• Recruitment agency Aligra has opened a new branch in Bristol, led by operations manager Leah Blanchard. Aligra opened its first office in Swindon in 2007, and over the last 15 years has opened additional offices in Andover, Didcot, Hinckley and Newbury.

• ScottishPower has launched a paid-to-learn scholarship with its parent company Iberdrola to attract new recruits into the energy sector. The programme will see the company pay a year’s tuition, accommodation and travel expenses for graduates and final-year students while they study at one of 20 top universities across the UK, Europe and beyond.

Applicants can choose from Universities of Cambridge, Strathclyde or the Imperial College of London in the UK, the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas or the Polytechnic Universities of Madrid, Valencia and the Basque Country, in Spain among others.

The application process has now opened and its encouraging students with an interest in engineering, renewable energy, information technology, cybersecurity, sustainability and big data to apply.

• FinTech recruitment brand Storm2 has launched Payments by Storm2, a hyper-specialised sector that connects senior, executive and mid-level professionals with cutting-edge payments companies. The FinTech firm was launched in 2019 by parent company Levin Group.

• Recruitment firm Swift Temps has opened a new office in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The new office is located in Langham House and joins eight existing offices across the Midlands and North-West England. The new Wakefield branch specialises in placing workers in industrial, food, engineering, transport and commercial sectors in both temporary and permanent roles.