UKFast CEO Lawrence Jones has 'stepped up' to address the state of the graduate jobs market, recruiting 50 graduates this summer in the first stage of a new scheme.
Jones will invest £4.5 million over two years, offering starting salaries of £19,000, rising to £30,000 with bonuses, and providing a purpose-built training facility for the company's new recruits.
Jones said: "There's a market of talented, energetic people in Britain looking for a step up, a break. It's my duty as an entrepreneur with ambitions to expand massively, to give them the opportunity. It's a win-win."
Developing the UKFast Academy launched in 2011, the firm's latest recruitment project follows the appointment of Aaron Saxton as Director of Training.
Jones said: "Apprenticeship schemes don't fit for graduates - they come out of university with a £40,000+ debt and who is going to help them out? It is time for us business owners to stand tall and find a business model that helps them. I don't understand why businesses aren't doing this already.
"This is not an apprenticeship or a typical graduate scheme, it's a real training programme with real salaries and bonuses."
Jones believes the graduate scheme will allow the business to outperform its growth targets for 2013 of 25 per cent.
"We've looked at other cities for growth, but our heart lies in Manchester. Our business is growing so fast and we're going to be a breeding ground for the best brains in the industry."