Virgin Media O2 was crowned the overall winner at the 2023 Personnel Today Awards in recognition of its work to improve social mobility and future-proof its skills via its early careers programmes. Ashleigh Webber looks at the variety of schemes on offer.
As technology evolves and becomes entrenched in our lives, fast and reliable broadband and mobile networks are non-negotiable for many people in the UK – meaning the demand for talent and skills at organisations like Virgin Media O2 is constant.
To ensure it has a strong pipeline of the skills it needs now and in the future, VMO2 relies heavily on its early careers programmes to grow its own talent. Last year it was crowned the overall winner at the 2023 Personnel Today Awards, as well as the winner of our Early Careers Award, in recognition of the depth and variety of schemes on offer to individuals starting their career journey.
Its early careers programme has come a long way since Virgin Media launched its first field technician apprenticeship scheme in 2008. There are now more than 60 schemes, in disciplines ranging from engineering to cyber security, digital marketing and project management.
Apprentices make up the majority of its early careers intake, and when the two brands merged in 2021 it committed to bringing in 1,000 apprentices – a milestone it is making good progress towards achieving. Apprenticeships range from level 2 (equivalent to GCSE) up to level 7 (equivalent to a master’s degree), and in the past an MBA apprenticeship was on offer.
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“Our programmes have evolved over the years based on need,” explains Karen Handley, head of early careers at Virgin Media O2. “We historically only had one type of apprenticeship between 2008 and 2016– a field technician programme. But when the apprenticeship levy came in and we moved from apprenticeship frameworks to standards, which made apprenticeships more employer-friendly, we moved to around 30 different types of apprenticeships which opened up a lot more opportunity to invest in our skills.
“We also use apprenticeships to upskill and reskill our existing workforce. We see them as a great opportunity for our organisation to ensure we keep our skills up to date and think about the future.”
Variety of schemes
In addition to apprenticeships, VMO2 offers graduate schemes and internships including placement years for university students. Internships – which began in 2012 – are typically offered in engineering and technology fields, while graduate schemes – launched in 2010 – cover areas including finance, marketing, business strategy and sales, as well as engineering and tech.
Often, interns are offered a place on one of VMO2’s graduate schemes as a result of their attitude and work during their placement year, and the company runs various activities to keep them engaged while they finish their studies – they are sometimes recruited 14 months before their job start date.
Virgin Media O2 has brought in more than 3,000 apprentices, graduates and interns in total – many of whom have gone on to become ambassadors for the programmes.
School outreach
Social mobility is at the forefront of the early careers team’s strategy, says Handley. To ensure its engaging a diverse pool of candidates, the company runs a school outreach programme that typically reaches 1,400 schools per year, many of which have a higher proportion of pupils from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Representatives from the company often visit schools to raise awareness of the careers on offer and provide access to practice assessments for pupils to complete.
The school outreach programme also raises awareness of the “match me” quiz VMO2 offers on its careers website, which pairs potential candidates with apprenticeship schemes that meet their preferences and desires.
We focus much more on someone’s strengths and their potential.”
“It’s really great for those who know don’t know which career path to follow, but also those who know what they want to do, especially females who see a network engineer role come up think it might not necessarily meet their needs,” says Handley.
Last year VMO2 launched a STEM work experience programme for 14-16 year olds, which saw 200 school pupils complete a five-day virtual programme that aimed to build interest in STEM careers, particularly among girls and ethnic minority candidates. This year the company expects to double the scheme’s intake to 400, and Handley says it will look at expanding the scheme further if it continues to be successful.
Potential over experience
VMO2 tends to recruit apprentices based on their potential over existing skills, qualifications or experience. Handley says its apprenticeship schemes have the “lowest possible” entry requirements, and applicants are not required to submit a CV or evidence of any prior work experience.
“We focus much more on someone’s strengths and their potential,” she says, explaining that the recruitment process aims to draw out candidates’ motivations and the transferrable skills they can bring to their roles.
“We also provide support through the recruitment process,” she says. “We know that people from diverse backgrounds may have had less career advice at school for example, so we put coaching calls into our recruitment process and provide lots of tips throughout so that we can make it a level-playing field for everyone that applies.
“Research we carried out earlier this year showed that seven out of ten people are rejected from entry-level roles and a third of people don’t feel qualified; these are both things that we’ve really wanted to work on to make sure that people feel they can apply.”
Engaging young people
To ensure that its schemes remain relevant to young people entering the workforce, VMO2 has formed a future careers committee made up of elected apprentices, interns and graduates to help ensure people in this cohort are heard.
Handley says: “They are treated like our customers – we want to make sure they are getting what they want out of their programmes. For example our induction is based on what is important to [younger people – being purposeful, sustainable, transparent for example – and our future careers committee helps us bring those message life in a way that will resonate with that generation.”
Members of the committee also play a part in hosting the induction process, as VMO2 recognises how important peer-to-peer learning is for this generation, says Handley.
Engaging people from the start of the recruitment process through to when they complete their early careers programme also has benefits for long-term retention, she says. Twenty-nine per cent of VMO2’s “class of 2008” are still with the organisation today, and more than 70% of people who have completed one of its apprenticeships stay for at least three years.
It’s definitely an exciting industry to be in, especially for those early in their careers.”
The early careers team keep in touch with “alumni” who have progressed in the organisation, who are encouraged to share their stories with graduates and apprentices. Some of them have also become “sponsors” of the schemes they were once on.
“For us it’s not just about showing the most senior people – we want to show breadth of careers and roles on offer,” says Handley.
“We’ll show examples of people who are now heads of department, but also people who have done very well from a technical point of view or people who have done four or five very different jobs within the organisation.”
Asked why she thinks Virgin Media O2 is a great place to work for graduates and apprentices, Handley recognises the pace of change and breadth of careers on offer as potential draws.
“It’s definitely an exciting industry to be in, especially for those early in their careers,” she says.
“We’re very data-driven and we’re always reviewing what we do, and sometimes we find the smallest thing [in our recruitment process] makes the biggest impact. We regularly look at what works and what we can do to make things even better, not just for us as employer, but also for individuals.”
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