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New to Market

19 April 2024
IT/Telecoms

Two US locations offer a new Scene for tech recruiter

According to a company statement, the new office locations will support Scene’s strategic expansion into the US and enable the company to better serve its US-based clients, as well as other clients hoping to enter the US market.

Three experienced employees have relocated to the US, including Pete Miller, Scene’s founder. The team brings with them a combined 30 years’ experience in talent, and a track record in advising early-stage companies on how to build high-performing teams.

Spearheading the US launch from New York, Miller says: “I’m excited to be driving our US expansion at this important time… I’m looking forward to growing the team to build on this success and establish Scene as a leading talent and growth partner to fast-growing technology companies in North America.”

In tandem with the New York office launch, Sandra Arezina will lead Scene’s go-to-market team in the US in Los Angeles. And joining her in the Los Angeles office is Ellie Shaxon, head of product, US.

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17 April 2024
Transport & logistics, Engineering

British Airways Speedbird Pilot Academy programme opens for new applications

This follows an unprecedented response to its first year intake, which saw more than 20,000 applications for just 100 places.

The Speedbird Pilot Academy initiative, part of the airline’s £7bn investment across the business, is aimed at levelling the playing field and making a career as a commercial airline pilot a realistic option for all, removing the previously prohibitive cost barrier of individuals having to pay for their training themselves.

Simon Cheadle, British Airways’ director of flight operations, said: “We know from the overwhelming response and high standard of applications we had in the first year of Speedbird Pilot Academy, that there are a lot of talented people who just need a little bit of help to achieve their dream of becoming a commercial airline pilot – and we are pleased to give them that opportunity.

“We want to continue to attract the very best flying talent and our investment in this programme will help to ensure our future generation of pilots for years to come.”

Candidates will be able to apply for up to 100 places on the programme – that will see the approximate £100k cost of their training covered entirely by the airline – through the British Airways careers site.

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15 April 2024
Creative/Digital/Media, IT/Telecoms

NEW TO THE MARKET: 15-19 APRIL 2024

• LinkedIn has introduced Recruiter Verification, a new feature for recruiters aimed at enhancing authenticity and trust. This tool allows recruiters to verify their professional identity, indicating them as legitimate representatives of their company to jobseekers. Verification is based on information from their LinkedIn Recruiter corporate subscription, ensuring credibility. This feature will be rolled out globally to recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiter in the near future.

• Talent advisory specialist Peak 72 has launched a talent strategy and advisory service specialising in the sports, media and entertainment sectors. Peak 72 streamlines the recruitment process while preserving the essential human touch, according to a company statement. Through prioritising strategic partnerships over the traditional transactional model and a deep understanding of wider business objectives and talent strategy.

11 April 2024

Four payroll providers join HMRC ‘list of shame’

Newcomers to the ‘list of shame’ are Acacia Management Services, Alphasaint, Ultra Employment and Worx 4U.

HMRC updates the list regularly.

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21 March 2024
Creative/Digital/Media, IT/Telecoms

CandidatePages to cut social media application process to 60 seconds

According to the company press release, the simple and intuitive application process can be completed in just 60 seconds, making applying for a job quick and easy, rather than being redirected to a lengthy, impersonal form.

CandidatePages, which works with job adverts placed on all social media including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, draws its inspiration from eCommerce rather than traditional recruitment tech.

It features an AI assistant who ‘chats’ with applicants to learn more about their experience, relays answers to hiring managers and even helps candidates complete their application.

This includes identifying any anomalies in a CV, such as career gaps or changes, to give a fuller picture to recruiters and help them identify candidates whose skills best match the role’s requirements.

CandidatePages autosaves throughout the process, and in the event the candidate doesn’t finish the form, the AI assistant will later encourage them to do so by engaging directly with them via SMS and email.

According to the company, the first recruitment campaign to use it saw a 9.7% application rate, with one in 10 of those seeing a job advert applying immediately (more than double the typical conversion rate for application form completion).

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19 March 2024
HR

Durhamlane’s workforce benefits from international working

The new policy allows its employees to travel outside the UK for up to two months per year.

Created after the ‘revenue accelerator’ firm identified a significant percentage of its younger employees had a desire to travel alongside working, especially those with families overseas.

The firm is headquartered in Newcastle, but its 97-strong workforce is spread across the UK. A quarter of its clients are located in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. As a result, 21% of the durhamlane team is multilingual, covering 12 different languages, a company statement said.

Under the slogan ‘The World Is Your Workplace’, the International Working Benefit “complements the lifestyles of employees, allowing them to visit family abroad and celebrate religious holidays, and also having an in-office presence with durhamlane’s clients internationally”, the company said.

Sinead Hall, chief people officer at durhamlane, who developed the policy, said: “When we considered the diversity of our workforce (which is made up of at least 18% ethnic groups), and the fact that we sponsor migrant workers via the skilled worker route, we started to think about where some of our employees call home. This led us to looking at the ability to work internationally.

“Together with the fact that a lot of our clients have head offices all over the globe, this brought us to the conclusion that it was important to give our employees more freedom to choose their location of work, whether remotely in the UK or abroad.

“We believe the International Working Benefit does this, meeting our objectives of attracting and growing our people, not only through nurturing and empowering existing employees, but also making the company an attractive prospect to join.”

The benefit was trialled and subsequently rolled out after it was met with unanimous approval from an internal focus group led by Sam Vardon, durhamlane’s junior people adviser. Feedback centred around mental health benefits, as well as an improvement to social life and happiness outside of work, proving the success of the policy.

Since then, four employees have used the International Working Benefit to travel around the world, from Spain, to France, to Pakistan and beyond.

Commenting on what the policy means on a personal level, head of operations Josh Guthrie said: “This benefit allows me great flexibility in being able to visit my parents, who emigrated to Spain at the end of 2023. I can work completely seamlessly when abroad and keep in regular contact with my line manager and my team.

“My parents used to live locally, so their move took a bit of getting used to, but the International Working Benefit allows me to spend time with them more than I expected possible.

Sales development representative Waqas Rajput added: “I visit my family during the month of Ramadan, and as a practicing Muslim, it is invaluable for me that I can break my fast with my family and celebrate Eid. This policy allows me to make the most of my travel.

“Whilst using the benefit, I was able to work as normal and exceeded my standards of working.”

Over the next year, durhamlane said it hopes more employees will take advantage of the new policy. 

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18 March 2024
Creative/Digital/Media, Engineering, Industrial/Manufacturing, IT/Telecoms, HR, Graduates/Apprentices/School leavers, Apprentices/Grads/School leavers

NEW TO THE MARKET: 18-22 MARCH 2024

• The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has introduced an online Learning Hub designed to assist recruitment firms in managing staff training while empowering employees to take charge of their own development. The new platform provides a “smoother” experience for delegates, offering access to all training documents, activities and latest course information in one place, allowing individuals greater autonomy over their career development. The Learning Hub also enables managers to monitor and review current training programmes to ensure team members are on track with development targets.

• Babcock International Group (Babcock), a defence company, has created more than 1,000 new jobs at its advanced manufacturing and shipbuilding facility in Rosyth to support the delivery of programmes and development of its workforce capabilities. The new job opportunities include 400 apprenticeships, 350 production support operatives, skilled engineers, tradespeople and graduates. The roles will support programmes like the Type 31 frigate design and build programme.

• Professional services firm Cognizant has partnered with digital skills training provider QA to develop an MSc level apprenticeship programme aimed at increasing the number of women in leadership positions within tech companies. The new programme has been designed to develop wide-ranging technical excellence as well as executive leadership skills through a work-based learning program organised by QA.

• Jobmatch Sweden has entered into a new partnership agreement with Broadwing Recruitment, a staffing organisation based in Malta. This collaboration allows the utilisation of Jobmatch’s DNV-certified work psychological tests in Malta and Luxembourg. As a result, Jobmatch has extended its presence to a total of eight countries.

4 March 2024
Transport & logistics, Banking/Financial services, Executive search, IT/Telecoms, HR, Hospitality/Leisure, Accounting/Finance

NEW TO THE MARKET: 4-8 MARCH 2024

• Recruitment agency Connect Appointments has relocated its Edinburgh branch as part of its continued growth and expansion. The branch was initially located within the company’s Livingston office, but due to an increase in business the decision was made to relocate to the South Gyle area of Edinburgh. The team of experienced recruiters specialise in a range of industries including production and manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, and food and drink.

• Lancaster-based Eventus Recruitment Group has launched a financial services recruitment division. Duncan McIlroy, who has over 20 years’ experience in financial services recruitment, will head up the new division. He will connect professionals with financial services businesses across the North-West. McIlroy will cover all recruitment and jobs within pensions and retirement, financial planning, investments, mortgages, personal protection and employee benefits.

• Global executive search firm Granger Reis has opened a new office in Manchester with the launch of its Digital Infrastructure Practice. The new Granger Reis office is in the Globe & Simpson Building on Quay Street, and the eight-strong team is headed up by digital infrastructure (DI) leadership expert Steve Dargan. Dargan brings 17 years’ experience in the technology sector and moved to Granger Reis following a five-and-a-half-year tenure with executive search firm Korn Ferry.

• Global mobility leader Localyze has partnered with StackOne to launch integrations to help HR teams save resources on staff relocations, offsites and workations. The new integrations aim to simplify processes for global HR teams and employees, reducing data errors and enhancing productivity.

• The Intersection Network has launched a new online diagnostic tool to help organisations assess the maturity of their talent acquisition diversity & inclusion efforts. Designed for talent acquisition, HR and diversity professionals, the ‘Diversity and Inclusion Talent Acquisition Maturity Assessment’ provides a benchmark for measuring progress on diversity & inclusion initiatives.

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