Almost 1000 people have benefited from the Recruitment & Skills Centre (RSC) at Fort Kinnaird Shopping Park in six months.
The Centre, which opened in September 2013, has welcomed jobseekers for pre-employment training courses and employers using it for induction programmes and staff training. It also hosted a festive recruitment campaign which saw over 350 people secure temporary Christmas work
A third of those hired for temporary Christmas positions went on to secure permanent employment at Fort Kinnaird.
Liam Smith, Centre Manager at Fort Kinnaird, said: “RSC has had a phenomenally successful first six months and we are sure it is going to continue to grow in popularity throughout 2014 and beyond.”
The Centre is housed at Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh’s largest shopping park. It launched the RSC to support its shops, restaurants and support facilities with recruitment and workforce development training needs. It was also established to help jobseekers in the area find and retain employment.
It helps employers find the right candidates by advertising vacancies, providing interview facilities, workforce development and pre-recruitment training. It also offers business growth advice to SMEs. Prospective employees are supported through an offering of a number of services including training, job searches, as well as CV and interview workshops and employment referrals.
Liam added: “As far as we are aware, this is a unique partnership service being offered and supported by a shopping centre. We are delighted to play a role in this important service provision which benefits not only our tenants, but those looking for work in the area.
“There has been a great demand for the services the Centre offers and the team continues to work hard to develop further opportunities to bring employers and jobseekers together.”
Ninety per cent of employers who undertook Christmas recruitment did so through the RSC and two thirds of these kept some or all staff on in permanent roles. These stores include well-known brands such as Mothercare, The Range, JD Sports, Toys R Us and the Body Shop.
Already twelve stores have used the Centre for staff recruitment, induction or training purposes involving almost 400 people. There have also been nine pre-employment courses delivered involving around 200 people with more courses planned in the coming months.
RSC is joint venture between Fort Kinnaird and ‘Joined Up for Business’, Edinburgh’s Business Support Service, which seeks to grow employment opportunities by making it easier to do business in Edinburgh. It is a partnership of key agencies which include the City of Edinburgh Council, Business Gateway, Capital City Partnership, JobCentre Plus, Skills Development Scotland, Edinburgh College, NHS Lothian and Edinburgh’s ‘Joined Up for Jobs’ organisations including The Cyrenians who take a leading role in the initiative.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
