A South Tyneside business which has accessed support to help employ people from a more diverse recruitment pool is encouraging others to follow its lead.
Pennguin, a multi-national ecommerce distributor headquartered in Jarrow, is among the businesses endorsing South Tyneside Council’s ‘Building a Stronger South Tyneside’ campaign.
The programme provides support and resources to businesses seeking to create jobs in the borough, by ensuring their workplaces and recruitment processes are inclusive to people from diverse backgrounds.
Dozens of businesses, including Pennguin, attended a special launch event for the campaign at South Shields town hall last month (27 June) aimed at supporting businesses to foster more inclusive and diverse workforces, highlighting the many benefits this can bring.
The ‘Building a Stronger South Tyneside’ campaign aligns with the UK Government’s Get Britain Working white paper, which has set out a national ambition to reduce economic inactivity and achieve an 80% employment rate by 2030.
Karl Beal, Country Manager, UK, said:
“We were struggling to recruit for numerous positions across the business, and had a really positive experience of working with South Tyneside Council to help us do so.
“Following a site visit, to understand more about our business and the roles we were advertising, the Council identified a range of local ‘job ready’ candidates they believed would be suitable for these roles.
“They asked that if instead of a formal interview, we would consider a job trial, which would be far more suitable, to many of the candidates who had previously worked in very hands-on industries.
“We agreed and this small change to the process we had typically used, had such a positive impact and really improved the candidate experience. We have recruited candidates that we may not have otherwise, and I would encourage other businesses to think outside the box in this way.”
One employee who joined Pennguin as a direct result of this process is Ronald Coxon, a pick and packer who recently joined the company following a career in security. Speaking about his experience, he said:
“South Tyneside Council basically got me an interview with the company and since I’ve been here, it’s been excellent.
“The people here are easy to work with and really go out of their way to help you if you’re stuck with your work. They’re a pleasure to work with.
“For anyone out there looking for work, I’d definitely recommend talking to South Tyneside Council. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the help you’ll get.”
Cllr Margaret Meling, lead member for economic growth and transport at South Tyneside Council, said:
“The Building a Stronger South Tyneside campaign was launched to help address economic inactivity across the borough and Pennguin is a perfect example of how it is doing just that.
“By making a series of incremental but impactful changes to the way it approaches the recruitment and retention of staff, the company has been able to provide opportunities to local people who may have faced barriers to employment in the past.
“We are delighted that South Tyneside Council were able to support Pennguin and are hopeful that, as more businesses engage, we can help open up quality employment opportunities to even more residents across the borough.”
For more information about the Building a Stronger South Tyneside campaign and other resources available to support employers visit: Building a Stronger South Tyneside – Invest South Tyneside
For more information about Skill-based assessments in recruitment : Skill-based Assessments in Recruitment – Invest South Tyneside
For more information about Pennguin: Pennguin.com | Expand Globally, Deliver Locally
