Squaring the Circle > Programme > Working with students – collaborative tools for developing the talent pool

Working with students – collaborative tools for developing the talent pool

Moderator:

Jan Lewanowicz Deputy Director, ASPIRE

Panelists:

Marta Waligórska, Recruitment Manager, State Street Services
Jarosław Pięta, Managing Partner, AG Test
Jacek Blaut, former President, AIESEC Kraków
Representative of Barclays Finance Centre, Wilnius (tbc)

The high number of young people in higher education in Poland is one of the most persuasive reasons for companies to locate offshore centres here. As a service industry people are our greatest asset and most of our new hires are graduates fresh from university. As such, our ability as an industry to attract graduates to work for us is the key issue for the long term sustainability of the sector in Poland.

Many initiatives focussed at the student population focus on the job readiness of students, potential changes to the curricula, teaching methods, etc. In this workshop, however, we aim to explore a more fundamental question: Is the offshoring industry an attractive employer for students? And what can we do to make it more attractive?

As a starting point for our discussion, we will present the results of the 2013 ASPIRE student survey, run jointly with associate members, recruitment company AG Test and the student organisation, AIESEC.

Approx. 2,000 students in four cities – Kraków, Katowice, Gdansk and Szczecin – were questioned. They were asked about:

  • Their perception of large companies that operate IT, Shared Services and outsourcing Centres in their cities.
  • What they want from a job and what is their profile of an “ideal employee”.

The results are both surprising and puzzling and definitely suggest the need for a new approach to working with students.

During the panel we will be seeking answers to such questions as:

  • Are companies using the right communication channels to reach the student population? What are current best practices in this area?
  • What opportunities for the sector are presented by the way students expect to enter the job market?
  • What developments can be anticipated in the future?
  • Is employer branding the right approach or do we need to focus also on industry branding?
  • Is it more effective to focus on universities or on students themselves?