SECTOR FOCUS: SKILLS
Hiring intentions grow A
s the UK’s economic pendulum continues to swing upwards, businesses
I’m free: Free Radio’s Phil Riley with Gaynor Cheshire of BOA
Free Radio and BOA offer bursary
One of the West Midlands most popular radio stations celebrated 40 years in the business with an anniversary event at Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA). Free Radio – formerly known as BRMB – used the occasion to launch a new bursary scheme to help students seeking a career on radio or TV. BOA is a creative, digital and
performing arts academy located next to Millennium Point. Free Radio chief executive Phil
Riley said: "The team at BOA have created a fabulous platform for talented young people round here to develop their skills. We're delighted to be able to help one young person take the next step on their career.”
are recruiting new staff at a rate not seen for six years. According to Birmingham
accountant BDO, hiring intentions have risen to a level not seen since the economic boom spluttered to a halt in 2008. The statistics supporting this can
be found in BDO’s latest ‘Business Trends’ report, which shows the ‘employment index’ as rising from 102.7 in February to 104.3 in March. The confidence in employment growth is mirrored by a rise in optimism - BDO’s ‘optimism index’ shows business sentiment returned to January’s all-time high of 103.8 in March (up from 103.3 in February). This was buoyed by strong optimism among manufacturers, with their sub-index rising to 119.4 in March, up from 118.2 the previous month.
‘The above-trend growth we’re seeing in businesses’ hiring intentions bodes well’
The services sector also produced a positive result, remaining much the same at 100.8, meaning that both the manufacturing and services indicators point to on- going solid economic growth for the next six months.
Richard Rose: rosy future predicted
The positive outlook of businesses is supported by the on-going rise in BDO’s ‘output index’, which reached its second-highest recorded reading of 102.9 in March, up from 102.7 the previous month. The index has only ever been higher in May 2006, in the middle of the pre-crisis boom when credit was abundant. This indicates that the economy is expanding at a rate well above its long term trend, according to BDO. Richard Rose, head of BDO in Birmingham, said: “After a difficult few years, the above-trend growth we’re seeing in businesses’ hiring
intentions bodes well for George Osborne ahead of the election. The Chancellor cannily qualified his pledge to create a ‘full employment’ economy. But with growth strongly on track and employment levels rising, he may be able to claim success sooner than might be expected. “Just as importantly, our data sheds an interesting light on the immigration debate. Our data shows that employers are growing their hiring intentions month on month. If we are to avoid skills shortages and the wage inflation that will inevitably follow, we are going to need to attract more workers to our shores. “However, recent evidence suggests that foreign
students, a vital pillar of our education system and a source of overseas earnings, have been put off coming to the UK. The strident tone of the debate perhaps may put talented professionals off working here too.”
Park appoints over 200 seasonal staff
Drayton Manor Theme Park has hired more than 200 new employees in readiness for its 2014 season. The park, near Tamworth,
Staffordshire, has devised a new three-step assessment programme to recruit ‘guest hosts’, whose primary responsibilities are to ensure the smooth running of the park’s facilities and make sure visitors have a good time. More than 1,000 applicants applied for the jobs, and of these, 600 were invited to attend an assessment centre at the end of February. The aspiring employees were given an overview into the roles and introduced to the senior managers in five key recruitment areas, before finally being put to the test in a series of tasks. As part of this, candidates were
assessed on presentation and appearance, enthusiasm, motivation, interaction and communication skills - key qualities that were highlighted from customer feedback as being essential to providing a good visitor experience. As part of this year’s recruitment drive, Drayton Manor offered flexible
You’re hired: some of the 200 new staff at Drayton Manor
working hours to cater to those such as working parents, students and the semi-retired, in a bid to attract a wider range of candidates from students to the more mature workers. Sarah Collins, Drayton’s HR general manager, said: “The new recruitment
44 CHAMBERLINK MAY 2014
process this year is our most thorough to date and is designed to assess the key qualities we are looking for in our staff members. “We always listen to customer feedback and wanted to reflect this by hiring a strong team of guest hosts, who will be on hand in the park to ensure that every guest goes home with a smile on their face after a memorable day.”
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