Member Article

New Youth Recruitment Service

A South Tyneside recruitment and training business have celebrated the official opening of their new office and training suite with several launch events.

Rising Star, sister company of Hebburn based recruitment consultancy Zenith People, focusses primarily on getting young people aged between 16 and 24 into sustainable employment whether that be on an apprenticeship, traineeship or as a full time employee.

The launch events included one for strategic partners, employers and young people, which were held to mark this exciting development in the organisations growth.

Latest figures show that the North East has the highest unemployment rate in the UK, at 10.3%, with 24.5% of young people aged 16 – 24 living in the region also unable to find work.

Rising Star hope to bridge the gap between young people and employers and have new and exciting apprenticeship, traineeship and job vacancies coming in on daily basis, as well as running their own Rising Star Bootcamp.

Rising Star and Zenith People Managing Director, Angela Anderson, piloted her Rising Star idea back in February 2013 with 60% of attendees from the first bootcamp going into work.

“Rising Star is a youth recruitment and training business – a recruitment agency for young people which aims to provide them with ‘real life’ advice and training, helping them secure employment and take control of their career.” she said.

“Rising Star also delivers a recruitment service to employers looking to employ young people – whether in full employment, apprenticeships or work experience.

“We can connect employers with talented and enthusiastic young people who can complement their current team.”

The idea behind Rising Star was to create an recruitment bootcamp, which would consist of a five day workshop providing support and guidance on all aspects of the recruitment process – leading to an opportunity to apply for live apprenticeships, traineeships and jobs.

This has evolved over the months so that now there are a number of programmes for young people to chose from.

Rising Star Graduate, Adam Coulson, attended the bespoke Willmott Dixon Traineeship Bootcamp and as a result of a successful placement he secured a full time position with a national scaffolding sub – contractor.

“I had started a couple of different construction based apprenticeships but due to circumstances which were out of my control, I was unable to complete them.” said Adam.

“The Rising Star Bootcamp was fantastic! I was so focused on doing well as I could see a genuine opportunity to secure a Traineeship placement at the end of the week.

“The whole of the Rising Star team were excellent! I got on with them really well. We could all have a laugh but when we needed to crack on with the work we did so. It was a good balance of fun and seriousness.

“I can’t thank the Rising Star team enough for their help and guidance, their support was invaluable to me getting to where I am now.’

Andy Ray, Senior Building Manager at Willmott Dixon also touched on how impressed he was with the Rising Star team.

“The drive, determination and at times tough discipline delivered by the Rising Star team has succeeded in equipping each of the candidates with some valuable life skills which I have no doubt will only serve them well in the future.”

Willmott Dixon were so impressed with Rising Star Traineeship Programme that there is another dedicated Bootcamp scheduled for later this month.

Angela Anderson believes that youth unemployment figures in the region need to be addressed and is more than confident that Rising Star can help.

“Youth unemployment is a real issue in this region. By establishing Rising Star we’re hoping to give young people the skills and support they need to secure employment and take control of their future.” she said.

“It’s a tough job market and we’re giving young people the competitive advantage they need to stand out.

“We’ve seen amazing results so far and it’s a thoroughly satisfying process to be involved with.

“Over the coming months we’re hoping to grow our employer contacts and help even more young people to buck the trend and secure their future.”

To find out more information on Rising Star or to book a place on their Bootcamps, please contact the team on 0191 427 4651 or email enquiries@zenithrisingstar.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gordon Wallis .