LA International celebrates its silver jubilee and is on Target for 100 Million

Founded 25 years ago in 1982 by Chairman and CEO Paul Lukic, the entrepreneur was determined that LA International would become the largest single site IT recruitment provider in Europe, built firmly upon a clearly defined vision of quality and professionalism that has never wavered through the 25 years of growth. Speaking of success and vision, Paul Lukic said: ìyou have a vision that is so powerful that passion and determination take over and you develop a sense of destiny, a will to win and be the best. You work eight hours a day for survival, but everything over eight hours a day is for success.î

Single Site Philosophy

At the heart of his strategy and outstanding success has been the implementation of the ësingle site philosophyí which combined with technology, has proved to be a winning formula enabling cost efficiencies and value to be passed on to the client, a proven strategy which has led the way for many ardent followers.

And itís no wonder as Lukicís strategy has taken LA International from 1982ís single handed recruitment consultancy to become one of todayís top independently owned success stories. Having the accolade of the third largest single site office in the UK ranked by turnover, an accolade that Chairman and CEO Paul Lukic is justifiably proud. Itís a journey that has seen the company win quality awards from many major multinationals and counted over 90% of the UKís FTSE companies as its clients in addition to supporting major IT and Engineering projects throughout 23 countries.

Quality

The early eighties saw many less scrupulous recruitment businesses come and go but Lukic was determined that the LA empire would lead the way for professionalism and quality through excellence in recruitment practices and business ethics. LA International became a member of REC in the 1980ís and in the early 90ís, were implementers of BS and ISO standards ensuring high levels of professionalism and quality throughout the business.

To ensure industry cohesion, Lukic together with his own in house legal team have been proactive in working with the likes of REC and the DTI over the years to evolve and lobby for best business practice in proposed legislation.

Innovative

Recruiting today at LA international is very different from the early days when LA International began; available technologies were limited at best. Throughout the years LA International have pioneered recruitment system software and recruitment workflow methodologies often working alongside software providers in the very early development stages, a move that has helped shape standard products available on the market today. LA International now has a new level of technology and tools in development which will meet the new challenges ahead and the shape of technology in recruitment to come.

Eight Specialist Divisions spanning a breadth of market sectors

ìModern communications and technology is vital for successî says Scott Henry Managing Director ìa structure for delivery is also key and LA have carefully structured itís recruitment divisions according to customer demands and today we believe that each of our eight specialist divisions, which could be thriving businesses in their own right, has the capacity to move forward to another levelî LA Internationals eight specialist divisions include the following: Government, Financial, International, ICT, Engineering, Major Accounts, Managed services and Permanent divisions.

LA provide specialists on a local, national and international front, a centre of excellence that is as diverse in breadth as the companies longevity - ranging from IT and Engineering Contract or Permanent staff, through to full Managed Service and Master Vendor solutions. As a consequence LA International has one of the largest, most up to date and technically diverse databases of IT and Engineering candidates in Europe.

Central and secure Government Approved Accreditation

LAís Government Division provides ICT, Business and Project Management contract and consultancy resources to many areas of the UK Government. Today, LA International is recognised as a ëtop fiveí Public Sector IT recruitment consultancy and the UKís leading provider of Security Cleared resources to the National Security and Defence market. Paul Kay Sales Director said îFor over a decade, LA International has worked with secure areas of the UK Government and continues to be one of a very small number of IT recruitment consultancies that is trusted to provide technical and project based staff to work in the most sensitive departments with responsibility for protecting the UK and its citizensî Nominated for ëBest Public Sector Agencyí at the National Recruiter Awards in both 2005 and 2006, LAís Government Division has also been awarded Framework status on some of the most high profile Government Frameworks including CATALIST (Formerly S-CAT), DCSA-Cat (MoD), PASA (NHS) and CIPHER (DWP).

People at the heart of LA International

Of course, LAís success isnít just about a winning formula, diverse business divisions, forward thinking strategy, candidate respect and the technology to deliver. The vital ingredient at the heart of LA International is its People and the effort and commitment that they continually make day in day out to be the best in what they do. Five years ago LA International celebrated its 20th anniversary with a champagne hospitality reception at Ascot races for all its staff, this year they are planning to celebrate the 25th anniversary with an event of equal standing and quality to recognise the efforts that all the staff have made. Whilst LA International is today as young and vibrant as it ever was ñ as you would expect from these purveyors of recruitment excellence, there are a few hundred years of combined expertise at the helm and their readiness to meet the increasing opportunities are now stronger than ever.

Investing in Academy Training

When it comes to internal recruitment, LAís own HR team continues to deliver results and success, one strategy has been the development of the LA International Graduate Training Academy working proactively with a selection of local universities to highlight and attract exceptional candidates at an early stage. All staff are backed by a comprehensive Training and Development programme that continues to produce high achievers. This is supported by exceptional remuneration and benefit packages that are second to none in the industry. The combination of these factors has ensured that the levels of growth achieved to date can continue well into the future.

Europeís Top 500

Measured against turnover, organic growth and entrepreneurial factors LA International has met its target to increase its workforce by an impressive 30% to approximately 100 staff at its prestigious 2 million headquarters. This has placed LA International in the top 500 fastest growing European companies for the last two years according to the annual ranking of high growth, job creating companies published by Europeís 500 Entrepreneurs for Growth and supported by Microsoft and KPMG.

Financial Standing

Paul Martin Financial Director said ìLA International has gone from strength to strength in its financial standings; consistent growth has been built on a platform of detailed financial planning, cash flow forecasting and expenditure management to ensure that our growth has not come at a cost to profitability. This has been recognised by Dunn and Bradstreet who recently reported that LA International has one of the highest financial strength indicators in our market - Less than 0.5% of industry competitors have a higher financial strength ratingî

Continued Growth and New Wins

Today, with achievements and growth coming from all divisions, Paul Lukic has driven LA International through the highs and lows of the last twenty five years, building on the successes that his vision and energy has created, resulting in an annual turnover in excess of 70 Million and an impressive growth rate of 30% over the past 12 months alone, positioning the company to hit itís turnover target of 100M in the next two years.

In Belgium LA International plays a leading role for the central European mobile communications firm Belgacom Mobile / Proximus and has been selected as the giants only UK first-tier supplier, other recent new wins from both new and established clients include DWP, British Energy and Transport for London, adding to the impressive portfolio of clients who have ëpreferredí to work with LA International throughout 23 countries.

Derek Crummack, Business Development Director said îA contributing factor is LA Internationalís Secure Government Approved status. The increased demand for LA Internationalís specialist security cleared resource service has resulted in 40% growth in this sector alone.î Today Central Government Departments increasingly rely on LA International to supply Security Cleared IT contractors for business critical and National Security projects.

CEO Paul Lukic .î raising the gameÖ weíre ready.. ì

ìToday at LA International, weíre positioned more than ever to meet the challenges ahead, going from strength to strength, constantly keeping pace with technological developments - ensuring we have the edge on trading platforms, not only for our staff, but also for our customers who demand professionalism and valueî said Chairman and CEO Paul Lukic. ìA number of factors have contributed to our strong positioning and the key is recognising that we are only as good as our people and the decisions we make. The potential within the company is vast and it is up to us to push forward into the future. As a company we are more than ready to grasp our opportunities and achieve our objectivesî