CenITex seeks youth boost

Beverley Head
Tuesday, 01 December 2009 07:11

IT Industry - Market

Victorian Government IT services provider CenITex is looking to rejuvenate itself by hiring young graduates under a scheme developed in association with the Australian Computer Society.

CenITex first partnered with the ACS earlier this year on a scholarship programme and has since moved to establish a graduate recruitment scheme, which it claims now has 12 graduates involved in the 12 month pilot. 

The influx should help rejuvenate CenITex’s workforce. Its annual report which was tabled in Parliament in October shows that only seven of CenITex’ employees were under 25 in 2008-9.

John Ridge, executive director of the ACS Foundation, confirmed that the organisations were working together on the graduate scheme, but declined to provide any more information about what CenITex was offering in terms of employment or how its scheme operated.

The CenITex annual report notes that the programme is a pilot scheme lasting 12 months from July 2009. CenITex’s first graduate recruitment scheme, it is intended to provide mentoring and professional development to the graduates joining the organisation.

CenITex is on a mission to reform its culture, which has been inherited from the government departments for which it is now providing ICT services. Initially comprised of more than 70 per cent contract staff which ceo Peter Blades characterised as unhealthy, the annual report shows that had fallen to 47 per cent by the end of June – and has since dropped even further to around 40 percent.

Bringing in new graduate workers may help the organisation further reduce its contractor count and salary bill.