Recruitment firm creates jobs of its own in Leicester

Recruitment firm Barker Ross is creating 10 new jobs and taking additional space at its Leicester office.

The Leicester-based UK recruitment business, with headquarters at Mercury Place, is expanding its De Montfort Street premises by nearly 900 sq ft to 3,900 sq ft.

Designed to include kitchen and dining area, the extra floor space will accommodate the new staff who are being taken on to support Barker Ross’s Technical, Logistics, Office and Finance teams.

Tim Sutcliffe, Barker Ross managing director, said the expansion had been driven by industrial and logistics clients.

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 added: “We quickly grew to a team of six then to 12 and will be up to 22 by the end of this year.

“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. 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 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.”

Barker Ross says its candidate numbers across the board have increased by 18% in the past 12 months.

Sutcliffe added: “Our Leicester business is in a strong position and our forecast for the next 12 months will see growth of more than 30%.

“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.”