Are you recruiting at the moment and aren’t sure what the going rate is? Want to know what’s most important to candidates at the moment? Let us help you attract and retain the very best talent on the market.
Every year Cooper Lomaz carries out a survey to find out average salaries and day rates for the industries we recruit in. This year we heard from 1,500 people through an online survey and combined that data with information from 15,000 candidate interviews. The survey produced some interesting insights into the local recruitment market.
A good example is web development. A mid-level Mobile Developer working in Norfolk receives an average salary of £30k-40k per annum. However, if you hop across the border to Suffolk it increases to £38k-45k, and goes up to £45k-55k in Cambridgeshire. That’s a big difference.
In the current market, skilled candidates are at a premium. Use our Salary Survey to make sure you havethe edge when it comes to securing the best talent.
Fendercare Marine sign contract with BAE Systems to support the River Class Batch 2 programme
Contract signed with BAE Systems Naval Ships for supply of rudder, deck and mooring equipment
New OPVs seen as an important step in the Royal Navy’s forward strategy
World leading marine products and services supplier, Fendercare Marine, is proud to announce the signing of a new significant contract with BAE Systems Naval Ships. The contract is for the provision of rudder blades, rudder stocks, sleeves/liners for rudder stock, anchors, chain and deck equipment for three new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for the UK Royal Navy.
“The selection of Fendercare Marine by BAE Systems to support them in this important programme for the Royal Navy, further underlines the industry’s recognition in our abilities to provide a quality and value for money service and approach to defence contracts.” said Brett Ward, Defence Project Sales Manager, Fendercare Marine.
Production of the new Offshore Patrol Vessels commenced in October 2014 at BAE Systems’ facility in Govan, Glasgow. The 90 metre OPV is based on a proven BAE Systems design which is already in service with the Brazilian Navy and Royal Thai Navy. Engineers at BAE Systems have modified the design, ensuring it meets the requirements of the Royal Navy in support of UK interests both at home and abroad.
Fendercare Marine was chosen for this contract based on their past experience working with BAE Systems and track record of working on the Amazonas class vessels.
Fendercare Marine has been a supplier of fenders and marine hardware to the MoD since 1999 and also supports navies throughout the world, winning a $29 million contract with the US Navy in 2012. Fendercare Marine also recently received praise for their fendering support to a flotilla of NATO warships in the Port of Cardiff during the NATO summit.
From a base in the Devonport Royal Dockyard in Plymouth, their Naval Solutions division provides fabrication, welding and coating services for the MoD, having worked on nuclear submarines, warships and naval support vessels.
The new OPVs will include a modified flight deck capable of operating the latest Merlin helicopters, larger stores and more accommodation for embarked troops. The first of class is expected to be delivered to the Royal Navy in 2017, with Fendercare Marine due to complete their elements by the end of 2015.
polkadotfrog, is urging for action as many out-of-date CV’s are sitting online, leading to countless numbers of missed opportunities for candidates in the current buoyant market.
polkadotfrog recruitment specialists, with offices in Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich, see hundreds of CV’s posted online which haven’t been updated in months, with some even more than 3 years out of date.
Many people upload their CV to job sites, such as Reed or Monster and forget they are there, so when recruitment firms search to find a candidate for a specific role, more people ‘appear’ to be available, than there are in reality. This is what’s known in the industry as the ‘ghost cv’.
Emma Cotton, Director at polkadotfrog believes that thousands of candidates could be missing out on a dream job which will pay them better and provide a step up the career ladder.
She said: “What some people might not realise is that our recruitment team don’t just respond to people who submit their CV’s to us for a particular role. Every day, we are proactively researching and sifting through CV’s on internet recruitment portals to find the right match for a particular role.
Keeping your CV up to date with details of any new experience, qualifications and job changesis extremely important. The same applies to your CV and job details on other portals such as LinkedIn which are increasingly used by businesses and agencies as recruitment channels. In order for us to place the skilled candidates in to the increasing number of vacancies arising, we are urging the ‘passive workforce’ to ensure their CV is kept up to date and not just left online as a ‘ghost CV’.”
Many economists and commentators are now saying the UK is officially out of recession. In the three months to the end of November unemployment fell by 58,000 to 1.91 million and the jobless rate was 5.8 per cent*. With forecasters predicting further falls in the coming months, it’s a great time to look for a new job. Emma says that the buoyancy of the jobs market reflects the statistics.
She continues: “It certainly feels as if the green shoots of recovery are rapidly maturing! There are plenty of jobs out there with businesses having the confidence and requirement to bolster their teams and take on new staff. It’s never been a better time to have an updated CV online. The tables have turned since the recession and it’s a candidate’s market, particularly if you’re skilled in IT/Computing, Accountancy/Finance or Secretarial/Clerical work where we’re seeing a shortage of people. So if you’ve got experience and/or qualifications in these areas and you want to move up, it’s vital to make sure you’re being seen online and that all your information is correct.”
Do you have acorporate partnership with a charity? That’s fantastic! We’re sure you’ve got lots of exciting plans to make the partnership a roaring success.
Whether it’s pink wigs and bucket collections, crocodile costumes and marathons, or wet-weather gear and hiking, you can’t raise money without some very important people – your staff.
The fundraising is only part of the challenge. Staff are usually keen to get involved, but getting large numbers engaged can be difficult, and getting a diversity of people involved is also tricky. Especially when many are busy with work, they may find it difficult to leave their desks for lunch, let alone to raise money.
Understandably the job comes first, and even if people want to help, it’s not always do-able. Instead of expecting people to automatically support your charity, you need to create a culture that enables them to get involved. So we recommend trying out these tried and tested methods…
1. Communicate with everyone One of the reasons that charity partnerships may not always hit the fundraising target, is because staff may not know that the partnership is actually happening. And if they do, they often don’t know why it’s there and how they can help! This is pretty easy to remedy. When you agree on the charity, plan a fundraising strategy with internal communications to match. Plan an all-staff launch, and follow up with frequent emails, desk-drops and posters to keep the partnership in the forefront of people’s minds.
2. Recruit charity champions Charity champions are volunteer staff responsible for jollying along colleagues to come to events, buy raffle tickets, dress up (or down), etc. Using skills in diplomacy and persuasion, they drive the charity partnership among the workforce, encouraging their engagement.
3. Arrange a charity visit (or talk) Inspire your staff by bringing the cause to life for them. Depending on the kind of organisation you’re supporting, you could arrange a staff visit to see the charity’s work first hand. Since some places work with sensitive cases, such as people with severe health issues and vulnerable children, visits aren’t always possible. But you can still invite a guest speaker from the charity to give a talk and thank everyone for their support. Establishing an emotional connection between staff and charity can make all the difference to support levels.
4. Give people time off We’re sure lots of people would love to take time off to raise money, but with work to do, it’s not always possible. Why not look at your budget to see if you can give staff a day off each year to dedicate to charity support?
5. Put the appeal in fundraising Look at your staff profile, and ask yourself: How many people are likely to do the Ben Nevis climb or white water rafting? Who’s more suited to cake bakes and fun runs? This helps you set achievable goals for all of your staff. Not everyone wants to abseil down the tallest building in town. And baking isn’t everyone’s idea of fun either! Getting the balance right encourages more involvement.
6. Mention it in your job ads Start building a culture of giving by highlighting your charity activity in your job ads. Not many companies do this so you’ll stand out from other employers. And you’ll attract the kind of employee that wants to get involved in such work.
7. Get in the paper The local press are always keen to hear what the business community is doing to give something back. It publicises the charity, your own organisation and we’re pretty sure that staff will love seeing themselves on the pages of the local rag! If you’re doing something very visual and unusual, why not get the local TV reporter along to an event too? 8. Set targets There’s nothing like firing up a bit of friendly competition among fundraisers! By setting targets people have a goal to aim for. You can team people up, giving them their own targets to hit. You can tally up the totals each month, quarter, six months or at the end of the year and hand out prizes for those who have raised the most.
Although successful charity partnerships do require a bit of organising, once you develop a culture that makes it possible, your staff should jump at the chance to be part of the action.
We would also like to give our own charity partners a mention; do check out their amazing work:EACH,The J’s Hospice,Maggie’s Wallace,Suffolk Mind,Arthur Rank Hospice CharityandTalk to Stars.
Our wind project at Ysgellog Farm in Anglesey won the category for Outstanding Green Energy Project at the Wales Green Energy Awards held yesterday. Our Ysgellog Farm wind turbines were recognised mainly because of our commitment to retain economic benefits within Anglesey during the construction period.
This is what we’d like to create the same for our two turbine project near Sporle which will be decided by Breckland District Council following our planning application submissionin February 2014.
We hope you like viewing the video for our award winning wind turbines.The Enercon turbines are 92.5m to tip, and are expected to generate electricity for over 3,000 homes.
Specialised Management Services Ltd (SMS), a leading service provider and manufacturer of hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical control systems, will be exhibiting at the EEEGR event “SNS 2015: The Sea of Opportunity” held at the Royal Norfolk Showground, Norwich.
The event is held over two days, 4th& 5thMarch 2015. With 77 exhibitors and an anticipated footfall of over 500 people, the event has been deemed as the most important conference for the offshore energy industry in the East of England.
SMS will be promoting its range of offshore and onshore services as well as showcasing their products to local customers. SMS will also demonstrate its full project and multi-disciplined engineering capabilities which have enabled the SMS team to successfully secure a high number of orders in the region.
In recent years SMS’s operations department have seen an increase in the requirement for offshore labour. SMS are fully equipped to service this demand and can provide comprehensive and cost effective operations that will be delivered by fully trained, highly skilled and experienced technicians.
Gary Morrow, Business Development Director, comments, “SMS has a good reputation of delivering quality solutions and services that meet the specific requirements of our customers both internationally and within the southern North Sea. We are pleased to be attending SNS again as it is a highly targeted event which allows us the opportunity to speak to attendees more intimately than bigger oil and gas tradeshows.”
Gary continues by saying, “We look forward to discussing with our existing and potential customers how we can support them locally now and into the future”.
For more information on SMS and its products and services you can visit the sales team at stand B15 at the SNS2015 event, Norwich from 4th-5thMarch 2015.
In attendance are: Phil Turner (Sales Manager, Hose and Components), Joe Carter (Sales Manager, Operations) and Emily Phillips (Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Projects).
When new magazine OMG! needed a set of TV commercials to promote the launch of their weekly magazine for women, they turned to JMS to make it happen.
Being new to TV they wanted a company that could guide them through any potential pitfalls with Clearcast (the body responsible for approving commercials for broadcast) and produce a series of commercials very cost-effectively using a simple sonic ident and a strong call to action. The commercials needed to echo the brand, bring a smile to the viewers face and create a strong recall when it came to seeing the magazine in stores.
Incorporating images from the magazine and some eye-catching headlines, the 6 commercials will be playing out across the UK on a variety of terrestrial and satellite channels.
You can pick up your copy at all good newsagents Nationwide – OMG!
🌿 Last chance to enter the Clean and Green Awards! Entries close on Sunday 9th November, so if you’re driving sustainability and innovation across Norfolk and Suffolk — now’s the time to shout about it.
Whether you’re a business, project or individual making a real difference, we want to hear your story. Let’s celebrate those leading the way in creating a cleaner, greener future.
In the lead-up to the eagerly anticipated art sculpture trail, GoGo Safari, Chantry Place is thrilled to announce the arrival of three mysterious animal crates on Saturday, the 24th of May, and they’re inviting families and visitors to come along, get involved and unleash their inner explorer.
Unveiled with a fun, safari-style spectacle featuring volunteers from Chantry Place, Break – the charity behind the trail – and other sponsors, the animal boxes will appear at Chantry Place and be placed in key locations throughout the Centre. Sponsored by Chantry Place, Keeler Recruitment, and Osiris IT, each box will feature clues and interactive elements to help visitors guess the animal sculpture inside – or at least imagine it!
Visitors can take part in a drawing competition, collecting special sheets on the day to take home and sketch the animal they believe is inside the box. Chantry Place has £150 worth of Langley’s gift vouchers to give away, with each winning young artist receiving a £50 voucher.
Jo Bates, General Manager of Chantry Place, said: “We’re so excited to kick off the countdown to GoGo Safari with this fun and immersive experience for families. The animal boxes are a great way to get the community guessing and engaging before the trail officially launches in June – and we can’t wait to see the wild guesses and even wilder drawings!”
The animal boxes will remain on display at Chantry Place for four weeks, giving families plenty of time to get involved before the full GoGo Safari trail launches on the 23rd of June, transforming Norwich and Norfolk into a vibrant safari landscape of over 50 large-scale animal sculptures which include rhinos, gorillas, lions, elephants and giraffes.
As a proud presenting partner and sponsor of the trail, Chantry Place will feature six large sculptures and 16 mini-giraffes designed by local schools, making it one of the key destinations on the trail.
Delivered by Break in partnership with the Zoological Society of East Anglia, alongside Norwich BID, and Chantry Place, each sculpture has been designed by talented artists and sponsored by local businesses and raises vital funds for Break and their life-changing work for young people in, around and beyond care. The animal boxes were produced by CIM Signs & Graphics, and Chantry Place thanks all sponsors and Break for their support in bringing this epic experience to life.
Don’t miss the adventure – come to Chantry Place on the 24th of May to discover the mystery, make your guess, and let your imagination run wild!
Norwich International Airport has become one of the first in the UK to transition to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) aerodrome regulatory regime, underlying its growing reputation as one of Britain’s most progressive airports. Only the fourth UK site to transfer to the system, which all European airports must adhere to by December 2017, Norwich is among a small group of pioneering aviation hubs setting the pace for the industry.
“Norwich has always worked hard at being one of the country’s most progressive airports, which is why we agreed early this year to become part of a pilot initiative mapping the approach required to transition to the new European wide system,” said Richard Pace, Operations Director at Norwich International Airport.
“While our existing procedures and approach to safety made the process relatively straightforward, taking the initiative not only kept us ahead of the game, but will also enable airports around the UK to learn from our experience and best practice.” EASA is the centrepiece of the European Union’s aviation safety system, working alongside the European Commission and the National Aviation Authorities (NAAs) to improve standards. The Agency develops common safety and environmental rules, monitors the implementation of standards through inspections and provides the necessary technical expertise and training to support the system.
All UK Aerodromes open to public use and which serve commercial air transport and where operations using instrument approach or departure procedures are provided fall within the scope of the EASA regulations, which came into force on 6 March 2014. Norwich participated in a pilot scheme designed to identify best practice for UK airports transferring to the scheme early this year, then became one of the first to formally make the switch a few weeks ago.
Richard Pace added: “I felt it was important for us to play a key role in the process. Despite their importance to local communities and economies regional airports are often drowned out by the noise generated by larger sites, and we wanted to ensure that our voice would be heard.” Norwich owner Regional & City Airports (RCA) – the airports division of Rigby Group PLC – believes that the announcement will also deliver benefits for its operations at Coventry and Exeter.
John Spooner, Director of Airport Management at Rigby Group’s airports division Regional & City Airports (RCA) said: “One of the key benefits RCA offers its airports is shared experience and expertise. With Norwich having so successfully completed its role as an industry pathfinder, the knowledge gained during the exercise will greatly ease the transition process at Coventry and Exeter Airports.”
Norse Commercial Services and Great Yarmouth Borough Council have formed a new Joint Venture Company to manage and maintain the council’s community housing stock.
GYN Asset Management Services took over the asset management and building maintenance of the Borough Council’s stock of 6,000 houses as of October 1st.
The 10-year agreement is initially worth around £6 million a year, and is expected to rise over the coming years. It extends Norse’s partnership with Great Yarmouth Borough Council – GYB Services, another joint venture between the two organisations, handles local services including refuse collection, cleaning, grounds maintenance, pest control, and other frontline services.
The new partnership will take over Strategic Asset Management, Responsive Repairs, Voids Maintenance (housing stock that becomes vacant), Major Works, Planned Improvements, Cyclical and Statutory Maintenance, Neighbourhood Plans and New Builds.
There will be significant investment in new vehicles, and in IT aimed at improving efficiency and responsive repairs timescales.
“We are really pleased to be building on our long-term relationship with Great Yarmouth Borough Council, which goes back to the formation of GYB Services in 2002,” commented Norse Managing Director Peter Hawes. “This new partnership takes the number of joint ventures Norse Group has with UK local authorities to twenty-three, with a combined annual turnover of more than £140 million.”
Cllr Penny Linden, the borough council’s cabinet member for communities, said: “This new joint venture company aims to make sure all maintenance and improvement work is done to the highest standards, in the most effective, efficient and economic way.
“By operating more efficiently, the borough council will be able to make savings, which will benefit tenants as the savings will be re-invested in council homes.
“And the new approach will also mean improved waiting times, a better quality of work, and overall better customer care, while providing a range of apprenticeships and increased opportunities for local businesses.”
This partnership follows the recent formation of Newport Norse, a joint venture in South Wales, and the company expects further significant growth over the next few months. Norse Sales Director Geoff Tucker said, “With these new partnerships, and a large number of contract awards across the UK, we have seen a 15% increase in turnover this year, and we expect this success to continue.”
18 additional staff TUPE transferred into the new company.