Any opinions on Fraser McKenzie? - advice needed

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Hi

Long story short:
I'm unemployed and looking for this first IT job. I've been made redundant in September/October and I decided to move to another city. I have recently started volunteering for bristolwireless.net and I really love it.

So

I had this phone call today, with a nice female voice telling me that they want to offer me an opportunity either IT Recruitment consultant or IT Support. I said I'm interested in IT Support. Company called Fraser McKenzie

Then she went into "If you will be succesful on interview we will offer you a Microsoft related training"

So i thought, "God, no thanks"

But as she was explaining (she said it 3 times) "We will cover the costs of training" and there was no talk about loan of any kind, I thought I'd go for the interview and find out.

Then I've recieved an email to confirm our little chat over the phone:

"Following our conversation, I am happy to inform you of the following opportunities & typical starting salaries with the Fraser McKenzie:

- IT Recruitment £17k - £22k basic (£35k+ O.T.E)
- IT Sales £15k - £20k basic (£35k+ O.T.E)
- Helpdesk £16k - £22k basic
- Systems Administration / Network Engineer £18k - £25k basic

Through our strategic partnerships we offer industry accredited training and cover training costs on the basis you commit to one of our employment schemes once you are fully qualified."

I've seen some info on the internet saying that those employment schemes are 2 years for them or 6 months for their client.

In my situation I am quite happy to get into IT and spend even those 2 years without a promotion. Also what about 6 months for their client? Am I not allowed to progress within corporation? What do you think in general?

I'll give the interview a go on Monday just for experience but I'd like to know your opinions and if anyone had any experience with them before.

Regards
Luke

 

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I dont know, never heard of them, sounds fishy to me i.e. to good to be true.

I am in the same boat as you, i also want to move but cant afford to ie closer to the jobs.

good luck

 

Well, their website seems to suggest they are just another recruitment company. Maybe they're allied to a TP too ?

As long as you talk to them with your ears/ears open and don't jump to commit to anything (i.e. give yourself time to think it over and check it out) then no harm in listening to what they have to say (I may even bung them my CV to see what they comment !)

Their office locations don't seem to include any "down South" ;)

 

Also just noticed you have to cut/paste a CV and NO bullet points or tables it says - weird !

 

I had an interview with them about 6 weeks ago following being put in touch by my careers advisor at uni who had heard about them when she worked in IT.

Initially I was a bit cautious but eventually I decided to join the scheme as I got to speak to previous candidates placed into employment & also got to see to some employers testimonials (maybe worth you asking to speak to people they placed into employment). Also, got to speak to one of their partners who train up the Ministry Of Defence and BP.

Basically as long as you complete the training inside 1 year & then commit to work for Fraser McKenzie they will cover the cost of the training through the job-placement fee they get & you get a recruitment contract from the 1st day which put my parents mind at ease.

There have been parts of the training that have been easy and parts that have been quite intense, the recruitment team have been really helpful & even managed to get me a junior placement to help me get some experience before I finish my training.

There were a couple of people in my class who were expecting things fall in their lap ... which isnt going to happen and parts of the training are quite challenging. The good thing though is if you put in the effort there are people to support you.

If you are not 100% committed to working in IT Support or IT Recruitment then the scheme is probably not right for you, but hopefully things will work out for me.

 

Thanks for sharing,
sorry to say though that this doesn't sound legit to me neither

Regards

 

Sounds too good to be true IMHO.

 

Hi Richard, thanks for your comments, feel free to post in the new members section, this will no doubt give people a bit more background and see whether this company is for them, and additionaly, no offence meant here, to give more insight into why your first post relates to this company (as this commonly is a red flag for spammers and ends up losing the company in question credibility).

Best wishesKev

 

Bit of a write up

I went the for 10:00. After 25 minutes of waiting I was given a brochure and had my CV taken of me. After careful reading (another 10 minutes) I thought I can't be bothered to wait any longer.

Key points:

- Candidate is being send to PPi learning for MCSE course (IT Support career path) ~ £4400
- After passing the exams they will start to try to put you into employment.
- If they won't find you an employment in 90 days u can walk away with your certification

If they will, depending on salary:
below £15000 - they will cover 25% of the training costs, you cover 75%
£15000 - 25000 - them: 50%, you: 50%
over £25000 - them 100%

So unless your first IT job salary is over £25000 u have to dish out at least £2000

During 90 days they have to find you a job, you CAN'T look for a job. If you will find a job by yourself you have to cover training costs.

This is my understanding of a brochure I was given. I said I'm not interested and I didn't speak to the consultant (waste of time IMHO).

Hope this is gonna be helpful to someone.

Regards

 

You've probably done the best thing, sounds like utter BS to me as it's hardly likely they will get you a job over 15k.

Was there any mention of "If you don't live in the correct georgraphical area then this negates our obligation to you" or something along those lines?

 

The fact that they left you waiting around for more than a half hour speaks for itself.

 

Yep sounds like walking away from that was a positive career move, there is no way on gods green earth you would get a first job in IT over 25K thats a second/third line wage which without experience all the certs in the world would not get you into.

 

Thanks for the input lads. That's exacly what my thoughts were, no chance getting over 25000 with no experience, no matter what certs one holds.

 

When i was looking for my 1st job in IT i was advised by others to try this FIRM
Got a junior job poorly paid job in the NHS, but at least i was on the IT ladder!

 

Hello everyone. I was searching on google for any forum threads regarding "Fraser McKenzie" and this thread showed up, so I thought I'd register to quickly make a comment.

I was called by a lady about an hour ago who instantly booked me an interview for tomorrow, so I'm going to go along and see what is said/offered as such.

I think I'm going to put them on the spot by asking them whether I'll be able to have a job worth £25k as a first job without any experiences. Should prove interesting. Like a few have already mentioned, it seems too good to be true.

Having had interviews with other agencies, I have become skeptical about a lot of the things they say.

Regards.

Farhad

 

Good luck fella. It doesn't sound too good to be true, it is too good to be true!

I bet you can ask anyone on this forum about their first IT job and count the number of them that earned over 22 grand on the fingers of one knee.

Personally I wouldn't waste my time doing this - it would be far more productively spent canvassing other agencies or getting your CV out to recruiters via jobs on the net. Also, be very careful about the sales pitch tomorrow - they will try and sell it to you with all the old bollocks under the sun - just remember that your initial reaction is correct - it's a con.

 

Time is precious; don't waste it on them!

 

Well I went to the interview dressed all smart, and equipped with a few questions thanks to this forum

Straight from the off, the lady tried to offer me a 6 month training contract, and immediately brought out a piece of paper for me to sign.... yea right. She kept referring to the fact that I'd end up in a job worth 17-22k per year job. All the while, showing a false smile, which could be spotted by a blind from a mile away. She was good looking mind you

I started to conversate with her and brought up the question regarding what was the likelihood of getting a first job worth £22k without any experience. Her response was shady at best, she referred to her company, stating that it has good business links and that a job would be easy to find.

I asked whether I'd be able to look for a job for myself while contracted to their policy, and once again she felt uncomfortable.

By this point she knew that I was not going to just sit there and nod my head enthusiastically and sign some phoney piece of paper. She must have known that she was not going to get her incentive bonus.

Well needless to say, I walked away, even though they kept my CV, for what I don't know. It's a shame really, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

I think I'm going to get a government grant or bursary, and study MCSA at my old University and get a part time job for now until the job market is less volatile.