IT firm CHP Consulting does not look for technical skills when employing graduates.
CHP Consulting is a pioneering IT consultancy with operations in the UK, Europe and a growing business in the United States. Despite the highly technical nature of some of the work, CHP Consulting does not require advanced technical skills when considering applications to its Junior Consultant role.
Shereen Walia studied Spanish and Business and Management at university. She says a technical career has given her the challenge she was looking for.
"Coming from a non-technical background, IT consultancy wasn't the most obvious career choice."
"However, it was the challenge of entering a new field that really appealed to me and after the initial few weeks of core training I had a sound understanding of all the basics," she says.
Ryan Brodley, a Mechanical Engineering Masters graduate from Bristol University, says he started his CHP career with only a basic understanding of software programming.
"As part of the engineering degree, I had touched on programming techniques but did not have a vast amount of knowledge in the area prior to starting my career."
"I can now look back over the past 15 months and realise that starting as a graduate in this company has given me the best technical and functional grounding I could have hoped for."
CHP Consulting gives graduate recruits intensive training to improve their technical skills and ensure they have the tools to begin their careers with real projects. The training covers a range of topics to prepare new starters for every aspect of the work.
"[It] was very interactive and the training material covered everything from the company history, industry-focused knowledge, soft consultancy skills, software development and coding practices at CHP," Ryan says.
"[It] was a whirlwind of information that came thick and fast but provided a solid understanding of the fundamental concepts required for being a well-rounded consultant."