How CORE Technology has reaped rewards from investing in the next generation
For many companies, hiring entry-level talent can feel like a gamble. But for CORE Technology — an Ireland-based agri-food software company that is part of Cultura Technologies, Volaris Group’s agri-food division — hiring new graduates is treated more like an investment. It’s an investment that the company has been making and reaping the rewards of for more than a decade.
In addition to offering a work placement and emerging leaders program, CORE Technology offers a graduate program. Through it, recent graduates are immersed in every corner of the company’s operations, from the client-facing side to the technical and commercial realities of building software for the agri-food community around Mitchelstown, where the office is located. The breadth of on-the-job exposure that graduates receive makes the program stand in sharp contrast to entry-level roles that slot new hires into a narrowly focused function.
Kaitlyn Kenny and Hazel Stapleton are two business analysts who got their start at CORE through the program and have continued to work at the business.
The program has a track record of success. Kaitlyn and Hazel have an example set by their manager, Seamus McCarthy, an Implementation Manager who went through the same program. He started at the company as a student in 2013 when he was just 19 years old, and has continued to work at CORE through the graduate program, growing at the company ever since then.
Today, Seamus manages his own team within the company, highlighting a trajectory that speaks to the program’s underlying belief that graduates aren’t just hired to fill a role — they’re developed with an eye toward where they could end up many years down the line.
CORE’s commitment to the growth of leaders coming up from the next generation is one way the company invests in the local community. It’s a long-term strategy for building institutional knowledge and employee loyalty that would be difficult to replicate by other means.
