Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 10 | Page 53

CIO opinion CIO OPINION One of my most unusual hires started in a petrol station. A young woman who had struggled to get a job due to her background – working-class with minimal education and a lack of qualifications. But when given a chance and left to her own devices, she was able to build things on our platform quicker than any of my existing employees. Traditional recruitment routes just don’t find these gems. We also need to be careful judging the younger generation on their education. If you think back to when you were a teenager, I’m sure you get the same nightmarish flashbacks as me: stress, hormones, peer pressure, girlfriends, boyfriends. Considering all those factors, is it reasonable to write someone off simply based on the results they got as a teenager? Everyone has the potential to achieve greatness if only given the chance. In my personal experience, formal apprenticeship schemes that enable people without degrees to experience all aspects of business are a great opportunity to give people that chance. Naturally, they can be a slight drain on resources in the initial stages, but the end results can be highly rewarding for both the candidate and