Early Career Podcast | Jack & Ollie Show

Expect a blend of personal stories, candid reflections on generational coaching trends, and some unfiltered advice on nurturing today's talent. Get ready for an episode with Lola Bejide that promises to be anything but ordinary, as we venture into the heart of what makes early career mentoring not just important, but truly exhilarating.

We'll uncover the nuances of employer brand and EVP, discuss strategies for enhancing brand perception, and share practical advice for those looking to revamp or create a compelling employer brand. Tune in for an enlightening conversation filled with expert insights and tips for early career professionals and recruiters alike.

Join us as we challenge the status quo and explore strategies to support passive or socially disadvantaged students, ensuring a more inclusive and diverse approach to career development. We'll dig deep into the key questions, share actionable insights, and envision a future where everyone has an equal shot at success. Get ready for an inspiring dialogue on Championing the Underrepresented – it's time to make a difference.

Merging his vast marketing background with recruitment prowess, Paul offers a unique spin on the challenges and transformative power of AI. Tune in for a laugh, a lesson, and a look into the future of hiring.

With thought-provoking discussions and poignant insights, this episode promises to be a veritable treasure trove for those yearning for a renewed outlook on contemporary hiring practices. So, pour yourself a cuppa and prepare for a recruitment revelation.

From the unspoken advantage of networks to innovative solutions that level the playing field, this podcast promises to challenge, inspire, and provoke thought. Join us as we explore fresh perspectives, practical takeaways, and how we can redefine success to truly reflect talent and hard work.

They share their experiences and insights on the importance of sustainability and diversity in early careers recruitment. With a special appearance by Matthew Payne, a law student and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Recruitment Alliance's Student Advisory Board, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of recruitment.

From navigating hybrid working to crafting an alluring employer brand and embracing the power of purpose and impact, Charlie's expertise provides a guiding light for navigating the ever-changing currents of the job market. Tune in to gain a competitive edge and unlock the keys to building a flourishing workforce in our enthralling episode, "Mastering Branding and Attraction in the Evolving Job Market: Insights from Charlie Ball." Don't miss out on this essential listen that will reshape your perspective on talent acquisition and propel your organisation towards sustainable success.

Branding & Attraction: A brave new world has emerged since the pandemic with wild swings in candidate attraction. One of the leading agencies in the Early Careers space, SMRS joined to discuss what is the right balance. The wonderfully bright, Richard and Jackie talk us through the data, chew the fat and help us see things more clearly with great insight and evidence that can be found in the market. 

We discussed how there is nothing wrong with a rainbow, but could more be done to engage with the LGBTQ+ community and its allies in a more meaningful way?

The market has been screaming out for something like this and now it's here and employers and training providers have a platform that helps bring together apprentices to develop socially and professionally as well as providing support for employers and training providers.

Lienda and Martin spoke about the sorts of interventions that work best with their university partners, the value that career coaching can play and the ROI it provides to career services.If you would like to find out more about the services that Lienda offers please visit her website and likewise for Martin and his business Gradcore.

We spoke to Esther about the programme they are running, how it came about, the successes they've already had and their vision for the future.You can find out more about the programme on their website.

We discussed the role that university plays in employability, but also the wide spectrum of students and their desired outcomes for their time at university and how universities can best position themselves to help the widest range of students. 

We discussed what employability means, why it is so important and what it can mean for social mobility and enterprise. 

We spoke to Laura about the alliance and covered what signatories are agreeing to,  what the commitment looks like and she explained to us how other firms can join the already more than 30+ employer and university members. 

We discussed which changes are here to stay, which aren't and Stephen shared his insights and predictions for 2021 with us.

Best known for calling out Tony Blair, Vivienne Westwood and Simon Cowell over unpaid internships, Tanya explains how her activism has adapted to include employers, and why the good guys are so important in the battle against the bad guys - especially in a post-Covid world...

We spoke about the upheaval to work placed learning, how many firms adapted and what that has meant for students during 2020 and what it might mean for 2021 and beyond.

Charlie joined us on the show to give us a macro perspective on the current labour market for graduates as well as some insights from the past and some predictions for the future.

The apprenticeship development programme at Mace has led to a 94% retention after four years and a 98% academic attainment rate. Those results speak for themselves. Michael and Katie reveal all the secrets to their success in this episode.

University education has been around for over 800 years in the UK and over that time there have been enormous changes ranging from accessibility to teaching methods. Right now universities are dealing with the huge impact that COVID-19 has had on the sector and how that may shape the future of university education. Listen to what Chris has to say.

We don't know what the future will look, so how can we prepare for that? Chris runs through some simple steps you can do to make sure you are as prepared as you can be for the jobs of the future.

The wonderful and highly functional German apprenticeship system is widely touted as the gold standard by governments across the world, but that doesn't mean it will work everywhere. Ulrich talks through the strengths of the Birtish economy and how that might work in the apprenticeship space.

Is this something you can see happening in other industries? Are the lines blurring even further between graduate and apprenticeships? Listen in to find out more.

In this episode, Ben and Natasha talked us through the concept, their passion for the data they'd seen and how they managed to integrate wellbeing into the early careers campaign.

The structure of the SAP team is multi-disciplinary, fast-moving and highly versatile. Those strengths shine through and have made adapting the onboarding process in a virtual world easier than it could have been with a more rigid structure.

We had a wide-ranging discussion with Tom, Sophie and Cristian that is a must-listen for any early careers teams. It highlights the importance of good and clear communication and the reputational damage that can be caused if it isn't handled correctly.

We spoke about outcomes, measurements and different approaches. This is a great podcast for anyone who works in education or any employers who want to understand how the careers worlds work across educational levels.

We'd like to say a big thanks to all our guests and of course all of our wonderful listeners. We hope you're enjoying the show and if you have any recommendations or if you have a topic or a guest in mind just let us know. Keep your eyes peeled for series 5!

We talked about tech, social mobility and virtual internships and of course Westpac Wendy, who could forget her! Due to the geography of the country, they are used to working over huge distances and both universities and employers have had to adapt to working from afar and Julianne helps us understand how it's possible to give top quality provision when face to face isn't always an option.

We run through the problems with the previous surveys, what the new report shows us and what that might mean for the future of employability in universities.

Teresa talks us through the long tradition of college employer relationships and how as an employer you can embed yourself as part of the curriculum, more stats than you can shake a stick at and some practical tips on how to build successful relationships with colleges.

We explore in-depth the long term value of placements for employers, students and universities looking at increased academic performance, employee retention and huge reductions in the cost of graduate hiring.

This episode will help you understand the eight benchmarks where they came from, what their purpose is and how they may evolve in the future.

Sarah and Laura talk through each stage of the changes they made, so you can see how you could do the same in your organisation. The results speak for themselves, so join us in our conversation to explore what they did and how they did it.

Cathy helps us navigate the graduate system in South Africa and the unique challenges they face as well as the common challenges that graduate recruitment teams face across the world.

This episode is perfect for anyone involved in early careers branding and attraction. It will be especially useful for anyone with a consumer brand or anyone who has city-centre locations for their business.

Jack & Ollie would like to say a huge thank you to all our listeners and of course to our fabulous guests. The podcast wouldn't be here without either! We hope you are enjoying it and if you would like to come on the show or can think of someone who would add value to the show please get in touch.

Ben Williams is the Chair of the Association for Business Psychology, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and founder of Sten10, the assessment design consultancy. We couldn't have hoped for a more informed guest.

Universities are increasingly aware of the importance of teaching employability skills to their students to make them more employable in addition to the academic pursuit of excellence. Sophie helps us explore this area based on her extensive experience working with universities all over the UK.

Good question, why aren't more employers offering placements? We explore the merits and some of the flexible alternatives to a standard 1 year industrial placement year with Simeon and Sarah from PlaceNet, the placement experts and of course, Mr Placement himself, Ollie Sidwell is on hand to join in the conversation.

Claudia Harris, CEO of the Careers & Enterprise Co and Aimee Higgins, Director of Employers and Partnerships met up with Jack and Ollie to talk about employer engagement.This is a great episode if you are looking to build relationships with schools or colleges and want to know about some ready-made networks you can tap right into.

Amongst other things, Sam explains how through the power of social media her team managed to reduce drop-outs at assessment centres from 23% to 0.5%.

This show provides anyone who is onboarding apprentices really solid and practical steps that will ensure your apprentices are able to add value straight away. Phill and Kayley explain how the system at JP Morgan has developed over the last 6 years and how it feels to be part of the process.

Part of our global graduate recruitment series, we're starting with Asia. In this episode, we were joined by Anna Champion to compare and contrast graduate recruitment around the globe.

When it comes to choosing a training provider where should you start? We talk with Claire McLellan the Directors of Apprenticeships at Escalla Training an award-winning training provider who reveals the inside track of everything you need to watch out for.

The first LIVE version of the podcast, Jack & Ollie were invited to the ISE Conference in Manchester to discuss what the wider early careers landscape looks like.

We have come to the end of another series with a range of wonderful guests and interesting topics. On this short episode, Ollie and I provide you with a summary of the series looking at some of the key highlights and takeaways.

Rowena and Dave led us through the data from their research and their predictions about the future of degree apprenticeships and their advice to employers either running or looking to start a programme.

Simon's experience in the training provider market is extensive and wide-ranging across all manner of providers and now at AELP Simon is able to provide us with all the information you should know about training providers with some really powerful insights, in particular when looking at the future trajectory of apprenticeships and the source of apprenticeship funding.