Arthur McKay, a leading building support services provider in the UK and an Atalian Servest company, appoints David Prendergast and Justin Wolvin as Regional Directors to strengthen the team and expand sales development opportunities. David will steer both the Arthur McKay mechanical and electrical projects as well as subsidiary company Thermotech Solution’s fire protection teams. David is responsible for expanding Arthur McKay’s footprint in the North of England and will be leading the company’s new Stockport office. David was previously Managing Director at Thermotech Solutions where he developed the business to become one of the UK’s leading fire protection companies. This led to the acquisition by Atalian Servest to form part of Arthur McKay in 2018. He brings more than 20 years’ experience in the fire protection industry. “I’m delighted to be joining the Arthur McKay team and taking on the role of Regional Director. It’s been a pleasure working with the business during my time at Thermotech and we’ve had an exceptional journey together over the last couple of years. The fact that I have already worked very closely with Arthur McKay means I have a thorough understanding of the company’s position in the market,” commented on his appointment, David Prendergast. In his new role as Regional Director, Justin will drive the company’s sales development and will be responsible for rolling out the company’s new products and services, and pioneering growth in the Central England area. Justin will lead the Nottingham and Leeds offices. “It was a natural step for me to start delivering the projects I have developed over the last few years in a more client facing role. I’m so positive about the developments Arthur McKay has made, and about improving our offering to provide a truly end-to-end service solution for our existing customers, and new customers in different sectors,” said Justin Wolvin. Justin has almost 30 years’ experience in the electrical sector. He has been with Arthur McKay for over five years and was previously Development Director where he built up a solid sales pipeline for special projects he ran primarily in the prison and courts sectors. Before joining the company Justin worked for an electrical contractor for more than 20 years. “David and Justin are integral to the development of Arthur McKay. They both have extensive industry experience and knowledge of the business to start from an advantageous position. Their appointments are critical as we ramp up our expansion plans in the north. I’m pleased to welcome David to the Arthur McKay team, and Justin to his new position,” added Arthur McKay’s Managing Director, Steve Wallbanks.

Fexco Property Services is delighted to introduce our new Training Manager, and announce two important promotions for key members of our Crabtree brand. We welcome Kelly Banks as Training Manager, Kate Robinson becomes Associate Director – Operations and Hilton Grey becomes Associate Director – Property Management. Across the Group we aim to consistently provide our clients and customers with top professionals. By creating these new roles we can use our resources more efficiently and work smarter to deliver the best level of service. Kelly Banks MSc, MIRPM Training Manager Fexco Property Services Kelly joins Fexco Property Services as Training Manager for the group. Kelly will be developing and administering a Property Management training programme to help individuals and groups develop their skills and knowledge within their role. She has worked within Property Management for over 12 years, having fulfilled roles within the industry in Finance and has also been a Property Manager for over 7 years. Kelly is a member of IRPM and also obtained a master’s degree in Property Management and Investment whilst working as a Property Manager. Hilton Gray MIRPM and AssocRICS Associate Director – Property Management Crabtree PM Limited We are delighted to have Hilton return to Crabtree, he is an incredibly trusted and valuable team member. A driven, team-focused Senior Manager with 11 years’ experience in the Property and Built Environment Sector, Hilton has a proven ability to achieve performance-based targets and to build, sustain and support successful teams. Hilton has experience across both the private investor, development, and leasehold sectors, and has a distinctive flair for building long-lasting client and customer relationships. In his new role as Associate Director of Property Management, Hilton will provide leadership to the property team, bringing a professional and creative approach to property management. Kate Robinson MIRPM Associate Director – Operations Crabtree PM Limited Kate has over 15 years’ experience within the Property Management market. Her primary focus has been managing large high-end residential developments, but also has experience within the mixed-use market. Having worked within both management companies and client/development side enables Kate to have a full perspective of what is the appropriate customer service requirements and aims not only to provide this high level delivery to all clients and leaseholders but also to ensure that all team members working within Crabtree understand this requirement and manage accordingly. In her new role as Associate Director of Operations Kate will be concentrating much more on process and procedure within Crabtree, using her considerable experience to identify better ways to operate within the business.

East-Midlands-based multi-sector recruitment agency, Recruit 2 You, is celebrating its second business anniversary this month with national expansion plans on the horizon. The family-run company of recruitment specialists which has head offices in Heanor, Derbyshire, focuses on offering a personable and fresh approach to recruitment, providing tailored solutions for high-profile clients across the region and UK, matching candidates to roles across a variety of sectors. Founding directors Anita and Andy Jackson are husband and wife, and both head up the Recruit 2 You team which includes assistant director Jenna-Leigh Bates, who is also part of the family. The company was first launched as a multi-sector agency back in 2018 by Anita who is managing director, and has over a decade of experience in recruitment, having worked for a number of high-profile firms in the region. Since launching, the company’s client base has doubled in size, as has its team, with many high-profile brands using Recruit 2 You as a chosen ongoing recruitment supplier. Sticking to its company slogan – ‘Placing People First’, the Recruit 2 You team always strives to deliver exceptional results for clients and candidates seeking temporary, permanent or interim roles across a variety of industries. With its strong family roots, the business has been built around these values, and its close-knit team combines a diverse calibre of expertise with trust and respect – which has always remained at the heart of the business and the relationships extended to clients and customers. The company has maintained 100% client retention since its inception, and has primary focuses on the engineering, industrial and manufacturing and logistics and warehouse sectors, working also to recruit candidates across the procurement and supply chain, office and secretarial, construction and property, accounting and financial, and customer service and administration industries Anita Jackson, managing director of Recruit 2 You, said: “Every business milestone is exciting, but to be celebrating our second business anniversary is incredibly important to us and I am so proud of our strong and dedicated team who have worked very hard to get to this point. “I feel we have really held our own in a highly competitive industry, winning contracts over our competition and managing to hold a 100% client retention, with new client acquisitions on the horizon. “With the current COVID-19 crisis having a hard-hitting effect on the economy, business models are changing and the need for recruitment is higher than ever – we pride ourselves on having the experience, resources and dedication to save businesses time and money whilst sourcing the right candidates for roles, providing updates throughout the entire process. Looking to the future, with operations director Andy now taking a stronger lead in the business this year, the company is going for growth nationally and is looking to target specific sectors to support its existing clients and expand its offering, to open up opportunities for sector specific skilled candidates to join Recruit 2 You. As a direct result of COVID-19, the company has taken time to evaluate its offering and is keen to ensure that services are as easily accessible as possible to reach out to those seeking employment or recruitment advice. Teaming up with an ex recruiter, who is now working to produce the best user-friendly app on the market, Recruit 2 You is striving to ensure that its clients and candidates know exactly how to reach the team now and by the end of the pandemic.

The latest job market data from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job board, reveals that job vacancies plummeted by 78.4% in the construction sector in April, when looking at month-on-month data.  The study looks at job market activity throughout April, comparing the findings with the previous month and year to build an understanding of how the UK job market is fairing right now. The data shows that construction job numbers also dropped by a staggering 83.1% year-on-year.  Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, comments: “We’re trying to support UK businesses as much as possible right now, but everyone is feeling the financial effects of the current crisis. Thousands of companies have put a pause on their hiring plans until there’s more certainty in the market and the pandemic is having an impact on the construction industry.  “All we can do now is prepare for the recovery and hope that business confidence picks up over the next few months when lockdown restrictions eventually ease. Unfortunately, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel at this stage, especially as we move into the thick of the spring/summer period, which tends to be quieter for hiring anyway.”  Despite more Brits being out of work or placed on furlough in April, CV-Library’s data shows that application numbers also dropped significantly last month; down 34.7% in the construction sector when looking at month-on-month data and by 36.5% year-on-year.   In addition to these findings, the job board also explored the application to job ratio on its site and found that this increased by 276.7% in the construction industry in April, compared to the previous year. This means there is more competition amongst candidates for the roles that are available.  In fact, CV-Library’s data shows that there were an average of 60 applications per construction role in April 2020, as opposed to just 16 in April 2019.  Biggins concludes: “Unfortunately, organisations have had to make some tough decisions over the past six weeks, with ONS figures revealing that two thirds of businesses have placed staff on furlough. While these professionals might not be actively looking for work right now, especially at a time when there’s so much uncertainty, we do expect application figures to pick up in the coming months and clearly there is already increased competition for jobs.”