Welcome to our first in a series of articles about local businesses in the Kirkstall area. Our first Spotlight falls on virtualDCS, based on the Leeds and Bradford Road, situated right on the canal next to the Leeds Met Halls.
The reason that they caught my eye (apart from their marketing executive sending us updates every couple of months!) is that they recently released a press release about their uptake of a placement student. Not only do we have an above average demographic of young people in Kirkstall, mostly brought about from students at the three Universities in the city, but also, the subjects of the recession, unemployment, and NEETs are of concern at the moment to most young people I speak to, not just residents of Kirkstall but across the UK. I thought it would be good to hear how one company, based in our area is trying to change this and help to increase the future prospects for young people.
About virtualDCS
In a nutshell virtualDCS are pioneers of the Cloud Computing industry; having built one of the first platforms in existence the team offers a range of business solutions to companies internationally. Cloud Computing is currently one of the most innovative and fast growing IT sectors and with both individuals and businesses taking advantage of the Cloud each day, it is anticipated that by the end of 2013 the industry will be worth over $44 billion worldwide.
In its simplest form, Cloud Computing is a metaphor for offering IT services over the internet, where the business doesn’t own the physical hardware but rents it ‘as a service’ instead (sorry I have tried to make this understandable in laymans terms but it is quite difficult!). Some common examples of the Cloud for personal use include iCloud, Hotmail and Dropbox. It tends to be used by companies or individuals who want to be able to streamline their IT systems while reducing IT management, lower costs and gain the ability to work remotely.
They have been located in the area for the past 9 years, preferring the area over the city centre. Their managing director, Richard May remarks that he chose Kirkstall because: “The location is perfect for the business, providing us with great transport links to our two data centres and for employees that commute. We knew as a business that we wanted to be based in Leeds, as the majority of our staff live within the local community but Kirkstall just offered us something a little bit different to the city centre – a better location and view, without losing any of the Yorkshire regional charm.
Although they have been in touch with Kirkstall Matters for a while, we have recently begun to forge a better connection, enlisting their help in some future social and community projects. Richard goes on to say: “Both Kirkstall and the Yorkshire region as a whole is an excellent home for the business, so we try to give back to the community as much as we can. We hire regionally based employees, buy and sell to local businesses (in addition to our national and international customers) and try to form connections with local charities and events. We like to think that as a company we have a positive impact on local life.”
A placement at virtualDCS
After a successful placement last year with a student from the University, Hannah Christie, a Media and Marketing student has recently joined the company from Leeds Trinity University for a six week professional placement programme within the marketing function of the business. Hannah will gain marketing experience by completing a variety of tasks including content creation, market research and social media management. The placement will see Hannah working with Nikki Towler, Marketing Executive for virtualDCS who also studied Media and Marketing at Leeds Trinity University. virtualDCS believe that placements are a win-win situation as the as the company gets an extra pair of hands (which helps the business to continue growing) and the student gains real world experience, in their chosen profession. This experience can often mean the difference between getting a good job or not after leaving full time education.
Hannah says of her placement: “Working with virtualDCS will enable me to gain industry experience that will not only aid my degree and develop my professional skills, but also help me to attain my dream job after leaving university. I’m really enthusiastic about getting involved within the company and their marketing efforts”
Hannah also mentions that gaining work experience during her studies has helped her to gain an insight into the different career paths she can take. This I believe to be an important point, how many of us have spent numerous years at the beginning of our careers jumping from one unsuitable job to the next just to make ends meet?
Richard, the Managing Director said: “At virtualDCS, we recognise the value of working with students and Universities. Offering work placements not only benefits virtualDCS and the students, but also the economy. With the latest growth figures showing 2.51 million individuals unemployed any experience that can benefit an individual in future is vital.
For Hannah, one of the additional benefits of joining the virtualDCS team, is that our Marketing Executive has in-depth experience of Hannah’s course, so we are even more confident that we can provide a placement that will benefit her long-term”
The future for our students
Most graduates now face leaving University with reduced job prospects and greater competition. It is much harder to walk into a job and so (quite rightly) students are now encouraged to start their careers whilst still studying, often expected to work for free whilst fees are at an all time high.
I therefore applaud businesses that take the time to teach our young people about their industry, working life and give them that edge they need on their CV and in the interview room to secure a full time position after University.
It has been argued that the caliber of students graduating from University is lower than a decade ago and that this is in part is to blame for the lack of opportunities that some find themselves with. It has been remarked that graduates often fail to be punctual, work hard or understand work etiquette. virtualDCS themselves recognise that it is those students who are ambitious that are most likely to succeed: “We have noticed that the most successful employees leaving university are the ones that ‘go the extra mile’ and make the effort to improve both their experience and knowledge base. It is an incredibly competitive job market right now and students that are the most successful have actively differentiated themselves from the sea of other graduates in the same position.”
virtualDCS is very flexible in their approach to taking on student’s. Nikki says: “From one week upwards, we take any length of time into consideration as long as we feel we can offer something valuable in this time. We also have a similar approach to how many students we take on over the course of a year, if we think we can help, we will.”
If you would like to undertake a professional placement with virtualDCS or learn more about its services email marketing@virtualDCS.co.uk
