Digital marketing agency attracts over 1,000 applicants to “biggest ever” graduate training programme

Digital marketing agency idhl has welcomed 14 new starters to its biggest ever graduate training programme, which will be run from its Harrogate, Leeds and Manchester offices.

The 12-month specialist digital development programme for graduates was originally launched in February 2021 in the paid media team, with the goal of attracting new talent and investing in the training and development of entry level candidates.

However, it has been so successful, with all alumni still employed in the team, that it has now been opened up to include other areas of the business.

This year’s graduates will undergo training and get firsthand agency experience in other digital marketing service specialisms such as technical SEO, copywriting and digital PR as well as web development and design.

They will also each have a “dedicated and experienced” mentor for day-to-day queries, be involved in regular structured development sessions, gain relevant certifications and accreditations, and have the chance for progression into a permanent role upon completion of the programme.

This new programme attracted over 1,000 applications from students at universities across the UK, and the 14 successful candidates were selected following attendance at open days, interviews, and one-on-one career discussions with team hiring managers.

During the open days, which took place at idhl’s Leeds office, the candidates saw presentations from key internal stakeholders including head of people, Ben Turner, and WMG joint managing director, Ian Lloyd, who has been with the business for over 14 years and has himself worked up to senior management level.

Graduate training manager, Giacomo Palmieri, who launched and ran the initial programme in the Paid Media team alongside idhl Head of Operations, Sophie Dalglish said: “I am proud to see this graduate scheme grow, with our successes and learnings in Paid laying solid foundation for the wider teams.

“When we started this programme, we had just one graduate candidate in place at a time, but this year we’ll have four people in Paid Media alone, and a further 10 across other areas of the business. It’s so great to see.

Ben Turner, people director of idhl, added: “This is the first year that the idhl group has delivered a graduate programme of this scale. It is important to us that we invest in our future workforce to support not only our growth, but the development of the next generation of digital marketing enthusiasts.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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