Cast UK appoints four new graduates to its Manchester office

Specialist recruitment company, Cast UK, has strengthened its team with four new appointments to its Manchester office.
 
The new starters, which include Ben Bennett, Russell Smith, Ben Findley and Dan Whitmore, have joined Cast UK’s Graduate Training Academy.
 
Ben Bennett is a geography graduate from the University of Leicester and is working within the procurement and supply chain team focusing on engineering and manufacturing in the Midlands.  In his spare time, Ben is stand-up comedian and made his debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year, which received four-star reviews.
 
Russell Smith is a psychology graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University and international swimmer representing GB in overseas competitions across Europe, Australia, USA, South Africa, Japan and Singapore.  As part of the retail and FMCG team, led by Pete Hobson, Russell will specialise in procurement and supply chain in the Midlands and Milton Keynes.
 
Ben Findley, who studied at Royal Holloway University of London, joins the specialist recruitment company with over four years of experience in retail and works in the logistics team in the South.
 
Dan Whitmore, originally from Saddleworth, joins Cast UK after receiving his degree from York University. He joins the procurement and supply chain team, led by Mark Nesbit, to work with clients throughout the North East.
 
Commenting on his experience of the Cast UK Graduate Training Academy, Dan said: “It’s great to be part of an ambitious team who are specialists in the sectors they operate. I’ve received great support from my team leader, Mark, and feel like the company is helping me to build a solid foundation for career growth.”
 
Wayne Brophy, managing director of Cast UK, added: “Having grown the team significantly in the last year, we recognise the importance of providing an environment that both supports and challenges ambitious graduates embarking on their careers in recruitment.
 
“We’ve developed a model that enables them to benefit from the expertise of senior team members, with a one-to-one pairing process, while giving them the opportunity to learn and develop their career with us.”

Demand for professional talent up by 20% as job market returns to pre-crisis growth

According to new survey data from APSCo, the UK’s professional staffing trade body, recruitment firms now have 20% more vacancies on their books than this time last year. Its latest research, independently validated by Staffing Industry Analysts, comes as the Treasury’s growth forecast for the UK economy continues to climb month-on-month, with forecasted GDP growth now standing at 3.1% for 2014, up from 1.8% at the beginning of the year.

Permanent vacancies across the engineering, IT, accounting & finance, social work and media & marketing sectors are all up year-on-year, with the former three demonstrating the most impressive jobs growth (35%, 22% and 18% respectively).

Furthermore, professional temporary and contract vacancies are also exhibiting strong growth as both are up by 8%.

Contrary to APSCo’s findings, specialist recruitment company, Cast UK, reported a staggering 45% increase in interim roles within the last 12 months.

Wayne Brophy, managing director of Cast UK, explains why he thinks interim roles are on the up:

“The report by APSCo does reinforce the same growth trend we are seeing in permanent vacancies, however, we are experiencing a much steeper increase in interim work as it’s a way of accessing experienced, specialist talent with a proven track record, who can come into a business and hit the ground running.

“Both employers and employees benefit from this type of role as interim work either helps to bridge a short-term employment gap, or is an efficient way of managing growth and enhancing an organisation’s talent pool, particularly during a period of transition.”

Soft skills favoured over technical knowledge in graduates

In a report by education provider, Kaplan, it has been suggested that employers value confidence and effective communication over technical knowledge when recruiting graduates.

The survey of 198 UK employers found that employers ranked ‘soft skills’, including confidence and an ability to be analytical, high at the recruitment stage. Technical knowledge took the 24^th position out of 30 when employers ranked a list of their required or desired competencies.

Managing Director of specialist recruitment company, Cast UK, Wayne Brophy comments on the findings:

“At Cast UK, we place equal emphasis on soft skills and technical ability as we recognise that, ultimately, people buy from people.  Technical skills are critical in a specialist company so we take the time to develop these through our bespoke graduate training academy.

“While having in-depth knowledge in the sectors we recruit for is of upmost importance, relationships and rapport with our clients is one of the reasons that over 70% of our business is repeat business.”