What is the story of the CGI talent programme?
“Before our current talent programme we had a generic two-year graduate programme with rotations and a time-limited contract. However, this gave some challenges. In the current form, the programme is 12 months without any rotations and we offer our talents a permanent contract from the beginning. This, in order to create a sense of security for both CGI and the talent. In our talent programme we have a strong focus on mentoring, as the talents are assigned both a buddy and a mentor to strengthen their learning curve. In addition, all our talents will meet each other at our training modules four times a year, and each module focus on different learning plans and themes. We don’t hire a fixed number of talents; it depends on the competencies of the candidates.”
➔ Hiring! CGI are looking for graduates to join them now! Follow the link here for more details about their roles
“When you are a part of the CGI talent programme, the focus will be on expanding your knowledge and give you the opportunity to familiarize with CGI and tasks related to your job in an educational environment.”
Why do you have a talent programme?
“It contributes tremendously to CGI as the talents contribute with new and innovative knowledge. Moreover, they are very motivated and eager to share their learnings from university. The programme also contributes to age and gender diversity among the employees at CGI as the IT business is generally biased towards men. Of course, we don’t hire based on the gender of the applicants; we hire because of their competencies. Thanks to the programme, CGI has a really good combination of both young and more experienced profiles who are fantastic mentors for our talents.”
What kind of talents are you looking to attract?
“We aim to attract both talents with a more generic business background as well as talents with a more technical profile e.g. developers. In general, we want to attract people who are collaborative and perform well in teams. During the hiring process, we don’t use any cognitive tests, and grades are secondary when it comes to screening applicants. For us it is vital that there is a good match to CGIs culture and DNA and to get to know the candidates better, we use behavioural tests.”
“In general, we want to attract people who are collaborative and performs well in teams. During the hiring process, we don't use any cognitive tests, and grades are secondary when it comes to screening applicants. For us it is vital that there is a good match to CGIs culture and DNA and to get to know the candidates better, we use behavioural tests.”
What is your advice for the applicants who apply for the CGI talent programme?
“If you can illustrate that you are driven by helping businesses and have a commercial flair, then you are definitely on the right track. Don’t just say you think ‘it is interesting when IT and people interact’, say something original. It should be evident in your application that you are aware of what kind of business CGI is. That you are aware that CGI works with IT for businesses and in a business context. We want to know how you will contribute to CGI if you were in our talent programme.”
What is the best thing about the programme?
“It is difficult to pinpoint the best element in the programme, because we think that there are several elements that makes our programme unique. As a new talent, you are hired into a particular department and you will take responsibility from day one. Simultaneously with workshops and courses linked to the programme, 70% of the learning is based on hands-on experience with colleagues and clients. This way our talents add value from day one, which is very important for the talents and CGI.”
“When you are a part of the CGI talent programme, the focus will be on expanding your knowledge and it will give you the opportunity to familiarize with CGI and tasks related to your job in an educational environment. You will be assigned both a buddy and a mentor when you start. The buddy acts as your go-to-person but more in a social context whereas your assigned mentor will be able to spare with you and assist you with more academic and business related aspects. The important thing is that there is always someone there to support you and answer your questions.”
“As a young newly graduated talent it is important to create a great network, and we think that CGI talent programme provides you the opportunity to interact with both colleagues in your department and across divisions. Lastly, we strive for all members at CGI to have a good work/life balance where flexibility is key.”
“As a new talent, you are hired into a particular department and you will take responsibility from day one. Simultaneously with workshops and courses linked to the programme, 70% of the learning is based on hands-on experience with colleagues and clients.”
In which areas are you still trying to improve the experience?
“We continuously evaluate the programme and use feedback to optimize the different modules and workshops. This year we have been forced to make changes due to Covid-19 to enable a well functioning program giving the circumstances.”
➔ Hiring! CGI are looking for graduates to join them now! Follow the link here for more details about their roles
