Recruiting during a Pandemic #2
Recruiting Reuben and Jae for a placement year
At Tribosonics, we not only grow and cultivate talent within our business through the Future Leaders apprenticeship scheme. We are currently recruiting highly motivated and exceptionally talented individuals to support the innovation process.
Every year we take up to two placement year students and this year has been no different. Meet new recruits Reuben Mitchell, a third-year Mechatronic and Robotic Engineering student, and Jae Irvine, a fourth-year Mathematics student. Both are from the University of Sheffield.
Meet Reuben
Reuben embodies the ‘challenger’ mindset we value. He has spent a great deal of time innovating time-saving electronics during the lockdown. Some of our favourites include:
A C++ program that will solve any 9×9 Sudoku problem in a matter of milliseconds.
“University is about making the most of the opportunities provided to better grow as both an individual and an engineer. The biggest opportunities for that growth are rising up in working environments rather than in Universities where currently, the support network is limited.”
Reuben Mitchell, Software Engineer
Meet Jae
Jae is passionate about maths, particularly signals processing which helps translate raw data into key monitoring metrics. We noticed how intuitive of a problem solver he is especially when it comes to analysing patterns in data. Jae has experience in teaching and research, both have valuable transferable skills that he utilises in his everyday work. Whether he is presenting data or meticulously combing through large data sets, we need Jae’s mathematical brain in this world of engineers.
“It was disheartening that many companies had suspended their placement year opportunities. Placement years are so important for personal growth. Working in a commercial environment is an experience that is unmatched and extremely beneficial for starting my career.”
Jae Irvine, Data Scientist
Our Partnership with the University
We have great connections with academic institutions across the UK but our most notable connection is the University of Sheffield. Our CTO and Founder, COO, Head of Marketing and Communications, Innovation Manager, Projects and Operations Manager and others. In addition, the proximity of our business to the campus means we can take on exceptionally talented and motivated students. Students across the UK are a vulnerable group due to the pandemic as many career-starting internships, placements and other experiences have been halted.
What has changed this year?
- New practices in place to onboard new starters to the business virtually but still bringing the same welcoming atmosphere
- We encourage our placement recruits to engage with webinars to supplement their learning and experience as well build soft skills.
Why are placement years particularly important, especially now?
We spoke to Helen Smith who is the Head of Careers at the University of Sheffield and Mark Wallace, our COO.
The benefits to students are unparalleled. Placements enable them to put their knowledge into practice, develop key workplace skills and networks, and make better-informed decisions about their future career. Rather than just being a socially responsible thing to do (although it may well be), recruiting a placement student can work out to be a valuable investment in your business and in your future talent pipeline. Offering a positive placement opportunity will help to attract great students; provide a good workplace and learning experience and those students can become your future graduate recruits, helping to maintain business continuity, agility and competitive edge.
Helen Smith, Head of Careers / Deputy Director of APSE Academic Programmes and Student Engagement at the University of Sheffield
A Year in Industry placement helps students add real-world context to their studies. After a Year at Tribosonics, a Mathematics, Engineering, or Commercial placement student will return to university with a strong appreciation of how their academic modules apply in an industrial context. Whether that’s signal processing, material science or innovative business models. By being immersed in our business, students develop a wider appreciation of areas outside the focus of their degree.
Mark Wallace, Chief Operations Office at Tribosonics
We’re extremely proud to support young people in and around Sheffield, whether they are our Future Leaders, Undergraduates or Graduates. Interested in doing a placement year with us? Please get in contact through our website and address your enquiry to Mark Wallace.
Find out more about this series from our last post: Recruiting in a Pandemic #1.
