The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 42: April/May 2019 | Page 23

WHY WILTSHIRE? JUICE RECRUITMENT LOOKS AT THE LOCAL LABOUR MARKET By Emma Summers, Managing Director, Juice Recruitment In recent years Wiltshire has become established as an entrepreneurial hub with the region seeing significant growth in the number of start-ups and small enterprises. We’ve often heard the stereotype that employment in Wiltshire centres solely around warehouse and industrial work, but that’s not an accurate reflection of the county today. Juice Recruitment has found that there is far more variation and depth to the Wiltshire labour market. Official statistics show that 12.7% of jobs in the county are managerial, directorial and senior. This is in comparison to a figure of 11.2% for the South West and 10.8% for the UK in general. We’ve noticed a distinct expansion in Wiltshire’s creative sector, with the county sourcing a higher number of roles in marketing, design and communications than we’ve ever seen before. The Wiltshire candidate pool is highly skilled and the county is well positioned to attract candidates from Bristol, Bath, Gloucestershire, Dorset and Southampton. In addition, many of our consultants have noted a high influx of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) candidates in recent years due to the proximity of first-class universities such as the University of Bristol and the University of Bath. Many businesses we work with have established themselves in the region not only because of a cheaper workforce, but due to lower overheads compared to cities like London, Birmingham and Bristol. The combination of a highly skilled workforce, low employment costs and a wide labour catchment means that Wiltshire is quickly becoming a hub for great creative businesses in the South West. Juice Recruitment is excited to be recruiting in such a dynamic, diverse labour market and to be working with some of the most extraordinary businesses in the area. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for the enterprise hub of Wiltshire. For more info: www.juicerecruitment.com “Official statistics show that 12.7% of jobs in the county are managerial, directorial and senior.” @JuiceRecruit Selling is a professional skill – and the earlier you embrace it the better By Paul Holmes, PCH Business Support Building relationships is at the heart of what I have always strived to do and it’s served me well with a fantastic first quarter in 2019. “The ability to sell your products or services is key” One thing I’ve learned in developing my own business is the ability to sell your products or services is key. Sounds obvious of course. However for many of us, we don’t really understand how critical it is until we hit a roadblock or we plateau and struggle to move beyond current turnover and profit. I’ve learned that when the ability to ‘sell’ is not natural to you or your team then growing the business is slower, harder and definitely less sustainable. Personally, I have been running capital projects and helping businesses evaluate and plan for growth over the last two years, yet grasping this fact about selling has seen a really exciting start to this year. I’m working with new clients, helping existing clients to grow and referrals are now really starting to bear fruit. Getting to this point has been hard fought. In hindsight marketing and sales support much earlier in my business evolution would have been a worthwhile investment. With that in mind, I realise more than ever that having more of this type of commercial support for clients will also speed their growth. I am delighted to announce, after getting to know Ashley Hutchinson at A&S Business Consultants over the last 18 months, we have agreed to collaborate more closely. This allows my business to really develop and offer a sales focussed offering through our strategic relationship. Over time this should create new opportunities in new markets, adding sales and marketing support for PCH clients and, in turn, offering process, projects and manufacturing support for the clients of A&S Business Consultants. Ashley has a strong background in sales and marketing and has developed his business over the last seven years. “I am looking forward to working with Paul. Since I have known him he has consistently demonstrated a real expertise in manufacturing processes, project management and capital projects. These areas fall outside of my natural expertise and being able to provide a more Paul Holmes – Managing Director PCH Business Support 07715008521 [email protected] www.pchbusinesssupport.co.uk complete offer to my clients would add value to the relationship,” Ashley commented. “It is so important in a collaboration you get on with your partner as well as having complimentary skills and expertise. Delivering the best results for my clients is what drives me and I believe, working with Paul will really help that.” To find out how Ashley and I can drive the growth of your business get in touch. Ashley Hutchinson – Managing Director - A&S Business Consultants 07511001157 [email protected] www.asbusinessconsultants.uk THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019 23