Why was Breakfast and Connect so successful for hiring within West Yorkshire SMEs?
9th December 2025
This post was originally published on LinkedIn! Check out Helen Perkins’ profile for more content like this!
✨ Reflecting on a fantastic morning at our Graduates West Yorkshire ‘Breakfast & Connect’ event on 4 December!
We brought together West Yorkshire SMEs with talented graduates eager to bring fresh ideas, energy, and in-demand skills to local businesses.
The aim of Breakfast & Connect was simple, to create a space for employers and graduates to meet face-to-face, have meaningful conversations, and quickly identify the perfect match. And the event delivered exactly that - personal, effective, and results-driven recruitment in action.
Here’s what some of our attendees had to say:
💬 “I thought the event was excellent. A great venue, with some excellent candidates who were genuinely engaged and interested in our company. The informal nature of the event allowed for relaxed conversations and gave a good insight into each of the candidates that might not necessarily have been found during formal interview.”
💬 “We really enjoyed the event and met some really interesting talent, so thanks for pulling it together and having us.”
✅ Excitingly, all of the businesses who attended are now following up with some of the graduates they met with further interviews and conversations already underway. Looking forward to hearing more on that, so watch this space!
A huge thank you to Katherine Megson and Sarah Whittle from Bruntwood SciTech for hosting us at Platform and introducing our businesses and graduates to the incredible ecosystem you’re part of. A big thank you too to my Gradconsult colleagues Merryn McGregor Ella Womack and Emma Moore for their support in making the morning such a great success.
▶️ Due to the success of this event, we’re hoping to deliver it again in the new year. If you’re a West Yorkshire-based SME looking to hire graduate talent and access support to help develop them and integrate them into your business, drop me a DM and I’ll let you know as soon as we announce the next one!
Here’s to building more connections that help both our regional businesses and brilliant West Yorkshire graduates thrive! 🚀
