Since May 2012, Barker Ross has opened offices in Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Manchester and Northampton, which brings that total number of offices up from eight to thirteen.

Additional recruitment teams have also been developed in technical, IT, rail, contact centres and life sciences.

Paul Ross, CEO and founder of Barker Ross, who recently lead a team which abseiled the 418ft tall Old Life Tower in Northampton for Barker Ross’s charity CHILDREN WITH CANCER to raise over £1,850, said:

“We’ve been growing the business despite the poor economic climate as our clients know that we’re one of the best recruiters around.  By moving into new sectors where we already have a knowledge of the candidate pool through related business, we have been able to make an impact fast.  And our new offices mean we can source more candidates across the UK. We’re working on more new developments which will make 2014 a big year for us too.”

The growth follows a group restructure in 2012 where the business was organised into nine industry teams: food, agriculture, waste, industrial, logistics, construction, civil engineering, energy and housing.

The group also includes Cardea, a recruitment business serving the health and social care sectors.

Barker Ross chief executive Paul Ross and managing director, Antony Rowe led a team of twelve up Snowdon on Saturday 18th May to raise money for CHILDREN with CANCER.

Multi-recruiter, Barker Ross has pledged to raise £25,000 for the charity, CHILDREN with CANCER UK as it celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2013. The Snowdon walk is one of the many events staff are involved in to raise money for the charity.

CHILDREN with CANCER UK, which is also celebrating its 25th anniversary, is the leading national charity dedicated to the fight against childhood cancer through research and remains both focused and determined to eradicate all childhood cancers.

The team took six hours to reach the summit and raised £1650 for the charity.

Next Saturday 25th May, Paul Ross with be doing a sponsored abseil and on Sunday, Barker Ross are holding a family fun day in Milton Keynes.

Commenting on employment figures released today by the Office for National Statistics which show employment levels have dropped and that here has been a rise in the number of unemployed people, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s Head of Policy Kate Shoesmith said:

“Despite the numbers today, recruiters are telling us that they are seeing employer confidence returning, illustrated for instance by the hiring process starting to speed up and decisions about taking people on being made more quickly. We remain optimistic that there will be growth in the jobs market in 2013.

“Mark Hoban is right to acknowledge the growing number of vacancies out there. The emerging challenge that we have is that those people who are out of work, especially the long-term unemployed, don’t have the skills and experience necessary to take advantage of the jobs that are available.”

Today’s Queen’s Speech lived up to earlier expectations that it might be fairly ‘lightweight’– as much of the coalition government’s legislative programme had already been announced and the most important goal remains to reduce the deficit.

In many ways, this can be seen as good news for business as what our economy needs more than ever at this time is stability, rather than more legislation and potential bureaucracy.

One of the measures announced today was particularly pertinent to this agenda – the Deregulation Bill aims to reduce excessive bureaucracy and regulations placed upon businesses. We hope this will be good news for employers and we will work with government to ensure that, as they move forward with deregulation and the red tape challenge, they do not unwittingly cut the important safeguards and assurances that protect our industry. This is why we have argued so strongly against proposals to abolish the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI) during the recent consultation on the Conduct Regulations.

Another area that could be of real interest to recruiters, their clients and candidates is the announcement of a National Insurance Contributions Bill, which promises to help more small businesses and create jobs through a new Employment Allowance. It also intends to curb tax avoidance through an extension of General Anti-Abuse Rule to cover National Insurance Contributions. As the Treasury moves forward with these plans, we will seek to represent the views of our industry to ensure clarity and consistency surrounding the introduction of any new measures.

Not unexpectedly, the Immigration Bill has grabbed most of the headlines. This refreshed earlier announcements around a renewed focus on enforcement and prosecution and a limit to the benefits available to migrants. At the REC, we continue to be champions for an immigration policy which reflects the needs of our labour market, recognises the importance of an international and mobile workforce and ensures that the world sees Britain is open for business. At the same time we support effective enforcement in areas such as illegal working and will continue to promote the positive role that REC members play by ensuring that the right checks are taking place.

The proposed investment in infrastructure projects announced today, like High Speed 2 rail, energy and water could increase this requirement for skilled workers which is good news for specialist recruits. One of the challenges ahead is the shortage of skilled staff in key areas which is presents a potential barrier the growth and will be discussed in detail at our Skills Summit on June 26th. Equally, proposals around capping payments for Social Care and better support for working parents through improved Childcare are great in principle but miss the point about how we attract new people into these important industries.

One of the best ways to develop our skilled workforce is to start as early as possible – and education was also a feature of today’s Queen’s Speech. More rigorous assessment at GCSE level and an improved national curriculum continue to be the direction of travel for this government, plus there will be moves to ensure every young person goes into a traineeship, apprenticeship or onto university in the future. This again sounds good in principle but will only work if young people are prepared for the world of work through careers advice and guidance at school. This is why campaigns like our own Youth Employment Charter remain so important.

Finally, the Pensions Bill will see the introduction of a single-tier pension of £144 a week to replace the basic state pension and the retirement age raised to 67 by 2026. The REC will continue to support members through the changes created by auto-enrolment and these new measures, and members can learn more at one of our regional pension workshops.

REC chief executive Kevin Green said: “Speculation about a possible triple dip recession has not dissuaded employers from their plans to hire. Our latest data shows that most businesses intend to take on more permanent staff and continue to use temporary workers. Only a very small number said that they expect to reduce headcounts over the next few months.”

April’s JobsOutlook survey of employers reports that:

• 60 per cent plan to increase their permanent workforce over the next three months, 36 per cent will maintain current levels of staffing and only 4 per cent plan a reduction.
• 54 per cent plan to increase their permanent headcount over the next 4-12 months, 44 per cent will keep numbers the same and only 2 per cent plan a reduction.
• 39 per cent plan to increase the use of agency workers in the next three months, a further 50 per cent intend to maintain current temp numbers and only 11 per cent plan a reduction.
• 36 per cent plan to increase the use of agency workers in the next 4-12 months, an additional 55 per cent will maintain current levels and just 9 per cent plan a reduction.

To view the rest of the article: Click here

Summary:
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs – published today – provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.

To view the full article: Click here

REC director of policy Tom Hadley said: “Our latest data shows the majority of employers are planning to increase or maintain their permanent headcount over the next quarter which suggests that the jobs market will continue to outperform the rest of the economy in the short term. Although the ONS reported a rise in unemployment last week, it is important to emphasise that the employment figures were also up.

To view the full article: Click here

Summary:
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs – published today – provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.

To view the full article: Click here

Tickets cost just £75 each. That includes a champagne reception, 3 course meal, live music and an Auction. We hope to have some fabulous prizes and have already secured a Turkish Villa for a Week, Win a Geek for a day, ipad, TV and various signed sports memorabilla.

Please come and support us and our charity. We know it’ll be a great night. Please contact Louise Thompson on 0116 255 1055 for further details or buy your tickets at barkerross.co.uk/charity

Other research from the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) shows that 63 per cent of temporary workers chose temporary work for other reasons, such as earning during a career break or while studying. But whatever the reason, temporary work can really benefit your career. At Barker Ross, we employ a large number of temporary workers, many of who go on to find permanent jobs with their temporary employers.

Sarah Keen is customer services manager for Leicester based Pollards Boxes, who enjoy a reputation as one of the leading box manufacturers in Europe. Here Sarah talks about how taking on temporary work with Barker Ross has led her to where she is now.

I’ve had a varied career, from working in the licensed trade to now being an expert on boxes. So here I’m going to talk a little bit about how I got to spend the last ten years at Pollards, rising to where I am now on the management team.

I decided to start doing temp work for Barker Ross, as I experienced a tragedy in my personal life, which led me to giving up my previous job and taking a six-month break to recover. Although I had held a number of good positions in the past, the six months out of the workplace had damaged my confidence and I really wasn’t sure what I should do next. So temping seemed an ideal way of getting back into the workplace, without all the pressure that often comes with taking on a permanent position.

Barker Ross first put me into work for a company in Lutterworth and that was so successful they said they would like to offer me a permanent position but they didn’t have anything available at the time. So although I was disappointed that I couldn’t stay on, the fact that they wanted to give me a full time job really helped my confidence.

The next job I had was for Pollards. Barker Ross has had a close relationship with the management team at Pollards, so they were able to agree to place me into an administrative role on the customer services team on a three-month temporary contract. This was with a view to Pollards taking me on permanently if everything worked out. That was ten years ago, and now I’m the customer services manager, so I think you could say everything worked out.

I think temporary work is often viewed as the last resort, but for me and lots of other people a temporary position can bring lots of positives. First and foremost for me it got me back into the workplace, and to where I am today. Both Pollards team and I were able to use the temporary contract to see how it would work out for both of us. When Pollards offered me a permanent contract they knew exactly what I was capable of so it was less risky for them than just interviewing someone and offering them a job. Also, after three months, I knew the company well and was up to speed with what I was going to be doing.

There are a lot of reasons to think about taking temporary work, you might be unemployed or studying and not be able to commit to a full time job. Temporary appealed to me at the time, as I felt more in control in that if I needed a break I could take one and my job could be fitted around my life.

So for me, temporary work was an excellent way of getting back into the workplace at my own pace and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to learn new skills or develop their career.

I’ll leave the last word to Pollard Boxes. Peter Conner, commercial director at Pollard Boxes says:
“Temp to perm is a great way of recruiting new staff and Sarah is a shining example of how successful this can be”.

Ends

¹The Survey of Recruitment Agencies 2007