Next Gen Tech Talent: The Benefits of Talent Partnerships for EPAM

EPAM’s collaboration with LDN Apprenticeships has fueled a diverse talent acquisition strategy for the company and nurtured an impactful culture of growth and development. In this interview, Rebecca Davis, Director, Experience Consulting at EPAM Systems, Inc, gives an insight into exactly how the talent partnership works, how early-in-career Trailblazers can thrive and why other employers should ‘take the plunge’. 

Hi Rebecca. Please introduce yourself, your company and a little about your role.

I’ve been in Salesforce consultancy for more than ten years. My heart and soul are weaved into my primary role as a Business Analyst. Now, I oversee a team of Salesforce Functional Consultants and Solution Architects in Western Europe at EPAM Systems, a leading digital transformation services and product engineering company.

Why is EPAM interested in bringing new talent into the Salesforce ecosystem?

The Salesforce ecosystem is relatively small, especially in the UK. To achieve our growth targets, we need to be creative in sourcing people and staffing our projects.

Why and how do you work with LDN Apprenticeships?

We chose to work with LDN for a few reasons:

1.  LDN share our values and are focused on the individual's success, rather than the utilization of the individual.
2.  We wanted to find people with different backgrounds, not just fresh out of university.
3.  We liked that they provided Salesforce Admin training, which requires less onboarding time for us.
4.  It’s a way for us to give back. Our Head of Delivery entered the corporate world via an apprenticeship program. LDN gives us an opportunity to create similar experiences.

We work with LDN in several ways. Previously, we virtually met with a cohort of 10-15 people and a few EPAMers to give a presentation about our business before moving to informal interviews. If we got a good feeling about an individual, we would arrange a longer chat in the coming days before a final interview. Nowadays, we work on more of a ‘needs’ hiring process. If we know we have a need coming, we inform LDN, and they let us know who they feel would be well-suited for our business and requirements. We meet with everyone LDN sends through and arrange for candidates to meet more EPAM colleagues. Both processes help us find new talent in the Salesforce ecosystem.

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