Hiring a Graduate: Practical Guidance and Support for West Yorkshire SMEs

From recruitment to retention, setting graduates and organisations up for success!

Looking to bring fresh ideas, energy, and long-term potential into your business? Join Graduates West Yorkshire for a practical session on hiring and supporting graduates and discover how to turn early-career talent into high-performing team members.

You’ll learn how to:

• Spot graduate potential beyond experience
• Onboard and support new hires effectively
• Build confidence, capability, and retention
• Avoid common pitfalls like communication gaps and mismatched expectations
• Stay ahead of hiring trends and understand the evolving graduate talent market

Practical, hands-on, and results-focused, this session is perfect for hiring managers, directors and owners working in West Yorkshire SME’s who want actionable strategies to grow and support their teams.

Graduates West Yorkshire:

Graduates West Yorkshire is delivered by Gradconsult on behalf of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and supported by all West Yorkshire universities.

This initiative connects talented graduates with SMEs in the West Yorkshire region. We help SMEs access fresh talent through a new and funded skills based hiring approach, while easing the burden of recruitment and training.

The programme aims to support West Yorkshire graduates with a paid role (6 months minimum) encouraging them to stay within the region supporting the local economy.