Skills Bootcamps employer testimonial — Bridewell Consulting

Funded by the UK Government, Skills Bootcamps are employability schemes that aim to reduce the digital skills gap. They can help employers recruit candidates with the exact skills they need at no cost or train their current employees at a fraction of the price.

Last week we touched base with our Skills Bootcamps partner, Bridewell Consulting about their experience with Firebrand thus far.

Bridewell is a leading Cyber Security services company that protects critical business functions for some of the world’s most trusted organisations. 

This spring we partnered with their junior programme, Bridewell Academy to help them recruit Graduate Consultants. Talent Acquisition Coordinator, Angel Huizar talked to us about their experience.

“This has been my first time working with Firebrand. Overall, the experience has been really good. We started with Steve, our Firebrand recruiter, sending over candidate profiles every day, and then I would set up the interviews. Steve would then prep the candidates on what to expect for their interview. I found this really helpful!

“Steve is great – he’s really, really lovely. He didn’t impose a formal structure on the process; he wanted my input because I used to do grad recruitment. It was a balanced process; Steve and Kate have been really open, really good communication, available for any questions I had.”

(Steven George is a Recruitment Advisor who supports learners through the interview stage of their Skills Bootcamp, while Kate Longmate is the Business Development Manager who forged the relationship with Bridewell.)

“As for candidates, the feedback from the Bridewell team was really good even before the final interview, on par with what we were expecting.

“Our recruitment process is quite tough. Overall, we found that successful candidates had previous work experience, even if not in the industry, like admin or receptionist roles – rather than coming straight from uni. Some really shone through.

“You can tell the hard work Steve put into sourcing them – that was a great resource when going through the process. We had 44 candidates in the end.”

Prior to working with Firebrand, Angel had never worked with Skills Bootcamps. “Skills Bootcamps were definitely a new concept to me, a really great idea! It was a whole new experience – it was really interesting to learn a bit more about it and see the courses the candidates have done. I assumed they would just do one course, but no – the variety is pretty good.”

Based on that, do you think Skills Bootcamps can help reduce the IT skills gap in the UK?

“It’s tricky, especially for junior candidates. It’s hard to find a job in tech if you’re working in a different sector and have no previous experience, particularly in Cyber Security. It becomes like a vicious circle. Skills Bootcamps can break this cycle and open quite a few doors. If junior candidates are struggling, they should definitely do a Bootcamp!”

As a result of running this partnered Skills Bootcamp, Bridewell has filled two vacancies in Consulting and Security Operations. Successful candidates will start next month; their 10-week induction will build on what they learned during the Bootcamp.

So, would Bridewell partner with Firebrand again?

“Definitely. The calibre of candidates we received has been really good. If we were to look at it again, it would be on an annual basis. I would recommend Firebrand Skills Bootcamps 100%.”

Thank you for your feedback, Angel!