1. News
  2. New to Market

New to Market

25 April 2025
Construction & property, Graduates/Apprentices/School leavers

National student lettings agency launches apprenticeship scheme

In a bid to support young people and grow skilled and knowledgeable individuals for the student lettings sector, loc8me recently launched its 18-month programme, which is open to anyone aged 16-18. The scheme will offer hands-on experience, mentorship and the opportunity to engage in paid work.

Raffaele Russo, founder of loc8me, said: “We’re thrilled to launch this apprenticeship programme, giving young professionals a real chance to learn, grow and begin building a career in an exciting industry.

“Now more than ever, young people are seeking opportunities, guidance and goals to pursue. With this programme, we’re investing in their future – and in the future of the lettings sector.”

Apprentices will have the chance to study the theoretical and practical elements of the lettings industry, and on starting, they will be given a mentor from the loc8me team to support their development via regular meetings throughout the course.

loc8me now operates in 13 major university cities across the UK, including Loughborough, Durham, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff, Newcastle, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leicester, Hull, Bath and Bristol.

Freya Watson-Russo, academy co-ordinator, said: "At loc8me, we’re committed to nurturing the next generation of letting agents. … We’re giving young people the chance to build a future, gain confidence and carve their own path.”

Founded in 2008 by Russo, loc8me manages more than 2,500 properties and employs more than 75 staff members.

(L-r) Apprentice Ollie Coe, loc8me's marketing assistant and academy co-ordinator Freya Watson-Russo and apprentice Isabel Tebbutt ©loc8me

• Comment below on this story. Or let us know what you think by emailing us at [email protected] or tweet us to tell us your thoughts or share this story with a friend.

14 April 2025
Creative/Digital/Media, Engineering

NEW TO THE MARKET: 14-18 APRIL 2025

• Manufacturing and engineering specialist Busy Bee Recruitment has relaunched its website. The refreshed online platform has a modern design and enhanced user functionality, offering an intuitive browsing experience that makes it easier than ever to explore current vacancies, submit CVs quickly and securely, access expert recruitment advice via a blog and submit vacancies directly online.

• Deel, a global payroll and HR provider, has launched a suite of AI-driven products to help companies hire, manage, and pay international teams. Deel will offer an all-in-one global workforce platform integrating payroll, HR, and IT, designed to support compliant operations across borders. Key updates include: Real-Time Payroll in over 53 markets (expanding to 130+ by 2027), offering instant calculations and faster processing; Deel PEO for offering top-tier benefits without enterprise-level costs; Benefits Admin for simplified, compliant benefits management across countries; Deel Talent for streamlined recruitment via trusted agency networks; Workforce Planning, Compensation, and Engage tools – powered by AI – for smarter headcount strategy, global pay management, and employee development; IT Lifecycle Management features like MDM, IAM, and EPP, supporting global device and security control.

11 April 2025
Creative/Digital/Media, IT/Telecoms

Spotted Zebra merges Interview Intelligence and Assessment in one platform

This is technology that transcribes, analyses and evaluates conversations through an AI-powered lens. The merger connects assessment results with interview data, addressing the growing challenge enterprise talent leaders face: making confident, objective hiring decisions when candidate information can be fragmented across multiple tools.

In a statement, Spotted Zebra says that enterprise talent acquisition teams are facing twin pressures from AI-generated candidate applications and deepening skills shortages. 

The launch responds to a critical market challenge, the statement continues; while more than three in four businesses report widening skills gaps, employers are inundated with applications with around half of all jobseekers using AI tools to apply for roles. Current solutions force companies to choose between expensive, disconnected systems or compromise on either assessment breadth and depth, or a scalable interview process and structure.

“We’ve integrated Interview Intelligence with Assessment because our enterprise customers are facing unprecedented challenges in talent acquisition,” said Ian Monk, co-founder and CEO of Spotted Zebra. “By unifying these previously siloed technologies, we’re enabling talent teams to make data-informed decisions based on a complete picture of each candidate’s capabilities.”

Unlike standard Interview Intelligence tools that primarily transcribe conversations, Spotted Zebra’s implementation establishes a data framework that truly connects skill measurements across different evaluation methods:

  • Real-time skill evidence mapping: Comprehensive role skills profiles are automatically created thanks to AI-powered intake meetings between recruiters and hiring managers. 
  • AI-assisted interview questioning technology: The AI-powered Interview Guides automatically generate targeted question paths for specific role skills profiles and each candidate.
  • Consolidated hiring evidence dashboard: The Decision Kit combines summarised skill data from both assessment scores and interview evidence, weighting each source appropriately based on predictive validity for specific skill types. 

According to the company statement, AI in Spotted Zebra enhances human decision-making, ensuring the final call on a candidate’s suitability for a role is objective, data-backed and always in the hands of the hiring team.

Headquartered in the UK, Spotted Zebra was launched in 2020 by Monk and co-founder and chief commercial officer Nick Shaw.

• Comment below on this story. Or let us know what you think by emailing us at [email protected] or tweet us to tell us your thoughts or share this story with a friend.

10 April 2025
Creative/Digital/Media, Executive search

NEW TO THE MARKET: 7-11 APRIL 2025

• UK recruitment firm HRGO has launched ‘Betty’, an AI agent tackling recruitment ghosting by ensuring all job applicants receive feedback. Since its December 2024 launch, Betty has provided personalised insights to over 40,000 candidates. A survey of 1,000 users found 90% valued the feedback, addressing a major frustration in the hiring process at scale. Betty was named after Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Parkinson, the founder of HRGO back in 1957.

• Recruitment firm Sowena Group has moved into new headquarters in Manchester city centre. Perran Cooke launched Sowena Group last summer after more than a decade in the recruitment industry, including roles as regional MD for the North at executive search company PSD Group and as a director at Axon Moore. Sowena now has a team of five and has taken office space at The Tootal Buildings on Oxford Street. The company statement says Sowena Group is expected to deliver more than £650k in revenue this year.

Senior recruitment consultants Dave Kreitz and Mackenzie Harrop have joined Sowena in recent weeks, along with Leah Allen as head of marketing and Megan Buckley as marketing executive. Cooke said he expects the team to grow to 10 by the end of this year, creating roles for recruitment consultants, back office and support staff, market research specialists and a non-executive director. Sowena Group focuses on senior finance posts in high-growth and private equity and venture capital-backed businesses across the North-West and beyond.

16 June 2023
Recruitment Process Outsourcing, IT/Telecoms, HR

NEW TO THE MARKET: 12-16 JUNE 2023

• Outsourced payroll solutions and worker benefits provider HIVE360 has launched two new solutions as alternatives to the traditional umbrella providers. The new solutions are HIVE360 Umbrella Plus and HIVE360 PAYE Plus, which are ‘a new generation of protection and support for agency payroll’, according to HIVE360.

• Global mobility platform Localyze has announced it has extended its range of services, which now includes support for working vacations – ‘workcations’. A workcation refers to a trip initiated by an employee who wants to temporarily work from a different country without the need to take paid time off. Workcation requests can be submitted within the Localyze platform, which streamlines the entire process end to end for both the employer and employee. Localyze manages local country requirement evaluations, as well as in-take processes and requests to streamline immigration workflows.

• Nash Squared, a global provider of technology and talent solutions, has launched its business model – Flexhuis – in Belgium, elevating it to a key player in the provision of MSP and RPO solutions in the Benelux market. With over 30 years of experience, Flexhuis offers organisations the opportunity to simplify the complexities in the hiring, onboarding and workforce management processes, allowing businesses to quickly connect with skilled talent to drive their businesses forward.

9 June 2023
Public sector, Oil & gas/Energy, Legal, Hospitality/Leisure, Graduates/Apprentices/School leavers, Healthcare/Medical, Apprentices/Grads/School leavers, Accounting/Finance

Indeed and Brentford FC aim to boost local employment through jobs fair

Global matching and hiring platform Indeed is joining forces with Brentford FC Community Sports Trust to boost employment prospects for local people.

With the rate of unemployment among 18-24-year-olds reaching its highest level in two years, the event on 14 June aims to connect young jobseekers in West London with actively hiring employers, as well as promoting apprenticeships, internships and training opportunities.

Employers including the Ministry of Justice, VolkerFitzpatrick, Thames Water, Essex Police, the NHS and Brentford FC will promote their opportunities, while advisers from the Department of Work and Pensions and other careers experts will also be on hand to guide jobseekers.

For around 165 people, the jobs fair marks their successful graduation from the Indeed Skills Lab, a three-month community programme geared to support young local unemployed people in kick-starting their careers. The scheme, which launched in April, has featured a series of work-ready workshops focusing on advice and skills, including job search, CV writing and interview techniques.

• Comment below on this story. Or let us know what you think by emailing us at [email protected] or tweet us to tell us your thoughts or share this story with a friend.

7 June 2023
Retail, Marketing, Transport & logistics, Creative/Digital/Media, IT/Telecoms, HR, Accounting/Finance

NEW TO THE MARKET: 5-9 JUNE 2023

• Global human capital management (HCM) technology firm Ceridian has launched Dayforce Career Explorer, an AI-powered solution to help improve engagement and retention by empowering employees to manage their careers. Dayforce Career Explorer provides employees with access to data-driven career pathing, opportunities for learning and development, and job notifications for open roles that match their skills and interests.

• RetailTech recruitment brand Storm5 has opened a new office at Axel-Springer-Platz 3 in Hamburg, Germany. Benedict Rippstain will lead a team of 14 RetailTech specialist consultants at Storm5, which was founded in 2021 by Olivier Kerckhove. Under Rippstain’s leadership, the team aims to grow through the addition of another academy by the end of this year. Storm5 covers a range of spaces within the RetailTech industry including e-commerce, MarTech, supply chain and logistics, and in-store technology.

• Sonovate, a provider of embedded finance and payment solutions for the contingent workforce, has enhanced its funding technology platform to better serve large, multinational recruitment businesses and launch new lines of products in the future. The new platform gives customers the ability to optimise cashflow, allowing them to access funding in multiple-currencies and across multiple-sectors, with tailored pricing based on the risk profile of the industry being served to allow customers to secure the best possible rates.

Customers are able to view multiple ledgers across the new platform, whether they’re obtaining funding for invoices related to permanent or contract workers, or different subsidiaries of their business. Multi-ledger access also ensures that reporting requirements are quickly, easily, and consistently fulfilled both internally and in line with local market regulation.

• Next Ventures, a technology consulting and staffing solutions company headquartered in London, has opened a new office in Manhattan, New York City. The firm says the Manhattan office will serve as a “strategic” base to support its mission to connect technology talent with organisations across core practice areas. IT staffing executive Kyle Vyas, with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry, will lead the expansion.

• HM Government and The SANS Institute, a global provider of cyber security training, have partnered to launch the Upskill in Cyber training programme to help UK professionals make a career change into cyber security. The programme, lasting 14 weeks, offers training, career advice and interview practice to help UK workers change careers into cyber security roles. So far, it has trained over 200 students with non-cyber backgrounds. Many have gone on to secure guaranteed job interviews upon successful completion of the training programme.

• Talent Solutions Right Management has launched PowerSuite Next for Career Transitions. Its new digital solution is for transforming and enhancing the outplacement experience and offering people the best possible outcomes during their career transition.

1 June 2023
Retail, Hospitality/Leisure

Bar and restaurant operator creates over 200 jobs at London venue

Setting its sights on a grand opening next spring, the hospitality and entertainment experts will give the Jungle Cave site (formerly Rainforest Café) a bohemian makeover. The Shaftesbury Avenue venue will be the fourth Albert’s Schloss in the UK, plus the first for the South of England.

Albert’s Schloss venues currently operate in Manchester (pictured), Birmingham and most recently Liverpool.

Roy Ellis, CEO of Mission Mars, said: “It’s a stunning 18,000sq ft space in the famous Trocadero in the heart of the West End. The Trocadero has a long and rich history of hosting world renowned restaurants, bars and theatres.

“Ludwig’s Tavern, our Alpine inspired chalet, is a tribute to ‘Mad King Ludwig’ of Bavaria and is filled with whimsical design elements as well as roaring fires, shuffleboard and other tavern games. As in other cities, Schloss will recruit the best artistic talent available and offer totally unique and unlike anywhere else entertainment seven days a week.”

Close to Piccadilly Circus, the new London venue will create 200 jobs across the board once it opens in spring 2024, including managers, chefs, bartenders, servers and hosts. The entertainment venue will also be a new home to over 100 freelance artists, with headline events including the Kunst Kabaret, Baby Grand Slam and Friday Frolich.

• Comment below on this story. Or let us know what you think by emailing us at [email protected] or tweet us to tell us your thoughts or share this story with a friend.

Recruiter Magazine

SUBSCRIBE TO PRINT
VIEW PAST ISSUES
Top