Greencore Hungary recruitment plan ‘not the answer’

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Work is under way to build Greencore’s new £30m factory in Moulton Park

Bringing workers in from Hungary is not the answer to a sandwich firm’s recruitment problems, according to the leader of Northampton Borough Council.

Conservative David Mackintosh said employing workers from abroad would only increase the pressure on schools and health facilities in the town.

Greencore Group have already made moves to recruit staff from Hungary due to “very low unemployment” locally.

The firm has now said it still intends to recruit in Northampton.

‘Not enough people’

Mr Mackintosh said the borough council would be looking to meet with Greencore, Jobcentre Plus and colleges.

He said: “Public services are already under enormous pressure in Northampton and bringing additional people from Hungary is not the answer.

“We already have problems in Northampton with access to healthcare, schools and other public services, and this would just add to that.”

Greencore’s human resources director Allyson Russell had said staff would have to be recruited from abroad.

The firm, which supplies Tesco and Marks & Spencer, made the move after failing to attract enough job applicants.

“There aren’t enough people around and it is not always the kind of work people have wanted to do,” she said.

 

Every year Greencore makes:

A sandwich

• 430 million sandwiches

• 150 million ready meals

• 200 million bottles of cooking sauces

• 42 million quiches

• Three million Christmas cakes

• 530 million Yorkshire puddings

Source: Greencore Group

Greencore said it would continue to look abroad but was also attempting to find people locally.

A spokesman said the company had started a range of recruitment initiatives, but would also be looking at applicants from further afield, including Hungary.

Greencore is constructing a new £30m site on Deer Park Road in Moulton Park which will employ 250 people. It is due to open in the spring of 2016.

The company has already taking part in the Northampton Jobs Fair in September, recruited 50 staff from an event in Corby and participated in a scheme with Jobcentre Plus to offer work experience to unemployed people.

UK recruitment sector growth boosted by overseas expansion plans

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UK recruitment sector growth boosted by overseas expansion plans

The second annual joint Deloitte and Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) UK Recruitment Index found that 69 per cent of respondents saw net income increase over the last 12 months, with overseas expansion planned for many.

Both firms that were based solely in the UK and those with an international presence reported that the majority of new offices would be in new markets, reflecting the increasing mobility of professional talent.

Ann Swain, chief executive of APSCo comments, “Last year there was a view that growth was coming – and that it was very much on the agenda – but that recruitment firms were unsure whether it was going to last.

“This year’s report shows clearly that the growth has not only been achieved – but that it has been sustained – and there is consequently much more confidence in the market.”

Within this picture of strong growth, recruitment firms also report concerns about getting the talent they need to grow; 59 per cent indicate that this is their top challenge in the year ahead. Around half of the firms surveyed also cited challenges relating to financial growth and profitability.

Katie Folwell-Davies, human capital services partner at Deloitte, comments,“Results indicated that 40 per cent of respondents had some level of M&A activity on their agenda, and it was clear that increasing headcount will be key to achieving growth and profitability targets.

“In 2013, talent was very high on the board’s agenda and will continue to be a main priority over the next year.”

To address the talent challenges, and in keeping with broader demographic changes around managing a multigenerational workforce, the Deloitte/APSCo research identified a trend among respondent recruitment firms for adapting their attraction and recruitment practices, both for their clients and for their own firms. Initiatives include diversity and inclusiveness agendas to improve candidate engagement and connecting with communities to identify talented candidates.

Ann Swain continues, “Flexible working has moved quite a way up the agenda of what potential recruitment consultants are looking for when they join a firm and the more forward-looking businesses have updated their offerings to accommodate this. This is not just about keeping good women in the business – although it obviously helps – but also about adapting to what different generations’ motivations are.”

Recruiters have mixed opinions about Scotland’s ‘No’ vote

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Recruiters are breathing a sigh of relief after 55% of Scottish voters opt to remain part of the UK, though there is disappointment too. The no vote in the Scottish referendum was in some ways disappointing but there was a silver lining, Aspirare Recruitment Scotland director Martin McCrum told Recruiter.

“In some ways [it’s] disappointing and in some ways [it’s] not … democracy and political process won and now we can get on with things.”

He said the silver lining was that “it got everyone engaged” and got the rest of the country and politicians to really consider Scottish issues “at the street level”.
There was “something wrong with local mechanisms” when it came to the economy and the vote had raised awareness of that.

When it came to his multi-sector recruitment business though, he was unsure what the decision to stay in the UK meant. He said it was “the great unknown” as he did not believe the government had delivered on its promises to Scotland in the past. Helen Smith, chief executive of Newcastle-headquartered oil & gas recruiter Oil Consulting, told Recruiter whichever way the vote went, there would not have been much of an affect on the business.

However, there may be “mild relief” from its Scottish contractors who were nervous about how a separation may have resulted in tax regulation changes. Recruitment industry supplier Optionis’ managing director Derek Kelly said in a statement the ‘no’ vote was good news for staffing firms and contractors across the UK.

“There were many questions around tax, regulation and trade that the SNP [Scottish National Party] and pro-independence lobby failed to answer.

“Had the people of Scotland voted for independence, we would have today been bracing ourselves for years of uncertainty as politicians thrashed out a ‘divorce’ settlement.”

He said before the election, there had been suggestions independence would have boosted demand for IT professionals due to the creation of new government bodies and systems. However, he believed that short-term boost would have been outweighed by long-term damage to Scotland’s economy and key industries.

Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) chief executive Kevin Green said in a statement the referendum created questions about greater levels of devolution that will see significant changes for Scotland and the UK.

“In all discussions about further devolution, policy-makers must keep in mind that workers move across borders and businesses need to take talent with them, wherever they are operating. The UK jobs market gathers its strength from the close collaboration between the different regions and nations of the UK and this should remain at the forefront in all deliberations.”