Who Are Scottish Power?

Managing Human Resources Task 1

Scottish Power's Recruitment Process

Who are Scottish Power?

Scottish Power is one of the leading international energy companies, it is part of the parent company, The Iberdrola Group. Over the last few years it has undergone an expansion project, and it can be found operating in 40 different countries, and is the world leader in wind energy.

Scottish Power operates in the UK and provides gas and electricity to millions of people. Scottish Power states that, "at the heart of all business visions and activities it is the people whose individual efforts and performance make it happen."(Times 100, 2013) Therefore workforce planning is one of the most important parts of Human resource management within the company.

How they recruit

The energy industry is always changing, therefore Scottish Power invest lots of money in recruiting and training employees such as graduate trainees and apprentices, so that they are able of carrying out new jobs. This way of recruiting is very useful to Scottish Power as it the easiest way for them to adapt well to the changing environment, therefore the company runs more efficiently and there is no confusion when the company adapts as they will have been trained and gained new skills.

Most of the jobs are advertised on their website "http://www.scottishpower.jobs" and this is where people applying for the graduate and apprentice programmes are able to download application forms and details on the programmes they would like to take part in. Also there is a lot of information explaining the selection process, as well as hints and tips on how to fill out application forms. All jobs advertised will show the job specifications including the salary and the main duties and tasks of the job. Also the person specification is shown, this includes the qualifications applicants need, past experience needed and the personal qualities needed to complete the job.

Scottish Power's selection process is a good way of identifying potential individuals, as it is allows applicants to show their talents in a number of ways. Firstly to succeed an applicant must fill out an application well stating what the candidate has achieved prior to applying for the job. The applications will then be screened and successful applicants are then invited for an interview. Applicants who had a successful interview will be asked to return and perform certain job related tasks and tests. The company then decides which applicant performed the best in all parts of the selection process and they will be sent an offer letter as well as a contract.

Scottish Power will also spend a lot of money training applicants who aren't graduates or apprentices. As Scottish Power believes that applicants who showed qualities that mean they are able to communicate well with others, work in a team, be a good leader and show that they are driven towards success and will work at their highest standard. Scottish Power says having these skills "within the business will help it meet its aims and objectives."(Times 100, 2013) Therefore successful applicants will be offered more training to gain more professional qualifications, this means that the work force will be highly skilled allowing for the company to perform more efficiently and achieve its objectives in less time.

Graduate Trainee Applicants

Graduate schemes are a big part of the recruitment process for Scottish Power as it allows them to employ people straight after they have left university. This is a good way for Scottish Power to recruit, as graduates will be more enthusiastic in their training as they will want to learn new skills in order to be successful in their professional life.

The graduate schemes are completely funded by Scottish Power and will last two year. Each successful graduate will be started on a programme that is put together bearing in mind each of the individual business requirements and aspirations.

Graduates wanting to be selected for the schemes, do so on the Scottish Power website.