With the school summer holidays almost over, a North East specialist recruitment firm is gearing up for the new term after their increased workload demanded a move to newer and bigger premises.
Newcastle based, The Education Network, represents teachers, teaching assistants, nursery nurse staff and SEN specialists and matches them with schools and colleges looking for staff, be it for supply work for short-term contracts or long-term, permanent roles.
The firm has undergone a dramatic rise since opening its doors in 2011 with just three staff. Now, with 12 staff in two North East offices (Newcastle and Spennymoor) and a turnover that has risen from £650k in their first year to a staggering £6million this year, the firm has moved into larger premises in Newcastle to meet the demand fuelled by its own success.
Director Kevin Gill, originally from Walker but now living in Cramlington didn't have far to travel to find his firm's ideal location.
"We were very lucky to find that additional space above our old offices in Pilgrim Street became available to us. The extra space has allowed us to generally make things more comfortable and even more business like for our staff and clients."
The new space is a massive five times larger than the previous offices and has a kitchen, staff rest room and a dedicated reception area. The property also benefits from air conditioning too, which has made working conditions much better for everyone.
"It is a very relaxed working environment and we encourage our staff to share in the firm's success," said Kevin. "Our biggest asset is our staff and they deserve to work in the best conditions possible as ultimately they're responsible for our success.
"We don't have sales targets or KPI's but we do expect everyone to be fully committed to excellent customer service and know exactly what our customers need for their schools. We've found that our staff are very community focused too and, as a result, our team is very motivated and driven. This shows in the quality of the teaching staff that we supply to our clients. Only the very best is acceptable."
Indeed, The Education Network has a proud reputation for its excellent community work and for sponsoring school teams particularly in the fields of sport and dance as fellow Director, Shaun Porter from Wallsend explained.
"Since we started working in the North East, we've always taken a lead in sponsoring worthwhile sporting and other activities such as Sainsbury's School Games, numerous football tournaments, Newcastle Eagles School Basket Ball League and Walbottle Dance Academy. These events fit our work ethos and it's good to be able to plough our profits back into the communities where we work.
"However, there is another reason, physical activity for children has been linked to positive self-esteem, skill development, skeletal and cardiovascular health, and general healthy development. It is now widely established that childhood is the best time to establish positive attitudes and behaviour relating to physical activity and a healthy lifestyle.
"We are in the business of making a difference to the quality of education for thousands of children and anything we can do to enhance that further has got to be very worthwhile."