Specsavers joins Times Top 100 Graduate Employers list

Specsavers joins Times Top 100 Graduate Employers list

SPECSAVERS has joined The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers list – the only optical group to make the cut this year.

For more than two decades, The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers has identified and recognised the UK’s most successful and prestigious graduate employers. 2022 marks the first time that Specsavers has been named on it – taking spot 78 on the list.

Martin Birchall, Editor of The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers, says: ‘It is an impressive achievement for Specsavers to appear as one of the highest new entries in this year’s rankings, confirming that the company’s graduate programme is amongst the most attractive and sought-after in the country for aspiring university-leavers.’
Alana Inness, Head of Talent and Resourcing at Specsavers, says it is an honour to be named on the prestigious list.

‘It underlines the huge variety of careers on offer at Specsavers, be it in its stores or support offices – working with partners to provide the best value optometry, audiology and other healthcare services to customers,’ she says

‘We don’t just find new talent though – we nurture it and many of our previous graduates are now in leadership positions. They’ve often had careers that span the UK and our international operations.’

Highlighting how a career at Specsavers is hugely rewarding and enjoyable, she adds: ‘Although we are the world’s largest privately owned optical group people are often surprised when working here that it doesn’t feel like a big corporate – everyone’s welcoming and down-to-earth.’

Terri Avery, a Culture and Engagement Manager who joined Specsavers as part of its 2021 New Talent Programme, says the scheme has opened opportunities up to her that she never dreamed of.

‘A year ago, I wasn’t interested in a career and this opportunity has totally flipped that on its head. I will always be proud to be a Specsavers New Talent Alumni,’ she says.
Olivia Shadbolt, a Business Development Project Assistant from this year’s New Talent Programme, says it has given her the opportunity to discover hidden strengths and interests working across the business.

‘Being on a programme with like-minded individuals committed to their development is the perfect stepping stone to a successful and fulfilling career at Specsavers,’ she says.

The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2022 list is compiled from face-to-face interviews with 12,432 final year students leaving leading UK universities in the summer of 2022. They were asked the open-ended question: ‘Which employer do you think offers the best opportunities for graduates?’ Those taking part in the research were not shown a list of employers to select from and their answers were not prompted in any way. Research was carried out by High Fliers Research, an independent market research company.