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Dylan’s Story // An Employer Perspective

06/12/2021

Talent RISE is passionate about changing the lives of young people who have experienced barriers to employment. To do this, we provide education, training, life skills and employment opportunities, helping young people RISE UP to their full potential to gain independence and purpose. 

One of the young people we have had recently helped to secure employment is Dylan Bellis. With our support, Dylan managed to gain meaningful employment with Talent International, via the Government’s Kickstart Scheme.

The most powerful opportunity an employer has is to embrace the potential of young people. We spoke to Matt Harland, Talent’s Head of Marketing, to get an insight into an employer’s perspective on the benefits of RISE. Matt is working closely with Dylan, guiding him through his new role and supporting his journey as a new starter. 

Q- What made you want to get involved with RISE in the first place?

Matt – I’ve been in the business a long time and have been involved with RISE for a while, so I’ve really seen the impact it has on clients. Internally, from a Marketing perspective, it’s a field that young people are keen to get involved with. It’s creative and generally very popular – so if you can help, I think it’s a no brainer that you should. 

Q- What is it about RISE that makes it easier to connect with the right young people?

M- I don’t particularly enjoy the hiring process to be honest. I’m not a recruiter and it’s outside my skill set, so Andy and the RISE team make the process really seamless. When you’re dealing with younger people (some from low social mobility or underrepresented groups), you need to know how best to manage their transition into the world of work. 

So, RISE really helps manage and support you through that process. From an employer’s perspective, RISE helps you connect to a diverse range of people who are really suited to/aspire to be in a particular role. It’s all about having the intention to do good and help – and RISE makes it easy to do something positive for young people while being somewhat hands off. 

Q- What is it about Dylan that made him the right fit?

M- I knew academically he had the right skills for the job. He had all his Journalism studies under his belt, and I’d heard he’d been looking for a job for a long time. After having spoken to him in the interview, it was clear he wanted it. 

He’s a smart, switched-on individual who just wanted to be given an opportunity. And, unfortunately, I think that’s what puts off a lot of employers from hiring young people because they think it will inconvenience them in terms of training and easing them in etc. But this just isn’t true. Young people are generally fearless, and if you give them something to do they are tenacious and creative with it. Older, more experienced people are often set in their ways – and come with their own expectations of what they “think” the job should be. 

With Dylan, you give him something and he just runs with it. I could tell from the interview that he was going to be the kind of person who has the confidence to just roll with things and do a great job. 

Q- How has Dylan impacted the office culture?

M- Really positive. The Marketing team has gone through a lot of changes recently, and we went through very lengthy hiring processes. Culture is such an important thing for the Marketing team, as well as Talent as a whole. As a result, we’re quite particular about the profile and personality of the people we want to bring into the business as we’re very protective of our culture. 

He has come in and been a breath of fresh air. He’s very eager, willing to learn, takes everything on and it’s helped drive productivity and creativity within the team. It’s contagious and infectious! It’s just positive vibes, positive energy and a solid work ethic. All great traits to have. 

Q- What does the future hold for Dylan?

M- Whatever Dylan wants really. It’s just about finding his feet in terms of what he enjoys doing day-to-day. With RISE, it’s not about fitting in a box – there’s room to grow, learn, and figure out what you want to do with exposure to several aspects of the business. 

In this role, Dylan’s got the opportunity to be creative whether it’s in writing or design. He’s got the whole spectrum of Marketing available, with the chance to grow into it and discover what he really enjoys. With the soft skills he has and his attitude to work, I think Dylan could work in anything. He’s working quite a bit with Public Sector and Consulting at the minute, so there’s no reason he couldn’t take on a more managerial role within that – or develop into more stuff with the core Marketing team here. The possibilities are endless!

For more information, get in touch on www.talentrise.org /placements. To see what Dylan had to say from an employee perspective, click this link to go to his Q&A.

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