Vodafone will hire 50 graduates next year as part of its 2010 recruitment programme, it has been announced.
The move comes just weeks after the mobile phone company revealed it was planning to close its £755m final salary pension scheme to roughly 4,000 employees, and follows 500 job cuts announced this year in the wake of the recession.
Many employers have been forced to cut back on graduate programmes or close them altogether as they look for ways to save money during the economic downturn.
However, Matthew Brearley, HR director at Vodafone UK, said recruiting graduates was still a priority for the firm.
“We want to attract smart, internet-savvy people, who want to make a real difference by being part of our business,” he said. “We are looking for graduates who are passionate about customers, who will thrive in a dynamic environment, get involved, and add value.”
The graduate scheme, lasting one year, will see graduates spend two months in a retail store to build their customer and product knowledge, before moving into areas including marketing, finance, HR, technology and customer service. The best will be offered a permanent company role at the end of the 12-month period.
The scheme will begin in September 2010, with a salary of £25,000.
Earlier this month Personnel Today revealed that computer giant IBM also planned to increase its graduate intake next year.
