Recent graduates with a thirst for knowledge and new experiences, and who have a desire to grow with one of the biggest companies in Hong Kong have a fantastic opportunity to join information communications and technologies giant PCCW-HKT’s graduate trainee programme.

The company has opened its doors for the 2018 intake and is inviting graduates to apply to the 12- to 24- month-long programme which will see them through a number of fields including engineering, IT solutions and media, as well as sales and marketing.

The primary focus of the programme is to help the company to spot talent and build a pipeline of future leaders for the company and for the industry.

“So the quality of talent is important to us and we want to build a strong pool of leaders who are agile enough to crisscross and to look at things in depth so as to grow themselves and grow the business of the company,” Florence Chow, Head of Group Human Resources at PCCW-HKT says.

For this reason, the company has invested many resources in the programme, making it one of the most distinguished and coveted management trainee programmes in the field.

“Many companies offer graduate trainees only two to three rotations, but PCCW-HKT offered me up to five different rotations from sales-related units to content-related and production-related ones, making sure that I had exposure to all the units and facets of the business, which is what I wanted the most,” says Mark Yeung, a graduate trainee of PCCW Media, PCCW who joined the programme about a year ago.

Aside from the exposure and experience, the company also has a vested interest in keeping the programme attractive and strong because it hopes to use it to attract a younger audience more in tune to the evolution of technology in terms of its usage and consumption.

“Because we are the leader in the industry, we want to build leaders of the company who will have the capability and capacity to lead the industry,” Chow says.

She explains that, given the company is a technology-based one and is constantly innovating new business to keep up with the times, there is never time to stop and think. Therefore, there is a constant need for “fresh blood”, and nurturing graduate trainees is key. The company does this by schooling trainees on three levels. On the broader, base level, trainees learn the practical aspects of the business and how it is run, so they get exposure simply by rotating through the different departments. At the business unit level, trainees have exposure to the products, functions, sales management and all things related to the business at a product level. Finally at a personal level, the company homes in on trainees’ personal effectiveness skills, such as financial acumen, presentation skills, time management, communication skills and, lastly, before a trainee embarks on a full time position, they attend a “Leadership 101” training session.

“This year alone, the graduate trainee programme has equipped me with technological knowledge and soft skills as well as personal development skills,” says Carmen Hon, a marketing graduate from Hong Kong Baptist University, who is now working as a graduate trainee in HKT’s mobile sales and marketing department.

Hon and Yeung also touched on a unique aspect of the programme which is the hands-on approach that senior management take towards trainees and the emphasis on mentorships.

“This graduate trainee programme is special among the different company offerings because, in addition to HR, management itself really supports this programme by endorsing the graduate trainees in different projects,” says Hon.

Hon says that she remembers two particular occasions when senior managers handed her the reins: one was to prepare a project for the standalone handset market; the other was when trainees were included in major company events such as the HKMA TV marketing awards for marketing excellence.

“Even though we were still new to the company and the industry, my manager took on board our comments and valued our input,” she says.

Yeung also mentions his experience from when he was working on sales planning.

“Many graduate trainees face similar challenges, such as having to prove their competence to senior colleagues, since they are really young,” he says. Yeung recalls that when he was working on the staff revamp for the live chat sales team for NowTV, he was tasked to prepare a proposal during which time he noticed loopholes in the plans. To gain his superiors’ trust, he spent a month working late side by side with the sales team and developing relationships and mutual trusts with them. With his suggestions and some amendments in the sales plan the team was able to execute the plan and exceed the original sales target.

“This was a valuable lesson for me and I am always grateful for it,” he says.

But aside from a well thought-out programme, a graduate trainee position is desirable with the company because of the nature of the company itself, Chow explains. HKT is very much a household name in Hong Kong, but PCCW and HKT have now evolved into a global company headquartered in Hong Kong. With a presence in over 40 countries and a workforce that plays host to around 50 nationalities, it is exciting to be part of a multinational that has gone from East to West.

“The way I think of it, we are a baby multinational rather than a traditional one, which goes from West the East; we have close to 24,000 employees around the world. Given the size of the company, and the diverse business that we do, we need a constant supply of talent and leaders and future leaders so this programme is very important to us.”

The company has no trouble filling the positions that are open every year and it is not unusual for there to be up to 2000 applicants for around 150 spots.

Applicants should have a recognised degree, but these hard skills are much less important than the soft skills, Chow emphasises. In selecting candidates, the company is looking for candidates who fit the acronym – HIRE. They have to be hungry, innovative, resilient as well as energetic and enthusiastic.

“You have to stick your nose in and be curious about everything because technology moves every day and sometimes every minute,” Chow says. “So be hungry and explore and get more information about the company.”

Chow says that in recent years, many applicants who apply for the graduate trainee roles fail to do much research on the company. This is a major disservice and Chow encourages interested candidates to take part in career fairs, to visit forums to learn about the company, as well as demonstrating the will and desire to join it.

“My advice is to be humble and stay hungry, this is by far the most important thing for graduate trainees who want to take advantage of every learning opportunity,” says Hon.

Applicants coming from any background can apply for any of the graduate trainee programmes; the company will teach them the hard skills, but the soft skills determine how far the individual can take their career, Chow says.