Member Article

South Tyneside recruitment business creates 3 jobs as turnover increases by £65k

A South Tyneside business has created three new jobs, safeguarding a further two roles, and seeing turnover increase by £65k thanks to a grant from Investment for Growth.

Zenith People is a recruitment and training business, working with its clients and candidates across sectors including engineering and manufacturing, construction and energy, to deliver effective recruitment solutions.

One arm of the business is ‘Rising Star’, a division specialising in recruitment for young people in the region aged between 16-24 years.

The company took the decision to develop the Rising Star brand and build a dedicated website that would allow young job applicants to book onto training workshops and view job vacancy listings online, with the aim of growing this arm of the business and attracting new customers.

Angela and her team made the application to Investment to Growth in March this year, and soon after Zenith People’s application had been approved, the funds were made available only a few weeks later.

Since the launch of the Rising Star website, coupled with the development of the brand’s look and feel, Zenith People has enjoyed a steady stream of new custom, specifically from its target market of young people seeking training, apprenticeships and employment opportunities across a number of sectors.

As a result, three new jobs have been created at Zenith People and a further two have been safeguarded. In the first six months following the launch of the Rising Star website, turnover had increased by £65k with the figure continuing to grow.

Investment for Growth recently announced it is increasing the value of the project size it can consider to £15k when awarding funds to the region’s small to medium-sized enterprises.

The project, which is part financed by the European Regional Development fund, is now calling for more SMEs – like Zenith People – to take advantage of the opportunity before it is too late.

Managing director of Zenith People, Angela Anderson, said: “We were aware of a relatively untapped market in providing recruitment services specifically for young people across the sectors that we work.

“We decided that in order to grow the business and break into this new market, we needed to develop a specialist service with its own distinct brand identity that would appeal to 16-24 year olds but would also set a professional tone.

“The grant from Investment for Growth has allowed us to create a new website for Rising Star, as well as developing a brand identity, and also refreshing the existing Zenith People website.

“Our web presence has improved significantly and is certainly attracting a number of new customers and clients.

“We’re delighted with the result of this project and are excited by our plans to further expand into other new markets.

“None of this would have been possible without the funding from Investment for Growth.

“The whole process was simple and straightforward, so much so, I would not hesitate to recommend my advisor to other business owners.

“In fact, we have a new project in the pipeline; I had hoped to use Investment for Growth for further funding as it was such an easy experience, but unfortunately, businesses are only permitted to use the fund once.”

Business adviser at Investment for Growth, Kate Ward, said: “Angela and her team at Zenith People have taken an innovative idea and used the funding to set them apart from their competitors and address a gap in the market place.

“The project is a great example of how Investment for Growth can help businesses diversify, showing real growth and improved business results within a relatively short space of time.”