Our Story
Darogan started with the experiences of two students back in 2018. Owain and Theo, who eventually became the co-founders of Darogan, were studying at the University of Oxford and wanted to know more about careers in Wales.
They found that this was easier said than done. It was challenging to find Wales-based roles at jobs fairs over the border, and they experienced first-hand how employers in Wales didn’t seem to be reach them as effectively as employers based in London and elsewhere. They knew that, without intervention, Welsh employers were at risk of losing out on great talent - and the same is true today.
With a simple yet ambitious task, they came up with the concept of a graduate network, run by graduates. The aim was, and still is, simple: to connect graduates, no matter where they are based, with brilliant opportunities across the whole of Wales.
While this aim remains the same, Darogan has developed a lot since those early beginnings.
In 2020, with the support of Acorn Recruitment and in the midst of a pandemic, Darogan Talent's website launched, turning the vision into a reality.
In 2022, with the support of Equal Education Partners, Owain was able to quit his job and to run Darogan full time, the beginning of significant period of growth.
And since the beginning of 2024, Jack and Gwenno has joined the team, bringing new experience and capacity to Darogan to take us into our next chapter.
How we help students and graduates?
We put students and graduates at the heart of what we do. Our services are available for any student or graduate who is interested in a career in Wales, whether they are from Wales or not, studied in Wales or elsewhere, or currently studying or graduated decades ago. If you want to explore a career in Wales, we want to help you.
Not sure where to begin. A good place to start would be joining our network. It's free to sign up and it will allow us to connect you to roles, and for you to connect with the other members of the network.
Through our job board you can find live roles, including grad schemes, full-time roles, courses and placements.
And don't forget to check out our events page to see if there is an event coming near you. We run events across the UK, and try to partner with Welsh societies where we can.
How we help employers?
Are you looking for talent? If so, you've come to the right place.
Through our digital platform and our events, you can connect with degree-educated talent in way you've never experienced before. In particular, we place a unique emphasis on widening the talent pool for employers, by reaching the 37% of Welsh students who choose to study outside of Wales.
We also provide consultancy support, such as bespoke recruitment and research support, to meet your specific needs.
Send us a message and we'll book a call with you to discuss how we can support you.
The name
It’s at this point we should probably explain the name. ‘Darogan’ traces its history back to Welsh mythology, referring to the ‘Mab Darogan’ (The Son of Destiny). The old Welsh bards prophesied that this messianic figure would return one day, after a long period of slumber, or a journey from a foreign land, in order to redeem the nation. But our take on this is a bit different.
Darogan, for us, has a re-imagined message. We believe that we need more than just one figure to make a positive impact on Wales: we need thousands of young people to contribute to building our economy across Wales.