Partner Article

North East manufacturers urged to plan now as peak season approaches

Senior Recruitment Consultant Peter Hedges says the region's employers face a two-speed market this autumn, and the ones who plan now will be the ones who cope.

With peak season fast approaching, North East businesses in FMCG, food and automotive are being encouraged to get their staffing plans in place now, rather than scrambling when demand hits.

Peter Hedges, Senior Recruitment Consultant at South Tyneside-based We Are Zenith, specialises in those three sectors and works with operations and HR managers across the region every day. He says the same problems come up again and again at this time of year.

"Someone's called in sick again, a new contract has landed, or peak has crept up faster than expected," said Peter. "Operations managers are trying to plug gaps on the floor and HR teams are dealing with absence they didn't see coming. The last thing they need is agency faff and candidates who can't do the job."

Fast, but not rushed

We Are Zenith offers a same-day response to urgent staffing requests, with every candidate screened, assessed and matched before an employer sees them. The aim is simple: people who can do the job from day one, not just a body to fill a shift.

For businesses facing a seasonal surge, the team can scale a workforce up quickly without the usual last-minute panic.

"Reliable matters more than available," added Peter. "If someone's been let down by an agency before, it's usually because they were treated as a number. We get to know the business properly, so the people we send actually fit."

More than a quick fix

Built around three pillars, Recruit, Develop and Retain, We Are Zenith supports employers beyond immediate cover. Temporary staff today can become part of a longer-term workforce strategy, backed by learning and development and retention support to help businesses keep and grow their people.

Clients deal with a named contact rather than a portal, supported by a team with deep knowledge of the North East talent pool, local market and the businesses within it.

A two-speed market

Peter has also launched the North East Manufacturing Labour Market Pulse, a new weekly report for manufacturers across Tyne & Wear, County Durham, Northumberland and Teesside.

The first edition covers current labour market trends, the skills shortages hitting manufacturers right now, regional investment and growth activity, recruitment insights with practical action points, and the challenges shaping engineering, maintenance and production hiring.

A key theme this week is what Peter calls a two-speed market. Candidate availability is improving in some areas, while technical and engineering roles remain extremely difficult to fill.

"That split is exactly why planning ahead matters," said Peter. "General operative roles might be easier to fill than a year ago, but if you need a maintenance engineer for peak, you should have started looking yesterday."

Get in touch

Short-staffed or planning for peak? Call We Are Zenith on 0191 490 6769, email peter@we-are-zenith.com or visit www.we-are-zenith.com.

Not recruiting right now but want to stay in the know? Peter's weekly North East Manufacturing Labour Market Pulse is free for anyone working in manufacturing, engineering, operations or HR. To receive a copy or be added to the weekly distribution list, connect with Peter Hedges on LinkedIn or email peter@we-are-zenith.com with "Labour Market Pulse" in the subject line.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by We Are Zenith .