Targeting smaller firms
The London Market Group has launched Talent Finder, a year-round pool of pre-assessed entry-level candidates designed specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises and firms that hire fewer than five candidates a year. Many of these smaller London market businesses lack specialist in-house recruitment teams, leaving HR staff to manage employment issues alongside routine administrative tasks. Without dedicated early careers resources, firms have increasingly relied on personal networks or been overwhelmed by thousands of applications driven in part by applicant use of artificial intelligence.
How the candidate pool operates
Under the initiative, participating firms submit a job description to LMG and receive a shortlist of 10 candidates who have been assessed, scored on key employer criteria, and given work readiness training. Some candidates originate from LMG’s Futures Academy, where participants spend several weeks learning about the market prior to attending an assessment centre. Employers pay a cost-covering fee of £2,650 per candidate only if they successfully make a hire. The pool is currently focused on London-based applicants due to geographic limitations and apprenticeship-type wage levels.