BWSR, the specialist recruitment arm of the Brightwork Group, the fast-growing Scottish recruitment agency, is undergoing a major expansion phase with exponential rises in sales over the past four years.
The professional, technical and managerial division, which was founded in just 2008, has increased its headcount from an initial three to eight and another two consultants are being actively sought to explore new business avenues.
Turnover in the division has risen almost 10-fold since its inception, with a 2012 forecast of £1,289,900, up from £139,540 in its first year of operation.
Shan Saba, director, said: "These are very impressive figures and they demonstrate that the specialist recruitment side of the Brightwork Group is as successful as the mainstream volume business, which is also doing very well."
The dynamic, full-service, cross-sector agency, created in 2006 out of an MBO, now has offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh, employs 44 staff and supplies up to 1500 workers a week to blue chips and SMEs.
The initial focus of the specialist arm was to supply added value services to existing clients within the group, but it has since created a whole new independent portfolio of clients.
Mr Saba said that its most successful sector was technical and engineering, supplying a spectrum of technical staffing from maintenance engineering level right through to director level candidates to the FMCG industry, general manufacturers, engineering and life sciences companies.
Other sectors serviced by BWSR include distribution, supply chain and procurement, with a strong focus on permanent recruitment solutions, along with a ability to fulfil temporary staffing requirements. The new consultants are being sought to take the company into IT and Finance.
Mr Saba said: "There is a significant demand for specialist engineering roles in the Central Belt of Scotland, but it is difficult to satisfy since wages are so much lower than in the Aberdeen area, hub of the North Sea oil and gas sector.
"This is not an issue in the short-term, since employers can bridge skills gaps by sub-contracting, but it has implications in the longer-term for the future health of manufacturing in this area and these skills shortages need to be addressed in the interests of the country as a whole."
The specialist recruitment arm has been designed to enhance and strengthen the Brightwork Group, which was founded in 2006 by group managing director Anthony Knight and group chief operating officer Charles Turner.
It posted a record £24m in sales in the year to December 2011, with after tax profits up to £750,000. The company has increased its staffing from 13 in 2006 to 44 now.
Anthony Knight said: "BWSR has contributed handsomely to the group since it was conceived in 2008 and we have every confidence that it will continue to do so.
"The turnover figures and the imminent rise in headcount are a tribute to the hard work, professionalism and dedication of a very talented team."
www.brightworkltd.com OR www.bwsr.co.uk.
Issued on behalf of Brightwork by Michael Crawford at BPM (UK), 0141 353 1515.
