Alchemy Technology Services looks back on two years of job creation and success

Within the first year of operation, Alchemy achieved Partner status with Silicon Valley based Guidewire Software, widely recognised as the world’s leading P&C insurance software provider. “We made it to Partner level with Guidewire in a truly astonishing amount of time. For most companies it can take several years, we did it in eight months,” Mr Harkin says. “Being Partner opens so many doors for us, last November we took some of our team to Washington DC for Guidewire’s annual conference where we were a silver level sponsor, which was a fantastic experience. We were due to attend again this year but due to the pandemic that was not to be.”

John Harkin says the staff have been key to the company’s success. “We have been so impressed at the rate our people have progressed.

“ We bring them on to the Academy, for many this is their first job out of university or college, and introduce them to new software and coding languages. We provide them with world class training and support but it’s up to them to put in the work and have the drive to deliver a top-class service for our clients. I’m so glad to say they have delivered.

“Our staff have grown with us and we now have people with almost two years’ experience under their belt.

“It is great to see how each Academy that has come through the training process use their experience and knowledge to mentor the next wave of cohorts. We foster a culture of collaboration and self-managing teams, there is no competition for promotions which removes a lot of the politics that can often hinder progress within companies.”

Once participants have successfully completed the Academy they are brought on as full-time employees and take part in the company’s Bootcamp, a training process which offers the opportunity to use Agile methodologies in a simulated project environment.

Speaking to the current recruitment John said: “We had to delay our sixth Academy as we felt delivering the training in person is key to our culture and to the ultimate success of the participants long term. We’re delighted that the team at NWRC are able to offer a safe environment which will follow social distancing and rigorous hygiene measures.”

Alchemy’s global clients range from household name insurers to London market commercial insurance companies.

“Our people are normally on client site during the week, they have been across Europe, Africa and America for their work. Of course, all travel was postponed in March but they have adapted to remote working with no issues. We did see a slight dip in terms of projects getting off the ground but we’re happy to say clients have now found their footing and are once again gaining momentum.”

However, John says Alchemy’s success is not just about the bottom line. Being able to boost the local economy is central to the company vision.

“A key part of our mission is to help the socio-economic growth of the city and the surrounding areas. Our people are buying their first homes, buying cars, and spending money in local businesses.”

He added, “We work with some great local independent businesses who add so much to the services we offer and also to the experience of our staff.

“It’s so important to us to support local and we really value the working relationships we have forged in the North West.”

The Alchemy Academy is recruiting until September 30 for Technical and Business Analysts. Applicants must have a strong academic result in a technical discipline or a business discipline with technology included.

For more information and to apply visit alchemytechs.com/academy