Kainos Launches New 'Earn as you Learn' Scheme Offering Free University Places for IT Students

Date posted
1 May 2013
Reading time
7 Minutes

Kainos Launches New 'Earn as you Learn' Scheme Offering Free University Places for IT Students

Earn-as-you-learn-1(hi-res)Belfast, Northern Ireland Wednesday 1st, May, 2013 Thriving technology company Kainos has announced an innovative, new development initiative targeted at the brightest A Level students seeking a career in IT. The 'Earn as you Learn' scheme will allow students to earn a living and develop real-world expertise and experience, as trainee software engineers, while simultaneously studying part-time for a degree which Kainos will also fund. The initiative, one of many bold and creative development drives spearheaded by Kainos, is aimed at upper 6th students who are about to sit their A Levels and who are thinking about what to do after school. Kainos will offer conditional positions to a small number of individuals who will work for the company full time and study a degree on a part-time basis from September. 'In the past 9 months we have completed just over 60 week-long placements for A Level students' said Paul Hamill, Head of HR at Kainos, announcing the new scheme. 'We observed two growing trends the first is the continuing financial pressure on families in the current economic climate and we are seeing some promising students defer or cancel going to university. The second is that there is a small, but growing segment of students who are already quite advanced software engineers we believe these individuals will flourish in conditions where classroom education is supplemented by excellent mentoring within Kainos. This programme is aimed at addressing both these needs.' He explained: 'Our goal is to attract, select and appoint up to 10 candidates as trainee software engineers for employment commencing in September 2013. We will be targeting those who have completed A Levels or equivalent examinations in June 2013.' 'We will be offering permanent employment, with a generous salary, while paying for tuition fees for each chosen student's undergraduate degree. We are a high tech company, but with a traditional view you go to university to get educated, not to get buried in debt' concluded Hamill. Entry requirements GCSE Maths and English plus three other subjects grade A to C, plus expected GCE qualifications of two B grades, one of which must be in maths, chemistry, physics or computer science. Equivalent qualifications will also be accepted. Full details of the requirements, the full benefits, and the application and selection process, can be found on the Kainos web site. Applications will be accepted between Wednesday 01 May 2013 and the closing date of Friday 7 June 2013. The salary received by recruits starts at £10,000/annum with increments based upon promotion. Kainos will also pay all course fees, course materials, provide a laptop and all the required software. Kainos has partnered with University of Ulster, Jordanstown (UUJ), and successful applicants will study part-time for a BSc Hons Computing Systems degree. An open evening will be held at Kainos's offices in Belfast on Thursday 16 May from 6.00pm until 8.00pm, providing an opportunity to see what it is like to work for Kainos, and to meet our staff and find out more about the role. Kainos has long prided itself on the calibre of its workforce, which it credits for the company's meteoric rise. It is currently pursuing an ambitious three-year growth plan which will see its headcount and revenues double. Kainos employs a number of innovative recruitment practices to actively attract the best young talent from universities across the UK, Ireland and Poland - such as the annual summer 'AppCamp' (see http://appcamp.co.uk/). The company has also won a series of awards for being a top employer to work for, most recently being ranked 55 in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For 2013 list, which recognises the UK's most engaged and supportive employers. Visit this page for more information and to apply for a position.