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New to Market

27 May 2025
Creative/Digital/Media, IT/Telecoms

NEW TO THE MARKET: 27-30 MAY 2025

• Technology recruitment provider itris has launched itris X, a cloud-based CRM and applicant tracking system (ATS) built specifically for recruitment agencies and staffing professionals. The new platform is designed to streamline the entire talent acquisition process with a focus on automation, scalability, and ease of use. itris X addresses core operational challenges in recruitment by offering AI-powered automation to reduce repetitive tasks, advanced reporting tools for performance insights, and personalised candidate communication features. The system is accessible across devices and integrates with a wide range of recruitment tools and platforms. Key features include lead and marketing management, user-friendly design and comprehensive customer support. itris X is scalable for use by both small agencies and large global firms, maintaining performance and usability regardless of company size.

• ManpowerGroup has launched the Work Intelligence Lab, a new global initiative designed to help employers and workers understand and adapt to the impact of AI on jobs and skills. With over half of employers (53%) already using AI in hiring and onboarding, the Lab provides real-time insights into how automation is transforming the labour market. The Lab leverages Manpower Group’s workforce data, drawn from millions of placements over 70 countries, and integrates real-time hiring trends, employer demand and worker sentiment. It aims to give organisations clearer visibility into emerging skill requirements, role changes and workforce dynamics.

27 May 2025
Oil & gas/Energy, Engineering

Energy recruitment firm launches in Aberdeen

Founded by Alan Golightly (pictured), an experienced recruitment professional with more than 27 years in the industry, the company targets small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) requiring tailored support for complex hiring needs. 

The firm provides permanent recruitment solutions for technical and engineering roles, as well as short-term internal recruitment assistance to help businesses manage hiring fluctuations without increasing fixed costs. Agilient also offers custom recruitment strategies that align with clients’ specific values and growth plans.

Golightly previously worked for, among other oil & gas recruiters, NES Fircroft, and launches Agilient from global energy recruiter Simpson Booth.

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20 May 2025
Oil & gas/Energy, Transport & logistics

International manufacturer invests £170m in North Wales facility

The UK and Welsh governments have welcomed the investment into a new facility from the international manufacturer.

The announcement comes as the UK and EU hold a summit to discuss future opportunities to boost economic growth.

The landmark development will produce more than 100,000 tonnes of non-combustible rock mineral wool insulation per year and create around 140 direct jobs, with more in local supply chains.

The announcement coincides with the UK-EU Summit that took place on Monday [19 May 2025].

Secretary of state for Wales Jo Stevens said: “This £170m investment by Knauf Insulation is fantastic news for North Wales and our UK government mission to drive economic growth.”

Using UK-First Submerged Arc Furnace technology, the new factory will produce non-combustible, low embodied carbon, recyclable rock mineral wool insulation to support the need for safer, more energy efficient and sustainable buildings.

The UK and Welsh government-backed North Wales Growth Deal and the Flintshire and Wrexham Investment Zone collectively support the decision by Knauf Insulation to lo-cate a second plant in the area.

As leaders in the production of sustainable building materials, Knauf Insulation’s expansion further supports the growing advanced manufacturing cluster in North Wales.

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20 May 2025
Creative/Digital/Media, IT/Telecoms

Human skills as important as ‘oven-ready’ tech skills

So says the CEO of the CIPD, the UK’s professional body for HR, learning & development, Peter Cheese.

Speaking last Friday [16 May 2025] at the Houses of Parliament launch of the UK Hiring Taskforce, Cheese told the 200 attendees that at the same time, however, instead of filling skills gaps, employers are also looking for potential in applicants through characteristics such as “attitude, aptitude to learn human skills like collaboration and communication, and critical thinking. The more we debate the future of work, the more we debate about AI impacting jobs and skills in the future, the more we are coming back to these core skills”.

Humanities knowledge is part of building such capabilities into organisations, Cheese said: “People talk now about the half-life of job skills is somewhere between three and four years. In other words, every three or four years, we’re going to have to retrain half of our workforce.”

Access to and retention of talent are a top issue for business leaders around the world, with “almost every organisation saying they can’t find all the skills. But then you question them on that, they say yes, we’ve been getting too focused on hiring what I’ve often described as ‘oven-ready employees’ and they don’t exist – partly because we are changing the nature of jobs at an ever-increasing rate”, Cheese said. “So, the reality of how we approach recruiting has got to be expanded from the point of view of the employers as well.”

He asked the audience: “So why do we seem to be reverting back to saying ‘I just want tech skills’? We know the world is not, unfortunately, going to be a better place if all we have are a lot of tech people. Frankly, we need humanity to work alongside that as well.”

Cheese has been appointed to the UK Hiring Taskforce steering committee.

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14 August 2017
Oil & gas/Energy, Transport & logistics, Engineering, Construction & property, Industrial/Manufacturing, Accounting/Finance

NEW TO THE MARKET: 14-18 AUGUST 2017

• Transport and distribution recruitment specialist Bluestones Logistics has launched a ‘refer a friend’ scheme to reward its drivers and logistics personnel.

Every current candidate of Bluestones Logistics who refers a friend to the agency will receive £50 for themselves and £50 for their friend. Referred candidates need only work a minimum of 40 shifts for them and their friend to be eligible for the referral fee.

• Intelligent information management specialist M-Files has launched M-Files HR, a solution aimed at streamlining management of HR-related documents and information.

The solution aims to help recruiters keep tabs on the various candidates in their care, by storing documents such as CVs, cover letters and background information in a way that makes finding and managing these documents much more efficient and intuitive than a traditional folder-based system.

• Flexible working specialist Flexology has launched a returnship programme supporting professionals who have taken a career break.

The firm says it is looking to work with professionals with a background in accountancy, law, project or relationship management, marketing or HR who have had at least one year off from paid work, whether the career break was due to having children, ill health or taking on carer responsibilities.

These professionals will be offered a three-month Flexology Returnship placement, in which they will be able refresh their skills, gain confidence and develop recent experience for their CV in order to re-enter the workforce. Both the returnship and any subsequent role will be offered on a flexible basis.

• Opus Professional Services Group is expanding into new offices in the Spinning Fields area of Manchester. The new office will the group’s sixth.

Director Richard Thexton has been appointed to head up the new office after building and managing a number of successful teams at SThree.

• International recruiter Pure Search has appointed Warwick Pearmund to lead its new financial and emerging technologies practice. The firm already operates within financial services, commerce and industry and professional services.

• Following part relocation by a major client to Northampton, Kent-based recruitment company Red Eagle has opened a new office in Corby. Keen to retain their working relationship, Red Eagle says the new location will help with on-site assistance and also present new opportunities with businesses in the area.

Red Eagle has already compiled a database of local workers and is strong on food processing and logistics, which are significant sectors of the economy in the Corby area.

• Spencer Ogden has moved to a new location in Houston. The global energy, engineering and infrastructure recruiter has tripled the size of its Houston office and has relocated to the GreenStreet district in Downtown Houston at 1201 Fannin St.

10 August 2017
HR

Contractor market attracting tech start-ups

That is the evidence suggested by a recent HRTechTank London event, in which two HR tech start-ups highlighted the opportunities in the freelance sector as they presented in front of potential investors and experts. 

“The concept of a liquid workforce and the growth of a new organisational structure, which has a small core team and a disparate population of independent talent around that is now widely accepted. We feel this huge growth is going to be a massive part of the future of work,” said Jonny Dunning, CEO of TalonFMS, an automated freelancer management system, which has been actively marketed since April.

Dunning said projections that 30% of the UK workforce will be freelance by 2020 and “more like 50% of the US workforce” represented “fantastic opportunities, but also challenges”. He added the rapid rise in the availability and choice of talent and the speed at which the market operated driven by technology, as well as the compliance and regulatory challenges such as changes to IR35, meant that employers “could no longer ignore this part of their workforce anymore”.

Dunning went on to explain that the TalonFMS automated freelancer management system allows companies to interact with approved on-boarded compliant individuals, to contact them directly, to send out details of projects to matched relevant people and to create talent pools. Dunning said ultimately, it helped employers with large contractor workforces to maximise talent, control costs and reduce risk.

Mark Lee, CEO and founder of ContractElite, a start-up sourcing platform that allows contractors and employers to connect directly, said that the UK’s 2m-strong contractor workforce, increasing at around 5% a year, made this an attractive market.

Lee explained that ContractElite provides employers with data points based on “key criteria that were important in the hiring of contractors”. He said the most important of these were, “the contractor is available when I want them, where I want them, and for the right price”. The platform also allows employers to access contractors on the basis of their experience and on ratings by their peers.

Lee emphasised that the intention was purely to provide “the connectivity to allow clients to source contractors” and not for ContractElite to recruit them themselves. ContractElite is in the pre-revenue stage, with an initial aim of having 2,000 contractors signed up by September. 

• Want to comment on this story? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us below to tell us your thoughts. We will run comments online in a round-up at the end of the week.

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7 August 2017
Oil & gas/Energy, Social care, Transport & logistics, Life sciences, Creative/Digital/Media, Construction & property, Legal, HR, Hospitality/Leisure

NEW TO THE MARKET: 7-11 AUGUST 2017

• Travel staffing specialist C&M Travel Recruitment has launched a technology recruitment division. Led by travel technology consultant Simon Woods, the division will recruit solely for technology positions based at companies within the travel sector.

• Manchester-based recruiter Employment Solutions has launched a new website. The site, developed by recruitment website developer Volcanic, features a search bar enabling candidates to search by job title, by location and an advanced search to filter by specific sectors and locations.

• Leeds-based online recruitment specialist Flat Fee Recruiter has launched IT system the Flat Fee Applicant Tracking System.

FFATS plugs directly into the employer’s website. Applicants fill in applications online and book interview times, which are tracked and managed by the system throughout the recruitment process. All jobs advertised using FFATS are automatically posted onto social media sites, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, and other recruitment platforms as selected.

• Recruitment platform iContract has launched. The platform connects contractors with recruiters – contractors can be matched to contracts tailored to their profile and preferences based on specific criteria they set.

It also enables recruiters to connect with recommended contractors who are matched to the contracts they are posting, helping fast track their candidate search process.

• Contractor accounting specialist Intouch has launched Freeflex, an accounting and umbrella service for contractors.

• Recruitment and employment law advisers Lawspeed has launched a new service provider accreditation to anyone wishing to use a service provider or umbrella company as its payment provider.

Lawspeed now offers an independent check of the service provider’s operation through on site audit and provides compliant operators with accreditation evidenced by use of the SPA logo. To ensure transparency, a brief description of the service provider’s audited operations and organisation will also be available.

• NonStop Recruitment, a Europe-wide staffing specialist in the pharma, medical devices, chemical, care, digital and technical markets, has launched an app – available on both Apple and Android platforms – to complement its recently launched new-look website.

The app enables candidates to search and apply for opportunities, manage their NonStop profiles and job alerts, and contact NonStop’s teams on the move.

• PMP Recruitment, part of Cordant Group, has launched a national recruitment and data centre in Media City, Salford Quays.

The centre, home to more than 100 candidate experience agents, focuses on analysing client operational needs and matching those requirements with the right candidates, enabling PMP’s team to better forecast headcounts and place candidates in roles that best suits their situation, including part-time or flexible contracts, and location- and work-based learning opportunities. It will also enable PMP’s team to measure aspects such as demographics, conversion, absence and attrition, bringing increased business efficiencies through the centralisation of all recruitment campaigns.

• Contractor tax adviser Qdos Contractors and recruitment giant Hays have joined forces to develop an IR35 solution aimed at helping public sector organisations work out whether off-payroll workers are inside IR35 rules.

The solution enables public sector engagers to comply with new IR35 reforms, which came into force earlier this year affecting contractors working through personal services companies in the public sector.

• Directors Liane Hartley and Sharron Clow have launched Source – an agency and social sustainability consultancy operating across construction and infrastructure sectors.

• Automated candidate-referencing company Xref has launched ‘sentiment engine’ technology.

The engine uses an algorithm that examines reference responses and rates feedback as positive, negative or neutral, with the aim of at interpreting the referee’s ‘tone of voice’ for the employer. The technology aims to save recruitment professionals up to 16 minutes per reference by using artificial intelligence and machine learning to scan references, creating a report that can be sent back to the employer. 

3 August 2017
Creative/Digital/Media, IT/Telecoms

Ex-Cititec founder Grant launches Spotter & Hunter with Leslie

Robert Grant (above left), who left Cititec and technology recruiter Excelian following its sale to New York Stock Exchange-listed Luxoft back in 2015, has joined forces with Nick Leslie (above right), previously managing director at London-based recruiter JLM Search, to launch Spotter & Hunter.

While operating from its base in London’s tech hub of Old Street, the agency has plans of growing internationally through attracting a global client base.

“After a couple of years out of the industry, seeing out my non-competes, I was determined to return to the right opportunity – this is it,” Grant said.

“My passion is for building professional service businesses that have substance and truly understand and deliver against their USP and what their market needs. This particular space has so much potential...”

• Want to comment on this story? Email us at [email protected] or tweet us below to tell us your thoughts. We will run comments online in a round-up at the end of the week.

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