Hopefuls for the Yorkshire Graduate Employer of the Year Awards Announced

20th August 2012

Graduates Yorkshire has announced the short list for the Yorkshire Graduate Employer of the Year Awards.

The awards are to celebrate the commitment shown to the personal and professional development of graduates, by graduate employers across Yorkshire and The Humber. Martin Edmondson, Graduates Yorkshire CEO said "We wanted to create an award that recognises the vital role that graduate employers play in the economic growth of the region, both in terms of employment and business growth.- Graduate recruiters were asked to nominate themselves for the awards in one of the three categories, micro, medium and large scale organisations. The calibre of entries was extremely high across the three awards which is testament the dedication from local companies, large and small, to the development of the region's graduates. Each of the shortlisted companies showed a clear commitment to the recruitment of graduates by partnering with universities, offering open days, webinars and advice blogs. They also sought to equip their recruits with skills above and beyond their immediate job role. Many of the short listed companies offered tailored training programmes, one to one mentoring and supported their staff to complete externally accredited professional qualifications. The awards will be judged by an independent panel of experts comprising of Simon Hill, Managing Director, Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation, Ian Ford, Chief Operating Officer, AGCAS (the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services)Lewis Coakley, Higher Education Union Development Officer, National Union of Students and Sophie Galley, programme lead resourcing, NHS. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony held on the 6th September in Leeds. An overall winner will also be decided from the winners of each category. The short listed organisations per category are as follows: Micro Graduate Employer of the Year Entries by organisations with 10 or less employees HR180 Merlin Software Ltd Approach PR virtualDCS SLM Search & Selection Ltd   Medium sized Graduate Employer of the Year Entries by organisations with between 11 and 250 employees Epiphany Trustmarque Solutions Ltd Sagar Wright Search & Selection Avoca Systems Ltd New Chapter Consulting Large Graduate Employer of the Year Entries by organisations with more than 250 employees WmMorrisons Tribal Asda Teach First Cameron