Member Article

North East recruitment entrepreneur eyes Scotland

Recruitment firm Concept Personnel has launched an Edinburgh office as part of its long term plans to establish the Newcastle-based company in other areas of the UK.

Specialising in the advertising, marketing and media sector, Concept Personnel was established by entrepreneur Jo Carter almost five years ago to match creative specialists with agencies and in-house departments looking for permanent or freelance staff. The company includes many of the North East’s leading agencies and in-house creative teams on its books, and its recently relaunched website at www.conceptpersonnel.com takes over 1000 individual visitors and 16,000 hits every month.

Jo Carter said: “The specialist report we commissioned into the Scottish creative sector threw up some interesting parallels between North East England and Scotland. “Both regions have a thriving creative sector producing award-winning work, which results in strong demand for talented staff, both in agencies and in-house. Employment prospects and benefits packages also stand up well to what’s on offer elsewhere in the UK, which means people don’t need to head for the bright lights of London or Manchester to further their careers.”

Jo has spent the last few months meeting employers and agencies in and around Edinburgh and Glasgow, learning about their business culture and the level of service they expect from their recruitment partners.

Jo said: “Nearly every Scottish company I have met so far already has a Geordie among their staff, and with just over an hour’s journey time between the North East and Scotland I’m confident we can help employers tap into the huge pool of creative talent in the North East - something that many of the people I’ve met recently are keen to do. The response we’ve had so far demonstrates that there is room for some healthy competition in the Scottish recruitment sector, and we have already been briefed by several big name agencies in the area looking for staff.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .