Plymouth graduate's recruitment firm named among UK's top startups

A graduate recruitment firm launched by a Plymouth University student has been named among the UK’s top 100 startup companies.

We Connect Students was founded by Oliver Dickinson from his bedroom during the second year of his International Business degree, and uses innovative technology to link students with potential employers.

Since its launch, the firm has secured more than £700,000 in outside investment, and currently employs 17 people at offices in central London. Now, it has been listed in Startups 100, which aims to identify the UK’s most promising new companies and at 22, Oliver is the youngest entrepreneur to make the list.

Oliver, named an Enterprise Ambassador at the University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Enterprise Awards in September 2013, said: “Recognition like this is always super, but the best thing is knowing and proving on a day-to-day basis that recruitment really can be so much more efficient for both students and employers. There is a great change taking place in student and graduate recruitment and We Connect Students is the vanguard of this movement."

We Connect Students is already being used by multinational firms, SMEs and more than 50,000 UK students with plans to expand its clientele and workforce over the coming years.

Professor Wendy Purcell, Vice-Chancellor of Plymouth University, said: “As the enterprise university, we pride ourselves on equipping all our students with the skills to succeed in their chosen career. Oliver is a great example of this working, and proves what can be achieved through the combination of world class teaching and individual application. He is a fantastic ambassador for the University.”