDM is one of the biggest graduate recruiters in the UK and that the Yorkshire area is a “vibrant centre of graduate talent” which should help boost the firm’s success even further.
He added that the firm has received around 640 job applications from graduates and experienced professionals in the last eight weeks who are looking join the firm in Leeds.
Mr Flavell hopes to employ 500 people in the Leeds office within two years, something he believes will make a huge contribution to the UK’s technology sector.
Recruiting STEM talent
In the upcoming months the firm is looking forward to working with employers and business leaders to recruit the brightest STEM and business graduate talent, aiming to provide the region with the IT skills that companies require.
The IT company has hired around 635 graduates and Ex-Forces personnel in the UK since January 2015 – during the same period they also received more than 19,500 applications.
Meanwhile, it’s not just FDM Group that’s planning on setting up in Leeds, as Sky is set to create up to 400 skilled jobs for graduates and experienced professionals when it opens a centre to focus on the development of new websites and apps.
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