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New to Market

27 May 2025
Creative/Digital/Media, Industrial/Manufacturing

NEW TO THE MARKET: 27-30 MAY 2025

• Aston University has announced a new initiative, guaranteeing all full-time master’s students a professional internship as part of their studies. Launching in September 2025, the Postgraduate Guaranteed Internship Scheme will be available to students enrolled in MSc, MA and MBA programmes at both the Birmingham and London campuses.

This scheme is designed to enhance employability by providing high-quality industry placements lasting between one and six months. These internships may be conducted in-person, remotely, or in a hybrid format, and will be facilitated through Aston’s global network of employers. The initiative is available to both UK and international students.

• Worcestershire-based Four Squared Recruitment has launched its new Recruitment Academy, a strategic initiative aimed at developing early careers and entry-level talent. The Academy supports new entrants with structured training, mentorship, and hands-on experience to prepare them for the demands of a competitive job market. Three new team members have also joined Four Squared as a result of the programme. The initiative helps close the gap between emerging candidates and evolving industry needs.

• Gi Group UK, part of global company Gi Group Holding, is strengthening its position in the recruitment and HR sector by delivering forklift and material handling equipment (MHE) training. With warehouse operative roles in high demand across the UK, the company provides essential upskilling opportunities to meet the growing needs of the logistics sector. The MHE training programme supports up to three candidates daily and is RTITB-approved, ensuring high standards of safety, compliance and operational efficiency.

• 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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19 July 2021
Sales, Oil & gas/Energy, Life sciences, Engineering, Construction & property, Executive search, Industrial/Manufacturing, IT/Telecoms, Accounting/Finance

NEW TO THE MARKET: 19-23 JULY 2021

• Birmingham-based energy recruitment agency Consult Energy has launched a new clean energy division. Extending its services for energy companies in emerging markets, such as clean energy, renewable energy, sustainability and EV, Kevin Tyler and Ashley Pitt will lead this new service for the energy recruitment firm.

• Red Diamond Executive Headhunters has launched a new middle market recruitment company called Red Diamond Recruitment. The new company will operate from its head office in Huddersfield alongside the headhunting business, with clients in sectors including manufacturing, accounting, aviation, construction, pharmaceuticals, electronic products and the beauty industry.

• Global recruitment firm Spencer Ogden has opened a new office in Taiwan. The recruitment firm has been working with clients in Taiwan for four years remotely, with demand for recruitment solutions to support clean energy – and offshore wind leading much of the resourcing needs.

• TheJobApp has launched to “change the temporary recruitment industry in the UK”, according to a company statement. The app will be available from mid-July and support businesses by sourcing workers quickly and effectively, allowing them to manage their staff requirements, while offering shift workers a chance to be paid immediately after their shift has ended.

15 July 2021
Sales, Industrial/Manufacturing, IT/Telecoms, Hospitality/Leisure, Apprentices/Grads/School leavers

NEW TO THE MARKET: 12-16 JULY 2021

• Budweiser Brewing Group is recruiting for 25 roles in the UK throughout its commercial teams, in addition to six apprentices. The available positions range from key account managers to tech sales managers. Other roles include trade marketing executives, as well as various regional field sales positions around the UK.

Budweiser’s six apprentice drinks technician vacancies are within its drinks dispense team. Apprentices will take part in a 12-18-month course to achieve their Level 3 Drinks Dispense qualification.

• Fuze, a cloud-based communications provider, has launched Fuze for Recruiting, a new tailored solution for recruiting agencies and corporate recruiting teams. Fuze for Recruiting enables organisations to address the needs of recruiting professionals by introducing two new packages – Fuze for Recruiting Essentials and Fuze for Recruiting Contact Center.

7 July 2021
Executive search, Graduates/Apprentices/School leavers

NEW TO THE MARKET: 5-9 JULY 2021

• Practice to Progress (P2P), an organisation focused on preparing candidates for the police recruitment process, has announced a new scholarship programme in partnership with Motorola Solutions UK to help applicants wanting to join the police service.

P2P will hire 10 successful applicants who will then gain individual support from its team of former senior police officers and staff, to prepare for the three exercises they need to pass at the College of Policing’s online assessment centre. The closing date for applications is Friday 30 July 2021.

• Global workforce and advisory solutions provider Resource Solutions has launched Rejoin, a new community programme to help experienced professionals return to work after a career hiatus.

The service provides candidates with access to exclusive training, wellness partner and coaches, and connects them with Resource Solutions’ client base of global brands and corporates.

Rejoin candidates are provided with training from Resource Solutions to help upskill and prepare for new working environments, as well as personal one-to-one advice from partner wellness coaches on everything from their physical and emotional health, to dealing with the anxieties of returning to employment after time away, and managing a transition of care for dependent family members.

6 July 2021
Retail, Sales, IT/Telecoms

Levin Group launches new recruitment brand Storm5

A company statement said the new brand’s mission is “to build the most powerful and efficient retailTech and e-commerce talent ecosystem globally” and contribute to creating strong B2B/B2C online customer experiences. The founding team have already been building a network of specialised C-suite and senior talent across data & analytics, engineering & DevOps, product management, and sales & marketing fields, the statement said.

Leading the brand launch is Olivier Kerckhove, previously of SThree. Kerckhove noted that the sector is undergoing “a huge shift, experiencing record funding in the last 12 months due to the [Covid] pandemic’s impact of consumers’ buying patterns”.

The Levin Group’s headcount has reached 180 across three international offices, the statement said.

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