Back in 2018, I wrote a blog titled “How all small businesses can offer graduate schemes that are often better than the big boys”. That blog told the story of how our tiny recruitment agency launched a graduate programme because I was frustrated with the lack of local options for talented graduates in Oxfordshire. We hired Shannon, our first graduate onto the programme, and it worked. For her. For us. For the idea.

Fast forward to 2022, I picked the subject up again, this time highlighting a serious local issue: “Why is Oxfordshire losing so many educated and talented graduates every year?” While housing costs and transport are certainly factors, from the hundreds of conversations I’ve had with local grads, the biggest issue has been the lack of structured graduate programmes in Oxfordshire, especially within SMEs.

Then in September 2023, I gave an update. By that point, we’d rolled out our graduate programme 70 times for businesses across Oxfordshire. The response was overwhelmingly positive and I encouraged more employers to think differently about how they fill junior roles.

Well, today, I’m delighted to share that we’ve now hit a milestone that makes us incredibly proud: We’ve placed our 110th graduate onto the programme. 6 of those hires have been into our own business, including Aoife who is just about to celebrate her 6th year with us (and 4th promotion)!

So what’s the secret?

As I said right from the start, it’s not rocket science. But it is about creating a true win/win.

Too many businesses dismiss graduates because they lack experience. And too many graduates are being pigeonholed into careers they’re unsure of, simply because they have to get their foot in some door. That mismatch doesn’t help either side.

Our graduate programme was built to bridge that gap:

• 80% of the role involves real, operational business support – often tasks a senior team finds mundane, but are incredibly valuable learning for a graduate.
• 20% is project-based development, allowing grads to explore new skills and gain insight into different parts of the business.
• There are regular 1-2-1s, feedback sessions, and progression planning -building clarity, confidence, and a career path.

Many of our graduates have joined to fill unfilled vacancies that were originally advertised as office admin, marketing assistant, operations support or finance roles. With a little creative structuring and the right support, those roles become graduate schemes that rival or beat what’s offered by larger corporations.

The best part?

The programme is completely flexible and bespoke to your business. Some employers want us to fully deliver the structure and recruitment. Others just need a bit of guidance. Some come to us with a vacancy and say “we want to give this a go” while others already have someone in mind but need help shaping it into a structured path.

We’re always happy to chat and adapt depending on your needs.

The original mission still stands

The mission that began back in 2018 hasn’t changed. Oxfordshire is bursting with talent, but too many of our graduates leave because they don’t see local opportunity. I firmly believe SMEs are in the perfect position to change that and we’ve now seen it happen over 100 times.

If you’ve got a junior vacancy, or simply want to explore whether this might work for you, I’d love to have a no-pressure chat.

We know this model works for grads, for businesses, and for Oxfordshire.

Contact:
📧 ben@thompsonandterry.co.uk
📞 01235 797 177