Denca’s business fundamentally relies on 2 things:
- Solid, logical and professional processes to ensure consistent delivery of (often mission-critical) projects to our customers.
- The right people to ensure those processes are effectively, imaginatively and reliably carried out.
Our processes have been developed carefully over more than 25 years. Furthermore, they continue to evolve as we strive for ongoing improvement and embrace new technologies. However, without the right people, our processes are worthless. It is the Denca team and our relationships with our customers that lie at the heart of our service delivery. As a result, effective recruitment is a sustained priority.
Engaging with talent
With our base in the North West, we are always looking for the chance to engage with local talent. As our business grows, we believe we have some interesting career opportunities to offer. Given the specialised nature of our work, we are looking for very particular talents in our staff. Consequently, traditional recruitment advertising has not proven to be ideal. We need a more focused approach.
In autumn 2018 we were invited to attend a graduate recruitment fair at Liverpool John Moores University. We felt this could be a good opportunity to put Denca in front of motivated graduates. We believed they could offer the skills we need.
The event was well attended. We had in-depth discussions with a number of likely candidates. It was great to see the real interest in Denca and the jobs & careers we are able to offer.
Recruitment success
As a direct result of the 2018 fair, we were pleased to offer a position to Drew Conroy. He joined us a few months later.
Now, almost a year later, he reflects on his first few months at Denca…
Denca’s stand attracted my attention. I had an interest in control systems and had seen similar equipment to the display in my visits to JLR Halewood for my course.
Mike Darlington and Gary Pickersgill were both very approachable. They had a genuine interest in getting to know potential applicants at the job fair.I had an interview with Richard Lee and Steve Jones. They told me more about the company and the Denca graduate scheme. Following the interview, I was invited back for a half day “taster”. I met some of the staff I’d be working with and got my hands on some of the development tools I’d hopefully be using. Above all, the taster gave me the chance to see if this was somewhere, I wanted to work and a role I wanted to do.
Now after 4 months in the job….
Denca has been a welcoming and enjoyable environment to work in. There’s been plenty of support from Rich and Steve over last 4 months. I’ve learnt a lot about the process of designing and writing PLC Code and HMIs. I am looking forward to using my knowledge on Denca project in the future
The value of engagement
Not only was the 2018 fair a great occasion to meet graduates looking for employment. There was also the chance to talk to students who were still studying and looking forward to future opportunities. One of these was Matt Boone who, although still working towards his postgraduate master’s qualification, showed real interest in what Denca had to offer. We kept in touch and we are pleased that once Matt graduated, we were able to give him an initial 12-week internship where his performance has led to the offer of a full-time role. He starts in the next few weeks.
The fair is running again next month (October 2019) and of course, we will be there. We look forward to another successful event.