Riverbank Case Study

"Malcolm Newdick, Managing Director of Riverbank, an IT management and support service for more than 100 companies, recently hired his first CompTIA certified employee through Zenos Academy. With his new recruit – 19 year old Kyle Allard – there has been much success, so we recently touched base with Malcolm to learn more about his satisfaction and continued engagement with CompTIA."

What made you want to hire through Zenos?

One of our guys was currently doing a Zenos course, and that's how we got to know Zenos. Separately, we joined CompTIA and then quickly discovered the link back to Zenos. Through joining CompTIA, we discovered that Zenos would be a good route for us to find new employees because students are CompTIA A+ certified as part of the course.

How many candidates did you interview for the position?

Two or three

Were you looking for someone who was CompTIA certified?

It was a major part of it. That way, you at least have some measure of their abilities. As an employer, you don't know if younger candidates have only touched the equipment for only 10 minutes in the classroom. With a CompTIA certification, you get a great idea of the skill levels. It puts a mark that says this person has the skill, this person has the knowledge and this person has the commitment to have bothered to do the course.

All of the other candidates you interviewed were also from Zenos, meaning that they also had the CompTIA certification. What made Kyle stand out among all of the other candidates?

His attitude. It was very positive, and he was very keen. We could tell he was eager to learn. There are things that a lot of people say at interviews, but interviews are also about the way people feel. Employers can tell how engaged and eager candidates are.

Are you planning to recruit a CompTIA certified individual through Zenos again?

We will in future. Kyle is the first person we've hired this way, and we're very impressed with him.

Kyle has been working as part of Riverbank's service desk team for nearly three months. How would you classify his work ethic?

All positive. We hold appraisals with new employees every one, three and six months, and Kyle's reviews have been 100% positive. He is thoughtful and careful about his work.

Would you say that the CompTIA certificate played a huge part in Kyle's expertise?

Yes, and here's why. When you're between 16 and 19 years old, how do you stand out from the others around you? How do you increase your chances of getting hired by an employer? That's where CompTIA scores. It's not just something you've been forced to do in school. It's something you've actively decided to do and work hard at. That makes you stand out from those around you.

After hiring Kyle, do you plan to continue looking for candidates who hold CompTIA certifications?

Yes, definitely.

Overall, why do you think CompTIA is important for IT pros?

As a part of CompTIA now, we recently attended one webinar, and it was brilliant. It wasn't from a manufacturer or a vendor of any sort. It was presented by someone who knew the stuff very well, and who had lots of experience. It was worth our while to join CompTIA just for that one webinar. It was so relevant to us, and it was just great. It was one webinar of a series; we have more booked for later this year. We can't wait to be more involved with CompTIA.