IFS rallies new troops by taking graduates on hard drive across Europe

The war for IT talent steps up a gear this week, as 17 MBA graduates competing for 10 top jobs hit the UK in Dutch-built Burton sports cars. The intrepid alumni are blazing a trail across the EU in the hope of becoming international IT consultants at global enterprise applications company, IFS.

On their gruelling two-week journey the 14 men and three women are vying against each other in a series of practical challenges, including team scavenger hunts and cooking dinner for the group at camp. They are also required to compete in a unique logistical game which involves designing a virtual manufacturing business that produces Lego towers for sale to the retail trade.

Following completion of the rally in The Netherlands on 15th August, the top 10 will be offered traineeships and the opportunity to work at various IFS locations around the world, including the UK. The overall winner will also drive home a beautiful Burton car.

According to Managing Director of IFS UK, Paul Massey, the rally format was chosen because it elicits the skills and abilities required by a good IT consultant, many of which are shared with top rally drivers: ìTo win a rally you need, among other things, great communication skills, a flexible attitude and the ability to work well in a team. The same goes for succeeding as an IFS consultant. By pitting the graduates against each other in this type of situation, both individually and in teams, we have a great opportunity to see who has what it takes ñ not the least of which is a willingness to literally go the extra mile to assist customers!î

Mr Massey adds that fierce competition for the brightest and best new graduates is a key driver behind the initiative, which may be rolled out globally: ìThe rally has come out of the BeNeLux (Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg) region, where the shortage of top talent is so acute organisations have to conduct bold and creative recruitment campaigns such as this to attract the best candidates. And with competition for top talent growing rapidly in the UK and other regions, we are treating it as a pilot and are looking seriously at running similar campaigns in the near future.î

Rana Bidares, MBA graduate from Erasmus University in Rotterdam and first-time rally driver, says that she jumped at the chance to test her mettle against other top graduates and to learn about the IFS business in a range of countries. ìThe IFS rally is not only great fun and a tough challenge; it offers an all too rare opportunity to really get to know my potential employers and their business, and to meet people who work at IFS in other countries, before ñ all going well ñ I get a job offer.î

Starting at IFS headquarters in The Netherlands on 31st July, the rally is travelling from Dover to IFS offices at High Wycombe today (9th August). It has already visited campsites and company offices in Germany and Belgium and will return to the Continent after three days in the UK. At the IFS office in High Wycombe tomorrow (10th August), the hopefuls will present the final plans of their virtual Lego factory.