INSURANCE giant Zurich is changing its graduate hiring process to help graduates who have been affected by the pandemic's disruption.

The on-off lockdowns stopped young people from getting work placements and internships, so they enter the jobs market with less real-world experience than previous generations.

Around a quarter of these young people now feel that they have been unable to gain the right employability skills during their studies, the Swindon-based employer claims.

Zurich UK is opening applications for graduates this week and has adapted its hiring process to ensure they are not penalised for having less work experience.

To achieve this, competency-based interviews have been scrapped in favour of strength-based assessments so that candidates from diverse backgrounds are not at a disadvantage.

The insurer will help to identify candidates who may not match criteria for one role but may be more suitable for another area of the business.

Every applicant who takes part in the assessment process, successful or not, will receive detailed feedback detailing strengths and areas for development to help aid future job applications.

To support neurodiverse applicants, Zurich has removed group interviews from its recruitment process, which can unfairly disadvantage these candidates. One in seven people have conditions that are linked with neurodiversity .

The company aims to create a level playing field for graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds who may not have had the same opportunities to gain the same work and life experience as their peers.

The new graduate process will offer candidates a new online assessment, which has been developed with HR tech company and strengths experts, Cappfinity to provide candidates with a realistic insight into what it’s like to work within Zurich and the insurance industry.

Head of talent acquisition Michelle Ransome said: “We really want to create a level-playing field for all graduates to ensure we genuinely attract the best person for every role."

Zurich’s actuarial team is launching an industrial placement programme for 2023. Five graduates will complete a year in industry at Zurich in pricing and reserving. The conversion rate from the internship to the graduate scheme is high, at 82%.

Zurich is recruiting for 31 graduate roles and 21 internships across six areas: Business Management, Change and Technology Management, Actuarial, Finance, Data and Analytics and Sustainability.

Roles are available across the UK including London, Fareham, Glasgow, Birmingham and Swindon.

Applications for the 2023 graduate scheme will close on October 30 2022.