Microsoft development powerhouse and Britehouse subsidiary 3fifteen has opened applications for its 2011 Graduate Internship Programme and has increased its intake to 15 graduates, which represents 10% of its Johannesburg staff complement.
Jennifer Custers, Human Resource Manager at 3fifteen, says the programme, now in its fourth year of operation, has been designed to take graduates with little or no practical experience to new heights in the space of 12 months.
“We partner with Microsoft's Student 2 Business programme to ensure graduates have a strong enough theoretical grounding to qualify as Microsoft Certified Professional Developers and throughout this process, reinforce the skills learnt during the formal training with intensive on-the-job mentorship,” she explains.
“The result is a group of graduates that are immediately employable by 3fifteen itself.”
Custers feels that 3fifteen is extremely optimistic about the quality of graduates it will choose this year, as the quality of the previous two years' intake was extremely high.
“Graduates really bring their best game when it comes to applying for our programme, especially since 3fifteen continuously strives to be seen as an employer of choice,” she adds.
To this end, 3fifteen has gone to great efforts to become top of mind within tertiary education circles. They have also placed second in Deloitte's annual Best Company To Work For Survey in the IT category for two years running and have substantially more Microsoft competencies than any other company of its size.
“That means we've been given consistently good ratings by our employees and that we're able to offer a breadth of specialisation and career growth that's rare in our industry.
“This allows us to cherry-pick the graduates with the right combination of attitude and aptitude, and in doing so add quality to our workforce,” she says.
Custers says the graduate programme has become one of the primary drivers for staff career growth within 3fifteen.
“It gives the company a great deal of 'feel-good' value, since it not only bolsters the company's ability to grow and sustain its lead in certain markets, but allows it to make a tangible difference in the South African skills landscape.
“So, as of now, we're putting out a call to the tertiary institutions and the market in general for applicants to make their way to the 2011 Graduate Internship Programme page on our website and apply for an opportunity to learn and work in our environment,” she says.
“We really are looking for the best of the best and would be delighted to hear from some of the brightest, young South Africans looking for a career in information technology,” she concludes.
Interested graduates should apply at http://www.3fifteen.co.za/Careers.
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