"Our graduate placement has embraced the project in its entirety"

Aberdeen Foyer

What is your company background?

Aberdeen Foyer is a charitable organisation, established in 1995 whose work aims to prevent and alleviate youth homelessness and unemployment in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.
The organisation has grown significantly since it began nearly 16 years ago with a staff of 6 – we now employ around 130 people across 5 service and business areas, via 15 different sites across Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.

Why did you choose to take on a graduate placement?

Aberdeen Foyer had previously been involved in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership and it was through this programme that we learned about the TalentScotland Graduate Placement Programme. Further research on the Programme showed that the aim of the placements would be to support businesses to grow, to improve operating efficiency and to increase competitiveness – all of which are key in relation to our identified project. The programme was also attractive to the Foyer as the graduate placement would continue to receive off-site training during their time at the Foyer which is specifically aimed at providing additional business skills and innovation to the graduate which would also benefit our own organisation.

What is your graduate involved in?

Our graduate placement is taking forward the development of a client database across the whole of the organisation. This involves a range of skills including communication with a wide range of staff, training users of the database, production of training materials, providing solutions to technical issues and the design and development of an outcomes framework which will be integral to the system development.
In addition, Aberdeen Foyer has moved to ‘Cloud Computing’ and the graduate is supporting the transition to this innovative and new development. 

How is the graduate placement programme benefiting your organisation?

The graduate placement is benefiting Aberdeen Foyer through taking forward the IT developments outlined which will support business growth and will signal to potential funders that we have a robust infrastructure in place resulting in increased efficiencies in relation to operational activity.
Our graduate placement has embraced the project in its entirety. He has shown enthusiasm and commitment and is being enabled to showcase his technical skills in a complex organisation. He has developed strong working relationships with staff across the organisation and is able to quickly grasp and provide solutions to presenting issues.
We are delighted with our graduate placement and are looking forward to benefiting further from his continued involvement in the organisation