This year marks the start of LEWIS’ fourth and largest graduate training programme. 2017’s intake sees us welcome Stephanie Crisp, Gemma Sowerby, Yla O’Riordan, Lucy Bristow and Beverley Noble to LEWIS and we’re delighted to have them join the team!
Why does LEWIS have a graduate training programme?
New insights
Every agency needs new ideas and new ways of thinking. Whilst our Graduates develop skills from how to write that killer line, to dealing with ever so slightly tricky journalists, the company in turn is listening and learning: our fresh-faced five have already offered new ideas. The graduate training programme is definitely a two-way street as we foster new ideas and new ways of working.
Retention and development
We have seen a strong link between employees who join LEWIS at a graduate level flourishing and staying with us for far longer than the industry average. This has allowed us to invest in their development and to tailor their career paths to their individual interests and needs such as adapting client portfolios to be more content focussed.
Raw talent can be shaped
We have improved our training programme each year to get the best out of our graduates. We understand that the market is ever-changing and we’re ahead of the curve in adapting our approach, involving a wide range of trainers across the agency in order to develop talent to keep up with the rapid pace of an evolving industry.
Integrated training
This is the first year we have a fully integrated training programme spanning B2B, consumer and digital disciplines and we are always looking for new ways to broaden our programme. We allow our graduates to be multi-skilled in all areas of our business, adding more strings to an individuals’ proverbial bow.
How does it work?
This year we experienced a deluge of applications – more so than previous years. I had the tough task of whittling down over 200 applicants to just 40 for our assessment days, of which we chose to interview ten and recruited five. We expect this figure to continue to rise in the years to come as we further invest in the graduate programme.
The programme itself consists of an intense 21-week training programme comprised of eight modules:
- Introduction to LEWIS
- Integrated Communications
- Media Relations
- Content Creation
- Reputation and Story Telling
- Digital, Commercial Awareness
- Client Consultancy.
This is followed by a practical assessment which is presented to the management team in order to secure a position as a fully-fledged Account Executive.
What our grads had to say…
“Definitely getting to meet people who work across the agency (integration and all that) and learning things I had never considered before (media relations and social analytics were particularly eye-opening).” 2016 Graduate
“Being able to train on the job is the most fantastic experience because you can put everything you’re learning into practice instantly. It also gives you the opportunity to bond with other new starters and meet a wide range of colleagues, who all bring something unique to the agency.” 2015 Graduate
Please keep an eye out for the 2018 graduate programme opening for applications in December.
