Accountancy firm Robson Laidler has appointed eight new trainees who will embark on the firm’s training academy.
They will be based across the independent firm's Newcastle, Durham and Teesside offices, working across audit, healthcare accounting, business advisory, business accounts and tax. Through the training academy they will study towards a recognised accountancy qualification through the Association of Accounting Technicians and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, with help from a mentor.
The eight recruits include Nevaeh Barnes, Zara Grand, William Grundy, Ethan Haslem, Darcy O’Neil, Harry Petterson, Anya Russell, and Molly Williams. It means Robson Laidler now has a headcount of 131, with 42 staff training towards professional qualifications and 10 staff having fully qualified in the last year.
Amy Park, Robson Laidler co-managing director, said: "We’re proud to be supporting local young people as they take their first steps into the working world, and it’s been great to see how last year’s apprentices are growing through our training academy. We are investing heavily in the future of our business and the profession in our region."
Newcastle law firm Mincoffs Solicitors has created a senior management position as part of ambitious growth plans.
Aoife Owens has been appointed head of culture and people. She will lead on recruitment, people strategy, talent development, wellbeing and culture.
Ms Owens, who has a law degree, joins with a decade of experience in recruitment and HR having spent eight years at a specialist recruitment agency which grew from a team of eight to more than 100 employees.
She said: “I’m excited to be joining as head of culture and people in this new role that underlines the firm’s commitment to putting its people first. I can’t wait to build on the strong foundations already in place and to help shape a people journey that supports colleagues to feel valued, supported and able to do their best work. I’m really looking forward to working alongside such a talented team and contributing to the firm’s future."
Civil and structural engineering firm RWO has boosted its commercial and residential teams with a series of new hires.
Joshua Darwood and Joseph Horn have been appointed as graduate structural engineer and apprentice civil technician respectively in the residential team. They are joined by new commercial team members Jasmin Jose, a graduate structural engineer, and structural engineer Alan MacLeod, who brings extensive design, project oversight, planning and technical experience and expertise to the role.
Additional managerial, engineering and technical roles could be created over the coming months, adding to the current 41-strong workforce. That comes as the firm, which has bases in Newcastle, Leeds, Stokesley and London, says it is targeting revenues of $4.4m in its 2026 financial year and has plans to open more offices.
Managing director Ross Oakley, said said: “As our customers pursue their own commercial interests and plans, we are investing in homegrown talent and skills to support their needs. We are rapidly building a reputation as one of the North East’s foremost engineering firms, which sees us committed to hiring the right people and providing them with the opportunity to develop their careers to the highest professional level."
Law firm Ward Hadaway has recruited 14 trainee solicitors with eight based in its Newcastle and Teesside offices.
In Newcastle, five new trainees - Daisy Agar, Lia Murray-Smith, Ted Jemison, Kanyinsola Lawal and Orlaigh Mullen - have joined the team, while in Teesside, Somer Pearson, Georgia Cowley and Iona Healy have started training.
Caroline Jones, head of emerging talent at Ward Hadaway, said: "Our trainee programme continues to be one of the most important ways we invest in the firm’s future. This year’s group represents a diverse mix of skills and backgrounds and we’re especially pleased to welcome our first Teesside-based trainees onto our programme since The Endeavour Partnership merger. Each of our trainees brings something unique and we look forward to supporting them as they build their careers."
Ward Hadaway says it will expand its trainee programme nationally, opening opportunities in its Birmingham office for the first time. Applications for 2027 and 2028 training contracts will open on November 1, 2025, including vacancies in Birmingham alongside opportunities across the North.
Housebuilder Bellway has appointed Stuart Morgan as land director in the North East.
Based at the FTSE250 firm's regional headquarters in Gateshead, Mr Morgan brings more than two decades experience to the role including as a land director for Story Homes and the Robertson Group. He joined the construction industry in 2002 after graduating from Northumbria University with a degree in Estate Management. He went on to secure a degree in Planning and Development Surveying and then qualified as a chartered surveyor in 2010.
Mr Morgan said: “I am very excited about working for Bellway and fulfilling my role to help the North East division raise its profile and expand its operation by securing new land in line with our ambitious growth aspirations. We are already investigating a variety of sites across the region, from smaller parcels for up to 100 new homes to larger plots that could house several hundred new properties.
“My team comprises senior land managers Miles Crossley and Greig Cockburn, assistant planner Katherine Temple and land graduate Joshua Meikle and is an exciting diverse mix of experience and ages, which will give a real breadth of perspective."
Consultancy DPP Planning has appointed four new graduate assistant planners to its Newcastle office.
Charlie Dixon, who returns to the firm after work experience last year, and Lauren Raeburn-Ward, a Geography undergraduate at Newcastle University have joined the office along with Newcastle University students Moira Maguire and Eleanor Loughlin.
Their appointments are part of DPP’s largest graduate intake, with eight new assistant planners starting across its offices in Newcastle, Leeds and Cardiff in 2025. The Newcastle planners are already working on a wide range of projects in the city.
Gareth Hooper, CEO of DPP Planning, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Charlie, Moira, Lauren and Eleanor to our Newcastle office. They bring real energy, enthusiasm and a variety of skills that will strengthen the team as we continue to deliver for our clients. It’s especially pleasing to see so many of our new recruits coming from Newcastle University, which is helping us to nurture and retain planning talent in the region."
