A recruitment company yesterday launched a new free service to help young graduates and school-leavers land their first job.

Expertise, a leading provider of recruitment and human resources services, will kick off the new BermudaGRAD service with a special seminar later this month.

Malika Taylor, partner and practice leader for the firm’s staffing services, said: “It’s just another way for us to serve our client base and young Bermudians.

“We recognise we have to help the next generation of jobseekers as they prepare to enter the market.”

Ms Taylor added that many Bermuda-based businesses recognised the need to attract young talent to their ranks.

She said: “We actually have a number of clients we have been working with recently who are keenly interested in young Bermudians who are recent graduates.”

Expertise recruitment specialists will offer free job search seminars and personalised job search advice to young people.

And participants will get advice on resume writing, business communications skills, interview techniques and how to present a professional image on online tools like LinkedIn.

They will also be given a free assessment which employers can use to judge how well a candidate’s work style and talents are matched to various roles.

The BermudaGRAD scheme will be run by Expertise’s Jessie Young, herself a recent recruit to the firm’s internship programme.

Ms Young said: “We are excited that early in the new year we will begin meeting high school students, many who we can expect to help find their first job when they graduate in from university in 2020 or 2021.

“Every student that registers with us will have a projected graduation date assigned to them so every year we can inform employers about new talent entering the job market.

“Employers can expect to receive pre-screened candidates who have been provided with the very best advice on how best to communicate professionally and conduct themselves well in the hiring process.”

The company, based at Mintflower Place on Par la Ville Road, Hamilton, also plans to use its applicant tracking system to monitor the progress of students from the time they leave high school to graduation.

Around 400 pupils finish high school every year in Bermuda, with more than 50 per cent of them going overseas for university, while between eight and ten per cent attend Bermuda College, with many progressing to university afterwards.

Ms Taylor said: “Our goal is to help advise these students, track their progress and eventually place them with employers.

“We possess unmatched access to the job market for Bermudian graduates because Expertise employs more than 50 professionals in Bermuda, including recruiters, human resources and immigration consultants, payroll managers and professional accountants.”

School leavers and graduates expecting to enter the job market next year can register for the first seminar, to be held on Thursday, December 29, starting at 5pm, by e-mailing BermudaGRAD@expertise.bm.