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Recruitment News

£7 million development boosts local economy

Commercial property specialists Rombourne are constructing a new £7m office development at Langstone Business Park, near Newport.

The three-storey office accommodation on the M4 Coldra junction will provide employment for more than 1,000 people to meet strong demand from business on both sides of the Severn Bridge, with a number of companies re-locating from the Midlands and other regions of the UK.

Rombourne property director Damian Stokes said: “We have long believed that this is one of the most important business locations in Wales with the site strategically placed at the intersection of the M4 and A449, providing fast access to Newport, Cardiff, Bristol and the Midlands”.

The 30,000 sq ft project will be finished and available for occupation from January, 2008.


Ambitious expansion plans create 135 new jobs at Hugh James

Wales’s largest independent law firm, Hugh James, is to recruit 135 new staff at its offices in Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil.

The firm handles the legal and processing work for some of UK’s largest financial institutions. And, over the last four years, the firm has seen demand for legal and processing work increase significantly with the lions share being generated by two key clients, HBOS and Norwich Union.

Indeed, an estimated 60 of the new jobs will be hired to work on the HBOS contract with an additional 40 hired for the Norwich Union work. The remaining 35 jobs will be across the board bringing the total workforce for Hugh James in Cardiff to 720.

Matthew Tossell, managing partner, said: “We have been expanding our commercial property department where we are still in the process of recruiting. We are also expanding our corporate/commercial and litigation teams. “We have ambitious expansion plans moving forward across the whole of the firm”, he added.


Boots chooses Welsh agency to recruit staff

British business has long been bemoaning the lack of skilled labour available and the Government has been trying to find ways of resolving the problem. But, a new poll has revealed that the skills shortages in many sectors could be relieved by an unliklely source of talent – ex-offenders.

The survey, Employing Ex-offenders to Capture Talent, reveals that three-quarters of organisations would consider employing ex-offenders if they had the relevant skills, according a survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

However, the overriding concern that employers have is a workers’ lack of honesty, reliability and good personal behavioural skills, not just basic numerical, literacy and technical job skills.

That said, four-fifths of employers with a positive experience say that ex-offenders settle into work well with colleagues, perform well and are reliable.

Dianah Worman OBE, CIPD Diversity Adviser, says: “Ex-offenders are a largely unused pool of talent which employers could access as a way of helping to reduce skills shortages”.

The report called on the government to improve the media’s portrayal of ex-offenders and to clearly outline the support that is available for employers.

Travelodge to create 300 jobs in Wales

Budget hotel chain Travelodge has announced a multi-million pound expansion plan that will create 300 new jobs in Wales.

Over the next thirteen years, the chain is expected to build an additional fifteen new hotels at a cost of £55m.

The hospitality sector is one of the fastest growth areas in the UK and none more so than in the budget hotel sector. Over the last 10 years, UK business stays in hotels have risen by 40%, leisure stays by 80% and short breaks by 120%.

Travelodge aims to capture a 10 per cent (20m customers) share of the UK hotel market and the Wales growth drive is part of an unparalleled openings programme.

Paul Harvey, Travelodge director of property and development, said: “The major increase in visitor numbers to Wales is no surprise to us.

“The combination of regeneration of its major cities, its outstanding countryside and award- winning beaches is encouraging millions of visitors to the region every year”.