Utterly important, but badly handled - this, studies suggest, is how talent management is perceived by HR specialists around the world. So-called "trainee" or "graduate programmes" - on-the-job training programmes for university graduates - offer an excellent remedy here, but so far have received surprisingly scant attention outside German-speaking Europe. Drawing on many years of research and close relations with HR practitioners, the author hopes with the present paper to stimulate an interest in such programmes among HR specialists around the globe, and to provide an overview of the essential dos and don'ts in implementing them