We’re delighted to announce the launch of the 2021 Verastar Graduate Programme, offering as many as 40 young people the opportunity to kickstart their career at a fast-growing and forward-thinking company!
Last year’s cohort of grads are now working full-time in their new roles.
Every single one of the candidates who successfully completed the programme secured a permanent role and is now making a huge contribution across our marketing, operations, legal, IT, software development and commercial departments.
The 2021 scheme is split into three streams: Business, Technology and Sales. So there’s an opportunity for all candidates to shine, whatever their strengths and specialisms.
This is a fantastic chance to get stuck in and learn the ropes. No other route offers such a broad exposure to the workings of the business, as the various placements and projects see candidates operating in a range of roles and supporting different areas within the business.
Our grads get to feel and experience the customer journey end-to-end from behind the scenes. Each candidate is then supported towards choosing a specialism to suit them and move them closer towards their long-term career aspirations.
Find out more
Don’t just take our word for it. Here are the words straight from the grads’ mouths!
Gemma – 2020 graduate, now a pricing analyst at Verastar
What attracted you to the Verastar Graduate Programme?
I was attracted by the flexibility of it. You have lots of options for the early rotations and flexibility around the different placements towards the end of the programme when you’re trying to figure out what is the right long-term role for you. It’s helpful to have that flexibility to help you understand what you’re looking for in a job role.
I had an idea of what I wanted to do but having the opportunity to get a flavour of the different business areas really helped me, and I ended up going in a slightly different direction to the plan I had in mind when I started.
How did you find the programme overall?
I always felt I was learning lots of different things and it was never boring. There’s always something new to discover and new opportunities to take.
I enjoyed the group projects and feeding back to the wider business, sharing what I’d learned and making suggestions for improvements. Senior people within the departments really took us seriously and supported us.
What’s your role now?
I’m in the commercial team as a pricing analyst, which means I analyse how we can make our product pricing more competitive and how our prices compare with the rest of the market.
I’m also involved in a number of project teams looking at how we can improve our processes. It’s an interesting and varied role and no two days are the same.
I’ve also been offered the chance to take further training with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), funded by Verastar, which is fantastic for my long-term career development.
What do you like about Verastar, now you’ve been with the company a little while?
The people at Verastar are probably the best thing about working here. They care about your growth and progression and they want to see you do well. It’s also a very diverse business, there’s lots of different things to get involved with and it never stands still.
Elliott – 2020 graduate, now a marketing executive at Verastar
What attracted you to the Verastar Graduate Programme?
The structure of it appealed to me. The operational rotation gave me a quick but thorough view on the whole business and the customer journey, and the two placements at the end let me get stuck into specific areas in more depth.
How did you find the programme overall?
The pace of the scheme was perfect for me. You feel like you’re learning and developing quickly but with support when you need it. Before you know it you’re out and working in your permanent role.
You see every angle of the business. Working in sales, customer service, credit control and provisioning, you go through the entire customer journey, including how their services are provided and how they are supported. You also learn how each department operates and its structure.
What’s your role now?
I’m a marketing executive, providing marketing support for different areas of the business. So that includes creating content, data analysis and customer insight. I lead a few activities, including billing and our business hub. I also play a big role in our partner marketing and I’m responsible for various marketing deliverables across the business.
Going through the grad programme has helped me a lot in my current role. Understanding how the business works and how the different departments are interlinked has helped me to understand the bigger picture.
Now I’m into my role, I’m being supported to develop further with accredited training from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), alongside on-the-job training from my team.
What do you like about Verastar, now you’ve been with the company a little while?
There’s a lot of opportunity to get hands-on experience and exposure to people at the highest level of the business. It’s a really progressive company, it’s fast growing and its strategy is 100% clear. I’m part of a great team that is contributing to the future strategy and my role enables me to have a good work-life balance.
