Specialist recruiter Drake IT has devised a plan to break the skills shortage drought for Australian companies.
Drake will tempt companies with a co-sponsored internship program in which accepted students will partly pay for their own IT training, in order to gain a guaranteed job in the industry.
"We are approaching major clients who have skills shortage problems," Drake IT Recruitment general manager Richard Burley, told PC Week. The recruiter will promote its 'IT Intern Program' particularly to CIOs.
Likely students will undergo a selection process, including behavioural testing, before taking a two-year training course. The training will be customised for the employer as "each organisation has different skills needs," Burley said.
"We put together a training program, go to the marketplace and find people willing to partially pay for training themselves. Drake also (contributes) on a special finance package over two years," he said.
The employer also pays for part of the training, and "at the end, has a group of interns."
Burley said each employer's 'class' would number about 15 students. Drake anticipates training, for at least one employer, will begin by the end of the year.
Drake currently trains about 150,000 people a year.
