Recruitment hits record levels

Acorn, one of the UK's leading recruitment and training companies and Concept's parent company, has reported record sales in its North-East Wales offices in the first four months of 2009 despite the global economic climate.

Acorn's office in Wrexham reported 26% sales increases in comparison with the same period in 2008 while its office in Flint reported growth of 21%, reflecting a significant increase in the numbers of temporary and permanent positions they are being asked to fill.

The Acorn Group has 32 offices across the South West and North West of England, Wales and Scotland, and it is the two north Wales offices that are currently producing the company's best sales growth in the entire group.

Simon Mason, Acorn's Regional Manager for North Wales, said: "The results are quite outstanding despite the fact that times have been hard.

"We are the leading agency in the area, which undoubtedly helps - the two offices have been established for several years and we're very well known to both employers and job-seekers. But the main reason for us doing so well in both Wrexham and Flint is because the teams are made up of very skilled and focused operators who know their territories and individual clients very well and, in addition, they put in a lot of hard work.

"We have had great success with the holiday industry, which is currently in good shape, and with the promise of good weather and economic circumstances encouraging people to holiday in the UK this year.

"However, a large part of our business has always been in the manufacturing sector, parts of which have remained buoyant, despite the regular warnings of doom and gloom. In particular, we've found a lot of work with fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) in food production, ranging from bread to soft drinks - I guess almost regardless of the influence of the downturn we all still need to eat!"

Alison Broderick, Acorn's Regional Director said: "The teams in Wrexham and Flint have produced outstanding results and deserve our congratulations. Business across the board has picked up for the Acorn Group with performance currently ahead of budget.

"A recruitment agency like ours that provides staff to a range of different sectors is a useful indicator of recovery in a struggling economy. In a recovery period, employers will tend to take on temporary staff first before renewing their commitment to longer-term investment in permanent appointments.

"We have been experiencing that situation recently, which we hope is a sign that the economy is turning."

The Acorn Group works with some of the countries' leading employers, and across the UK places up to 5,500 people into about 750 different client companies each week. The company also delivers training to more than 3,000 individuals and makes 1,500 permanent placements every year.