AN AWARD-WINNING recruitment firm pivoted in the pandemic to meet demand for high-flying candidates.
S2 Recruitment – part of the Colwyn Bay and Bangor-based Supertemps Group – is focused on filling positions in managerial and executive roles, with a particular vacancy rise in areas such as HR, business analytics, IT, and finance.
Candice Chartrand is spearheading the department and says there has been a surge in applications and interest in past months.
Originally from Canada, the 33 year-old moved to the UK aged 21 and completed a degree in Business before working in visual merchandising and telesales and joining Supertemps two years ago.
After a challenging period for the industry, she says there has been an uplift in past months.
“S2 Recruitment was launched primarily to target the IT, executive and engineering sectors, and has been very successful in doing so over the last five years,” said Candice.
“However, since the beginning of the summer – as Coronavirus restrictions began to ease – we have seen more and more interest on the executive side, with a growing number of high-level senior positions coming in, notably in the business and finance arena.
“On a personal note, I am thrilled to have moved across from Supertemps to concentrate more on this side of the business as it’s an area we are looking to expand in the new year.
“Hopefully after such a difficult time for so many professions we continue to see things improve and candidates across the region eager to fill these exciting roles, roles which indicate recruitment confidence is on the rise.”
As well as taking on the S2 role earlier this year, Candice successfully achieved a Level 3 Certificate in Recruitment Practice via the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) while in lockdown.
Supertemps Managing Director Sarah Ellwood praised her determination and diligence throughout the pandemic and said: “The lion’s share of Candice’s time with us has been spent working from home due to Covid-19, so she’s done incredibly well to gain this accreditation and make strides with the organisation.
“From Anglesey to Wrexham we are seeing an increase in jobs and it’s looking a lot more positive on the candidate side, so we are hopeful that continues.
“Job figures have been at record numbers, but companies have been struggling to recruit; anyone who has taken their time to make decisions has missed out, so we encourage people to get in touch if they need any support of advice.”
Most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed unemployment fell to 4.6% in the three months to July, while the employment rate rose to 75.2%.
And data from HM Revenue & Customs showed the jobs boom continued in August, with payroll employment up by 241,000 on the month to match pre-pandemic levels. The number of unfilled positions hit 1.034m in the three months to August, the first time it has surpassed the 1m mark since the ONS started monitoring job advertisements 20 years ago.
