The only good double-dip is a Swizzels double dip.

Ever get the feeling the news is always terrible just to keep us all a bit depressed and less likely to go on a rampage of looting and…oh, didn’t work, did it? The economic news is still down there, still threatening a double-dip, but is it the reality? I can tell you with hand on heart I have clients who are doing better this year than last year, and to me that spells G-R-O-W-T-H. It’s certainly not growth at the pace we’d like to see, but some companies are growing their turnover and making a profit, and they are doing that by doing two things. One is sticking to the business model and best practice that worked in the boom times. The other is by hiring people who might not have been available but for the recent economic situation. And that’s called catching the lemons life throws at you and making a big jug of lemonade.

At Harvey Lawrence, we have grown our workforce this year, and we have a small army of freelance candidates working with some of the top names in construction, regionally and nationally. We are also sticking to best practice and interviewing every candidate face to face, referencing them, and ensuring they have the right to work in the UK and the accreditation to work on site. (We stop short of doing random urine tests on our candidates, but only because no-one fancies holding the test tube). We believe that our brand values are permanent, not convenient, and we will adhere to them regardless of market forces. That’s how you know we’re Harvey Lawrence.

Into the Summer

Christmas came and went. Easter came and went. A Prince got married. What changed in the build market. On the face of it, not much. But a number of our contacts feel that under the surface things are getting better.

They are for Harvey Lawrence too. Our West Midlands office is up and in full swing, and we have welcomed two new members of staff and they have settled in well. We’d like to hear form our clients and candidates, find out your opinions on the state of the market and give you a forum to discuss what’s on your mind. We’re looking forward to hearing from more of you

Merry Christmas from Harvey Lawrence

It’s Christmas again, and we at Harvey Lawrence hope yule all have a cracker (oh dear oh dear)

 

2010 hasn’t been a vintage year for the construction industry. Let’s be honest, it started tough, then got a bit a tougher, then got quite tough, but lately we’ve seen some improvement in certain sectors which look like they will continue into 2011. Leisure and Food Retail have emerged as busy markets, so if you’ve built a swimming baths or a supermarket, 2011 might be your year. Government funding has been promised in number of areas but that hasn’t brought jobs to site as yet in any major way, although it was always likely that that would happen in the spring so there was no surprise in that. There is money for education, there is money for health, and there is some money for new social housing. Retail in general, and particularly food retail, is on the up and we expect an increase in demand for high calibre staff in those areas. Equally, leisure centres are going to site in the new year in different areas. Timing wise, this makes perfect sense. They take about 10 months to build, so they’ll be ready just in time for people to join the gym after eating too much NEXT Christmas. This is the kind of thinking we are coming across now, anticipation and forward-planning, optimism and ambition. and we think the people who think this way are right. Other possible growth sectors we have looked at are Nuclear, Education and Health, the last more in the refurb and maintenance side of construction.

 

There as been a definite shift over the last few months toward freelance, as clients look to fill vacancies on a project-by-project basis. This is something we expected, like most of the industry, `and makes a lot of commercial and practical sense. There is also a willingness to look at temp-to-perm options, so candidates who are used to the stability of permanent employment could use temporary contracts as a way back into that mode of working. Think of it as a working interview, a way to see if you fit with the company and the company fits with you. As the market recovers its even more vital than ever that the right people find the right jobs for the long-term. If you are looking for freelance or permanent employment in construction, keep an eye on our website as we post every permanent or temporary vacancy here.

 

If you’re a managerial or commercial candidate with experience in food retail or in leisure centres, we’d love to hear from you as these are very much growth areas and we have live vacancies right now. Send your CV to simon.hartland@harveylawrence.com and we’ll be in touch after the Christmas break (yes, we get one too, some years). Also, drop us a line if you think there are other growth sectors which you think we’d be wise to explore, maybe a sector you’d like to work in or have experience in. We’re called Recruitment Consultants for a reason – we are happy for you to consult us and we’d also like to consult you.

 

Harvey Lawrence would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and offer our best wishes for a prosperous 2011 for all of us. Eat, drink, be merry. Merry Christmas!

Pre-Construction Experience is Key

We’ve taken in a number of vacancies recently with a common theme – winning the bid. We’ve been asked to find Tender Planners , Project Managers with as much front end experience as they have build experience, and most recently a Senior QS/ Cost Planner. The West Midlands seems to still be a busy region, though more for smaller, sub-£5m schemes than any of the bigger stuff. So I suppose I should be asking if you have pre-construction experience, ideally on BSF schemes, or know of anyone who does who is looking for a move, let us know.

One trend we have noticed is that clients are actually giving us fewer instructions to find staff, but are actually recruiting more. It seems that our clients are unwilling to ask us to find people if they are not ready to actually employ them. This is in stark contrast to a year ago, at least from our experience, and feels like a very positive thing. Last year, a lot of jobs advertised by a lot of agencies evaporated into so much Scotch mist. That isn’t happening at the moment and it seems if a client says they are looking for staff, then they are definitely looking for staff. And more and more seem to be looking, so the green shoots of recovery are certainly popping up.

On an entirely patriotic but non-recruitment related note…..COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Project Managers listen up

It seems the threatened cuts in public spending aren’t going to bite as hard we thought, at least not immediately. A well-established main contractor has instructed us to identify a Project Manager with experience working as number 1 on schemes at and above £20m, ideally with some schools or university experience. This show some confidence in the market, particularly the North West which we’ve found to be very sluggish of late.

If you’re interested in this vacancy, or know anyone who could fill it, let us know

Halfway Through 2010

Almost halfway through 2010 and has much changed? Well, apart from a new government – hardly even made the news headlines, did it? – we have noticed an increase in vacancies, particularly permanent, although there does seem to be some freelance activity out there too. In the North West, the need seems to be for experienced main contractors’ Project Managers and Design Managers, and in the Midlands it’s Pre-Construction Coordinators and Site Managers who are in demand. These are main contractor vacancies, which suggests to us there is definitely an upturn in the market, if not yet an upsurge. Jobs are starting on site again.

On Civils, we are recruiting for clients who are looking for Senior Quantity Surveyors with heavy civils experience and also Rail Project Managers.

Hopefully this increase in activity will continue. We welcome any comments, either on the state of the market or regarding these vacancies.

The Midlands

We’ve been in the Midlands for a short while now and things have really started well for us.

Take a look at the job listings that can be accessed through the home page at www.harveylawrence.com and you’ll see just what we mean.

As the market continues to show small signs of recovery we will keep our job listings as up to date as possible giving you the confidence that, as always, Harvey Lawrence is doing all it can to further your career in construction.