The scheme rewards high-achieving graduates with the opportunity to fast-track their careers and earn industry accreditations through a specialist training programme and hands-on development across a number of key areas within the business.
Split into two streams – commercial and technical – the graduate pathway is open to applicants now and is set to launch in September. The commercial stream focuses on sales, account management and marketing, while the technical stream provides a grounding in Linux, Windows, data centres, networks, infrastructure and programming.
The fast-growing firm, named the top workplace in Manchester by the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For, launches the scheme following the success of its apprenticeship programme and the opening of a £4.5 million training centre.
Lawrence Jones MBE, UKFast CEO, said: “The results from our apprenticeship scheme are astounding; we’re seeing young people come straight from school, transforming the business, leading teams and developing at an incredible pace. Launching a graduate scheme is the logical next step to offer young people opportunities to continue to develop while working at an exciting, fast-paced business.
“We’ve trialled a graduate scheme before, but we’ve never rolled it out across every single area of the business, until now. Combining the experience we have with our award-winning apprenticeship scheme and our incredible team of teachers, this is an extraordinary opportunity for anyone leaving university looking for their next steps.
“We received more than 12,000 applications for roles last year and we’re on track to improve that in 2017. Considering the size of our business we are extremely proud to have so many people keen to join the team.”
The cloud provider’s office space, UKFast Campus, is among the leading commercial properties in Manchester, with its onsite gym, crèche, auditorium and a look and feel that gives Google and Facebook a run for their money. The Campus is soon to double in size as the firm moves into the recently acquired building next door.
Jones added: “As we look ahead at developing the second building at UKFast Campus, there is a world of opportunity for our graduates to carve their own path – who knows they may be running their own area of the UKFast portfolio in a few years’ time!”
The hosting firm is renowned for its unusual perks, including ski trips to the CEO’s hotel in Verbier, incentives to Las Vegas and an annual music festival, which was last year featured chart-topper Example.