One of the biggest independent recruitment companies in Britain is expanding its workforce after experiencing six per cent growth.
Barker Ross is creating jobs and taking additional space at one of its Leicester offices to meet growing demand for more senior, permanent recruits.
The Barker Ross Group, which has around 130 staff, reported a turnover of £53 million in the year to November 30 and pre-tax profits of £338,000.
According to its most recent annual report it filled more than 2,500 temporary contracts last year.
The group said a strategy of organic growth and a focus on supplying the industrial, construction and healthcare sectors in “challenging” economic conditions was paying off.
As well as its headquarters in Mercury Place, Leicester, it has an office in De Montfort Street, in the same city, which it is expanding by almost 900 sq ft to 3,900 sq ft.
It is also adding 10 new jobs to the teams based there.
It also has operations in London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Peterborough, Lincoln and Northampton.
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The extra Leicester floor space will accommodate new recruiters, being taken on to support Barker Ross’s technical, logistics, office and finance teams.
Managing director Tim Sutcliffe said the expansion had been driven by clients in the industrial and logistics sectors increasingly wanting the firm to supply them with permanent staff in more senior and skilled roles.
He said: “Our professional candidates are in a range of sectors, including food manufacturing, logistics, technical as well as in office and finance.
“We first started providing candidates for more skilled permanent roles due to demand from our clients who had traditionally used us for support with lower skilled temporary labour.
“This meant we were able to meet all the clients’ requirements and removed the need for them to work with more than one agency.”
Nicole Durham, business manager for the technical, office and finance teams, said that part of the business had quickly grown from six staff to 12 and will be at 22 by the end of the year.
She said: “Training is available for applicants who are new to recruitment, and we have taken on staff with similar industry backgrounds to those of our clients.
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“One of our team came to us after completing an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering and design, while another recruiter is a former Royal Navy engineer.
“What matters most like, though, is that our staff are passionate about what they do and transparent in their dealings with people.
“Barker Ross has also recently introduced a new desk to the technical team, providing recruitment support in areas such as forensics and expert witness roles.
“It’s a highly specialised field and not something many agencies offer.”
She said that despite the uncertainty among some employers over Brexit, Barker Ross’s candidate numbers across the board had increased by 18 per cent in the past 12 months.
The Leicester operations have performed particularly well.
Tim said: “Our Leicester business is in a strong position and our forecast for the next 12 months will see growth of more than 30 per cent.
“There’s no one reason why the Leicester office is performing so well, but we attribute it to Leicester being a great city where people want to live and work.
“Leicester has its own unique character and there’s a good flow of workers making it easier for employers to source staff.”
Now in its 31st year, Barker Ross offers staff incentives such as flexible working hours and the chance to take up to 50 days’ holiday a year.
Tim said: “We know that we’re only as good as the people who work for us.
“Work life balance is more prevalent than ever and I’m confident that we’re setting a benchmark in our approach to flexible working.”
“We offer great in-house and external training – and our gender pay gap shows we’re a successful recruitment business which genuinely cares about its employees, candidates and clients.”