Scottish Jobs

Salmon Smokehouse Further Job Boost

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:56:00 +0000

A Seafood firm which has featured in our blog previously continues to grow with the announcement of the creation of 25 new jobs .James Smokehouses based in Annan ,Dumfriesshire is adding a new production line to create more ranges in it's award winning products and is adding 25 jobs new jobs as it gears up for new production line in its expanded facilities.
The newly developed unit will act as a a fish filleting operation, will see the Smokehouses production boom. James Maher the company president , said: “What we’ve built has the capacity to do 142,000 kg a week -- and that’s only one one shift, five days a week. “Potentially you can do two shifts, and you’ve got the potential for 300,000 kg a week.”
The Recruitment drive for the line has already taken place to add to the 50 existing staff, with Mr Maher describing that the vacancies recieved a ‘really good response’.
And although the compnay originates in Newton Stewart in West Dumfriesshire there were was good business reasons for building the smokehouse in Annan.He explained: “One of the original attractions for me of Annan is that there is a large number of experienced people who are already fully qualified and trained and experienced in the fish industry and working with food products.”
James Smokehouses also have a base in Miami, James Smokehouse distributes products around the world, which includes Australia, Portugal within the last week and shortly in Saudi Arabia, while attending trade shows in Amsterdam and Brussels.
And the company too ,is looking to add to the two awards it won in last year’s Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards, nominated in the categories Retail Fish and Food Service at the 2012 ceremony taking place on May 24.

Technicians Boost!

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:15:00 +0000

Great news for job seekers! Employers back new Commitment to professional technicians A new formal Commitment to professional technicians has been launched following an 18 month employers’ review revealing an alarming gap between the number of technicians in the UK and the 450,000 skilled roles that will need to be filled if the economy is to recover and continue to compete internationally.
The technicians, skilled to a professional level, are needed to fill roles in engineering, science, medicine and many other technical occupations by 2020 but there are currently only about 15,000 people sufficiently qualified to take those jobs.
The review was undertaken by the Technician Council, a government funded body tasked with making recommendations on the future of technicians.
It sets out eight practical recommendations for action, which will be delivered through this new Commitment backed by UK employers, professional bodies and sector skills councils.
The Commitment, launched by Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid plc and Chairman of the Technician Council, is supported by Oliver Letwin MP, Minister for Government Policy advice, and John Hayes MP, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning. They hope that the enhanced recognition, rewards and lifelong learning opportunities will encourage more young people to embark on a career in technical skills.
The Technician Council’s recommendations are aimed at providing clear, structured career paths for technicians. They strengthen the infrastructure underpinning the registration and professional development of technicians, provide active support and increase the pool, status, transferability and diversity of professional technicians across all sectors of industry.

Click here to see Steve Holliday explain morehttp://www.broadcastexchange.tv/live/employers-back-new-commitment-to-professional-technicians

Would Scottish Independence adversely affect job prospects in Scotland?

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:01:00 +0000

My answer to this question is I don’t know and despite what all the politicians tell us, unless they possess Psychic abilities no one actually knows but, I hope that I give a more balanced outlook than someone who has a already formed a strong opinion; because as we know when someone is in either of these highly passionate camps they tend not to want to see the other perspective.

So lets look at :

Yes it would

In the period leading up to the independence vote in Autumn 2014, experience tells us that there may well be some external companies that who may have thought about coming to Scotland who would now think twice in this unsettling period. Primarily because they are not sure of what they would be getting into and what sort of political landscape an independent Scotland could sustain. This is backed up by the fact that in the period leading up to the last General / Scottish elections there was a definite lull in job vacancies being posted. This was further exacerbated in the period after the election, when spending cuts were to be announced by both the Westminster Government and the Scottish Government. This period was definitely the dead zone in terms of job vacancies. So it would be logical to assume that another period of electoral uncertainty would have the same affect.

Even though the proposed voting date on Scottish Independence has been suspiciously proposed to coincide with when we might be at our most nationalistic and euphoric, having just hopefully hosted a (hopefully) successful Commonwealth Games, the 700^th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn and hosting the Ryder Cup. There may be feel-good factor within Scotland, but this is not likely to influence external investors who will take a much more strategic view. It may well be that many external investors decide to not come immediately to an independent Scotland and take a ‘wait and see’ approach as they can still have a presence on this island in England or Wales.

After a yes vote, how inward investment is managed and how open we are as a nation to managing, attracting and maintaining external investors will be the key. Even if all the factors are there in terms of possible investors, how do we as a nation deal with them or do we make it so difficult in terms of demands that they go elsewhere. This is significant in terms of the red tape and restrictions around setting up in business in an independent Scotland and the attitude of the workforce.

No it wouldn’t

The argument of the pro independents is that Scotland has the natural resources, workforce and will to go it alone. The nationalists have provided figures stating that we can easily pay for ourselves and that we currently contribute more to the UK than we take out. However the anti – independents can produce equally valid, sexy and impressive figures to say the exact opposite.

However if we believe the argument that we can pay for ourselves then why wouldn’t we look like a good bet for companies to set up in? The plan is that corporation tax would be lower and that incentives would be high. . If we make it easy and inviting with a willing workforce then coming to a Scotland with something to prove may be an attractive draw

Where there are significant public sector cuts currently, it may well be that an independent Scotland may have to have a significant recruitment drive in order to have the political infrastructure that an independent nation requires. These roles include embassies etc

Unlike many who are currently writing on the pros and cons of an independent Scotland, I am very willing to say that I cannot call it on the question of jobs as I can see both sides of the argument both for and against. I honestly think that it will depend on our attitude and willingness to work particularly with inward investors but also the facilities and monitoring processes to grow home grown businesses.

Part 2 -Mcholmes in St Andrews

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:46:00 +0000

The job detective has sent us another snap from his holiday album,here savouring the atmosphere at golf's most famous landmark,the Swilken Bridge on the Old Course St Andrews,where many a golfer dreams to tread ....Keep your eyes peeled for wayward balls though Mcholmes!!

The job detective holiday snaps- Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:30:00 +0000

The job detective ,Sherlock Mcholmes who found employment through this site ,recently sent us here at Scottishjobsonthe.net ,some snaps from his recent break in Scotland.This time the detective visited Fife which indeed boasts an array of attractions ,which Mcsherlock captured in some of his shots:

Sherlock posing on a windy afternoon at Anstruther.Famous amongst other things for fishing and fish and chips.

Even the super sleuth couldnt unlock this mysterious secret from the Cold War.The Secret Bunker attraction ,St Andrews.

Fishing Industry Scotland 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:25:00 +0000

Scotland has long had an association with the sea and fishing, as an island you would expect nothing else but for centuries it’s relationship has been a success commercially as the country possessed a fishing fleet, the envy of the world catching shellfish and whitefish for dinner tables here and for restautants around Europe. This relationship still remains a reality today but Scotlands fishing industry experienced a malaise and as it has had to compete with European boats which fish our seas. As well as the quota and tie up system whereby boats are limited on days at sea, the limits on certain specias such as Cod, which has been taqrgetted for many decades by fleets and has saw its catch numbers fall. In recent years the cod numbers has been protected with the implementation of the European "Cod Recovery Plan " this has caused whitefish or Demersal fleet to fall by more than half from 800 vessels to around 350.

In 2009 there were around 5,448 fishermen fishing in Scottish waters, a drop of 26 per cent since 1997. Nonetheless the expertise and skill of the countries fleet and industry as a whole cannot be questioned. Scottish boats provide around 60 % of the UK’s total catch, with the main activity at remote harbours such as Lochinver, Fraserburgh, Lerwick, Kinlochbervie and Scrabster. Fishing has always been a mainstay of the rural areas of Scotland accompanying farming as an important employer.

A major contrubutor of the Scottish fishing industry is fish processing which accounts for around 50% of total turnover and is the biggest employer within the industry as a whole. An important factor is that it provides work for women in what is mostly a male dominated industry.

The importance of fish processing goes beyond the working ports and harbours of the North abut has also bolstered the economic makeup of the central belt and the South. It is in the South this week which has seen developments helping the regions economy and jobs growth.

St James Smokehouse based in the Annan, Dumfrieshire has seen report strong exports as they prepare to open a new unit which will see 20 jobs created with the strong hope that will double that number once the plant is fully operational. The plant produces smoke salmon products for European and North American markets.
Another operation in the town Scallops Direct, the newly formed Shell fish operation, say they will shortly be recruiting after surviving a choppy start to business. Scallops Direct founder Geoff Tunstall said: “The business has had a bit of a stop-start time, partly due to some stormy weather which meant the boats could not get out and in particular due to a seemingly arbritary block on scallop fishing throughout the UK by the Government which lasted about three weeks in early November.”Scallops Direct offers employment for the long-term unemployed or people disadvantaged through disability, age or mental illness. Looking to add three new workers to the workforce of seven in the coming weeks, Mr Tunstall said: “We hope to shortly introduce value added products such as scallops packed with sauces and herbs and expand into the retail sector.”
jobs in the Scottish fishing industry currently include off shore roles including Crewmen,deck hand,Skipper ,galley man,winchman .Onshore jobs include factory processor,filleter,winkel harvester,cockle picker and picker

Graduates and Job searching in Scotland

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:46:00 +0000

In today’s world having a degree does not guarantee a job and therefore it is very important to have a strategy for finding the right graduate job. Where a degree is a vocational degree it is likely, of course, that a graduate will have a clear direction in terms of their degree, however where a degree is business related or the Arts or Social Sciences or even Mathematics and Sciences then graduates may be looking for specific graduate roles or programmes.
Many graduates wait until after their exams before even thinking about applying for roles, however in today’s world that can mean ‘if you’re not fast you’re last!’ and those that get off the starting block early get the traditional established graduate programmes. The university Milk Round is a good starting point for these roles and some of these employers are looking for graduates that they believe are focused and organised enough to be studying for exams as well as filling in application forms and attending interviews, as it is this level of organisation and flexibility they are looking for in potential managers within their company..
Where you are using other methods to locate a job, it’s important that you have a plan to follow as finding a job is a full time job!
1. Make a list of companies you would like to work for and go on each individual website and find out if they have a graduate programme and apply from there
2. For public sector jobs, individual council or civil service websites and websites such as Scottish Jobs on the Web are some of the best ways of locating public sector programmes
3. If there are particular companies you want to work for and they don’t have a graduate programme, it is worth sending a speculative CV and covering letter and then following up with a phone call to try to get at least a meeting.
4. Where you have had a work placement whilst at university / college, assuming you have done a good job generally means that you will have some sort of advantage in that they know you and trust you, even if you have to go through the official recruitment programme.
For Graduate programmes its worth remembering that for many there is the implication that graduates will be ambitious and therefore will be willing to move for promotion and this is likely to include London as most companies will have their head office in London and graduates should decide if this is in their short to medium term plans before going down this road.
For most employers, experience is a key attribute which makes it more difficult for graduates to go straight into a mainstream job. However Scottish Enterprise run a scheme whereby graduates may be able to get paid experience in established companies on short term projects. Whilst obviously a permanent opportunity is the ideal, this is a way of gaining experience, ‘trying’ different roles and also determining whether you may want to work for a particular company if the opportunity arises and endearing yourself if it does!
It may seem obvious, but experience of any sort is better than no experience to most employers. Some graduates concentrate totally on their studies whilst at University and don’t take the opportunity to get a weekend or summer job, this is a big mistake as traditionally graduate programmes have a high dropout rate in the first year; and whilst the current economy may make that less of a problem, the fact is that employers are more comfortable when a graduate has a track record of having maintained a job whilst at university than not. Having had a job throughout university indicates that the graduate understands the work place and the difference between studying and working.
So no longer is it enough to have a degree to get a job, graduates now need a focused strategy in terms of job hunting just like everyone else, if not even more so as they are not going with experience and when jobs are scarce employers are generally go for someone they know do the job immediately.

Lesley Malcolm, Director, Clearwater Brookes Ltd, 0141 582 1474
Clearwater Brookes are a Human Resources and Training and Development organisation that specialises in management development, leadership, employee development and executive coaching

Office Party Time ..Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 13:47:00 +0000

Well it is nearly upon us the time to eat, drink and be merry with your work colleagues and superiors at the office bash. The aim is to have a jolly good time but not rock the applecart and potentially destroy your standing within the company. So here at Scottishjobsonthe.net we have came up with several key things to keep in mind which won’t stop you from having fun but will stop the demon drink causing you deep regret:
Don’t Do’s
Dress up like you are off to a rave!
As it is a ‘social ‘occasion it seems an obvious choice to dress up as if you are on a night out with your friends. To be honest avoid dressing up as if it was a Saturday night at a club or local pub ,as this bash is still a work event so treat it with that respect. The work night out has people of all levels of seniority present so remember that dress code should be checked beforehand. Smart casual a safe bet.
Drink like a Fish
Despite it being the season to be merry, don’t take this too literally on the night .Free drink leads to an attitude of a free spirit and this can lead to a loose tongue!
You may be a seasoned entertainer and be comfortable with your work mates but on this night of all a different type of pressure and atmosphere can occur .Have a dance have a laugh but at all costs avoid being offensive or behaving inappropriately as this could ,at best make you the main topic of gossip in the office. At worst it could lead to discipline
Become romantic with a colleagueWe all have feelings towards people but xmas and drink can make these feelings grow and if you are single and have thoughts of getting it on .Stop and beware. Any advances towards your
This is a tricky one. For singles, the office party may seem like the perfect opportunity to express your heart felt attraction to another...brakes on here! Perhaps best to wait till out of work time to express your feelings of love or similar!
Do's
Attend the PartyFor many the office party is their type of purgatory and is the last thing they want to attend. Non participation will be noted by your colleagues but also more importantly management will have noticed your no show. Our advice is bite the bullet and go. This is an opportunity to meet your managers on a more informal note and can be an excellent chance to make a good impression on them and lets them get to know you as well as you getting to know them. It is a good time to tell them how much you love the job and the company .Gold star on report card should be in the post thereafter.Chance to network you may feel you know your work colleagues and managers but here is a perfect opportunity to extend the real hand of friendship by chatting and sharing a joke.
This bonding and networking can allow acquaintances to become firm friends and additionally cement your place at work as one of the good guys.
In summary whatever you decide to do enjoy yourself and remember make it a night to remember for the right reasons!

The Job Detectives Holiday Snaps

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:32:00 +0000

Earlier this year Sherlock Mcholmes featured in a you tube video for Scottish Jobs On The Net as he decided that he wanted a change of career .And it seems the job detective got that new job and has been on a deserved holiday to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland .He kindly sent us some snaps from his travels.

Here he is at Royal Portrush ,home of the 2010 US Open champion Graeme Mcdowell.

A windy Coastal View from the West Coast!

Here at Killybegs in the West Coast of Ireland,a friendly fishing port.

On his way to a day trip to Donegal.

So looks like the Job detective has had a good holiday and it wasn't long ago when he was unemployed and looking for a new direction but thanks to his online job search with the help of our site Scottishjobsonthe.net he has found a new career and is back enjoying life again!

Social Media and Job Hunting

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:28:00 +0000

Is social media stopping you from getting your dream job?
Jeff Goodwin the managing director at Internet Marketing Scotland discusses social media and the probability, of it helping you or hindering you when applying for a job.

As the unemployment rate continues to climb, when applying for a job we need to give ourselves the best opportunity possible. I wanted to take a look at social media and ask the “very important question”; Can social media help or hinder you in finding the dream job?

Social media sites have massive traffic:

• Facebook 500 million users
• Bebo 31 million
• Myspace 125 million users
(Depending on source of information)

So it's safe to say there’s a lot of information on people out there in cyberspace. Every day we write about our daily lives on social network sites and other social networking platforms like myspace and bebo, not realising that this very content may hinder our chance of finding work.

Reports in the US have revealed recently that people are not only losing their jobs over their exploits on social networks, but that employers are not offering jobs to people based on what they find on personal blogs and social networks. Sounds unfair, but the truth is: We make our information readily accessible to anyone who knows our name.

As more social networking sites services come online and more of our day to day lives are expressed online, more research by potential employers will occur. The things you say on Facebook, Twitter or any other open social networking platform is being searched by potential employers.

A lot of people will complain about employers doing this kind of search, but let's face it, it's no different than the typical credit checks, reference checks and background searches that companies perform before taking on someone. It's so much easier for companies to find out more about people by simply searching their name online.

Some people will argue that what they do outside of work is no reflection on what you do when you're at work. But this isn't strictly true. Your professional life is also closely connected to what you do in your personal life.

Most companies want to hire an all round decent individual, someone who is mature and good at what they do. Whether they admit it or not, companies don't want to hire people who "got wasted at the weekend". Or if you make racist or sectarian comments on your Facebook profile, they may think that you're more likely to make those same comments in the workplace, which can lead to a lawsuit.

Let's be honest here, not everyone loves their job, but ranting on Facebook won't make any difference. In fact it's more likely to get you sacked.

There is a flip side to this argument. You may be a really well educated all round individual with a passion for a specific topic (In my case: SEO search engine optimisation). If you blog about your passion and potential employers see this, you're more likely to get a job.

The truth is: Your potential employers are likely to take what they find as the real you. Pictures of you getting drunk or videos of you falling around don't go down well with potential employers.

I hope this discussion will prove useful for you in the future, for more information on Internet Marketing Scotland who is one of Scotland’s leading internet marketing company’s based in Glasgow, Scotland Contact them below.

Jeff Goodwin at Internet Marketing Scotland. Please contact him for a free, no-obligation consultation at jeff@internetmarketingscotland.com or call 0141 551 1238. His company’s website is http://www.internetmarketingscotland.com

How To Search for a job online by Lesley Malcolm

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:24:00 +0000

How to search for a job online

Traditionally there were various ways of finding a job; newspapers, sector specific publications, recruitment agencies, head hunters, Job Centre Plus, to name but a few and it pretty much depended on what type of role as to what method you used. However the internet has now pretty much encapsulated and overtaken everything else; for example generally if your job is in the newspaper or sector specific publication it will be on the internet as well, in fact many newspapers offer internet advertising that as part of the agreement to post in the newspaper. If you go to a recruitment agency, they will be posting roles online on their own site and on external job boards. So it’s pretty much everywhere and to not use the internet is like trying to find a job in the dark!

When you apply for most jobs on the internet you generally have to e mail your CV, so it’s important that you have an e mail address set up and that it’s an e mail address you would be happy that employers use and not something like sexygirl@...... , your name@ ..... is more appropriate.

Ensuring you get the best from your job search, it is important to maximise your search by ensuring that you input as many variations or possible job titles that you can think of. Remember that the job title you know the role as may not be what it is called elsewhere. For example an Human Resources Assistant may be a Personal Assistant, a Staff Management Assistant, an HR Officer or an HR Advisor to name but a few! So it would be sensible to input HR, Human Resources, Staff Management & Personnel to ensure you capture all possible roles.

But so that you don’t have to put in all possible titles in every time you log on to job search, most job sites generally allow you to set up a profile and input all the key search words along with other relevant factors such as geography and salary scale and they will then send you an e mail with all jobs that meet those criteria on a regular, generally daily basis. The more specific you can be in terms of titles and other factors the less likely you are to receive irrelevant e mails. For example if you just put the term engineer in, you are likely to receive many irrelevant roles and this becomes very off putting when doing your search and also may mean you actually end up missing a good role because you tend to skim your e mails as you get so much ‘junk’!

Also to refine your search you can use Boolean language – by placing words in speech marks the search will be for an exact phrase “administration manager”, without the “ “ results can feature jobs with either word.

Whilst the job site may automatically may automatically send you an e mail, it is important to not get lazy and just wait for the e mails, you should be pro actively searching on a daily basis as each job site will update their information at different times and also your job may be on multiple sites and others who are actively searching may get their CV’s off first. Whilst a canny employer would ensure that they review every CV, with the numbers of applications some companies are getting they may chose to not review anything after a very short period of time as they have so much volume, even though initially the vacancy may have been open for a longer period, they may choose to close it early.

Be clear about what you want – just trying to find ‘a job’ on the internet is a bit like trying to find a needle in a haystack – there are so many! Think about either what specifically you want to do or if you are genuinely not sure, think about what skills you have and try putting them in the search engine and see what kinds of jobs come up!

Lesley Malcolm, Director, Clearwater Brookes Ltd, 0141 582 1474

Clearwater Brookes are a Human Resources and Training and Development organisation that specialises in management development, leadership, employee development and executive coaching

A Client of Scottishjobsonthe.net in the News..

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:28:00 +0000

LANARKSHIRE RECRUITMENT FIRM ON TRACK FOR 50 PER CENT TURNOVER BOOST

Summary: Ten Live Ltd, a Lanarkshire recruitment firm, is on track to boost turnover by 50 per cent in the next year after securing a factoring facility from Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance.

LANARKSHIRE RECRUITMENT FIRM ON TRACK FOR 50 PER CENT TURNOVER BOOST

Summary: Ten Live Ltd, a Lanarkshire recruitment firm, is on track to boost turnover by 50 per cent in the next year after securing a factoring facility from Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance.

The local economy is showing signs of recovery and the demand for staff has risen, as a Lanarkshire recruitment firm is set to increase turnover by 50 per cent to £3.75 million in the next year, after securing a factoring facility from Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance.

Ten Live Ltd, based in Coatbridge, was established in March 2010 by four recruitment professionals who possess over 40 years of experience between them.

Currently employing nine people, the business sources both permanent and temporary staff for local companies operating in the distribution, manufacturing, industrial and engineering sectors.

The firm, which generated a £1 million increase on forecast turnover in its first year of trading, found demand was high for its services as the economy recovered, and so approached Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance for a cash flow solution to capitalise on growth opportunities.

The funder provided Ten Live with a factoring facility, which is leveraged against the value of its issued invoices to provide a steady, dependable cash flow. This assists the business during peaks and troughs which are inevitable when dealing with a variety of industries operating with different seasonal requirements.

Now Ten Live is on track to increase turnover to £3.75 million in the next year and take on four new members of staff by the end of 2012.

Gary Telfer, joint managing director of Ten Live Ltd, said: “Since we established the business 17 months ago, the demand we have seen for our services has surpassed all expectations.

“The distribution clients we provide staff for are particularly busy at the moment and to ensure our liquidity remains buoyant and able to cope with the gaps between paying wages and receiving payment from our clients, we decided to utilise the factoring facility from Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance

“As a result of this cash flow boost, we are now in a strong position to extend our reach across Scotland and expand into new sectors, as well as increase turnover.”

Rona Thomson, client manager at Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, said: “Gary and his team work hard to go the extra mile for their clients and provide recruitment services 24 hours a day to support customers.

“It is fantastic to see a business, which was established in difficult economic conditions, pushing full steam ahead to capitalise on opportunities in the recruitment sector presented by a strengthening economy and local job market.

“The factoring facility we provided is ideal for a young company like Ten Live, as it is based on issued invoices and grows in-line with sales. This enables the firm to expand at its desired rate, without worrying about the impact of growth on cash flow and day-to-day running costs.”

The company was recognised at the Lanarkshire Business Excellence awards earlier this year, taking home the best new business accolade.

Joanne and Gary with Rona Thomson of Lloyds

A Model For Success by Eddie Fraser

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:54:00 +0000

Despite the economic downturn that the UK as a whole has experienced over the last couple of years there have been some positive stories of commercial survival and growth. What is more encouraging and somewhat surprising is the example covered here derives from the employment sector ,which has been hardest hit and has saw unemployment grow and rear it’s head with echoes of the dark old days of the 1980’s and early 1990’s .

The company in question is the independent Scottish Online job board, Scottishjobsonthe.net which operates from the centre of Glasgow and was launched in 2008 by Lorna Robb who had formerly been pivotal in launching Totaljobs.com Scottish office.

Scottishjobsonthe.net was launched at a time when job boards were appearing on the marketplace at a frequency of at least 2 or 3 a month as the economy boomed and demand for staff was white hot as the growth within the UK seemed never ending.

The sector witnessed the demise of numerous recruitment offices and agencies and the trimming down of staff within those that survived. Private companies too cut budgets and put a halt to the hiring of new staff .The market place was diminishing fast. The big media owned job boards saw there vacancy numbers fall by around 50% sometimes more .And the smaller independent online operations which had launched in the hope of riding the boom of employment disappeared overnight leaving homepages with jobs and vacancies long gone filled or redundant or domain names that no longer existed. In stark contrast however, Lorna and her two man team were adamant that Scottishjobsonthe.net was going to survive, evolve and grow.

Lorna explained : “The opportunity which the internet offered was too good a chance to miss with regards setting up something independent and run from Scotland (,sounds like a party political broadcast) but joking aside we think these factors were central. Many job boards did come and go, maybe thinking rich pickings were easy to come by but as were are still in business and have ridden the storm we think we got our model right. We understand the market and being on the ground you get a feel and vibe of how to approach things .Offering an alternative to the larger media backed operations which are fundamentally our competition means we can offer a flexible view on price as we don’t have shareholders needs to be met but also our ethic of going that extra mile was pivotal and is something which big business sometimes misses or doesn’t understand.”

She added.” We realised that times were going to be tough so we worked on the view that that there would be a recovery period but in the meantime we worked on the site and on various marketing strategies which would aid sales and the growth side of the business. We liased with our programmer and developers to maximise the sites search engine attractiveness to increase our presence on the net (basically increase relevant traffic to the site). In addition we have created a 3 year plan for the site which has certain objectives in place for example the recruitment of more staff , this for example should be happening soon. “.Lorna went on to add “We realise our ambitions and if we continue to focus on them we will continue to grow and ultimately increase market share etc. Our revenues have grown in line with what we expected but more encouraging are some of the ‘big names’ now using the site .Their testimonials are going to be important for us in the marketplace as evidence that we are a company that can give agencies and companies good value and that we can deliver what we say.”

So as the economy begins to correct itself and employment shows signs of a recovery the prudent business model of scottishjobsonthe.net augurs well for it’s future .It has not only stabilised itself over the tricky last couple of years but more so has given itself a very strong chance of becoming a market leader in Scotland .Just watch this space.

Scottishjobsonthe.net at the Business Awards

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:13:00 +0000

This week we here at Scottishjobsonthe.net have been working away on our entry into the 2011 Glasgow Chamber of Commerce -Glasgow Business Awards.Our entry revolves around our Sherlock Mcholmes promotional video which we launched in January of this year and one of which we are pretty proud off .It has now been viewed by around 1300 on You Tube ,which is quite an achievement .It certainly has made our site more social media friendly and has attracted various feedback from the pat on the back type to the more outrageous ,which is expected when putting a viral video onto the net.So no complaints allowed and a thick skin sometimes is needed.
The awards themselves happen next month in Glasgow and we are hopeful that our entry does get a positive response from the judges with regards to our original and in-house creative approach.Off course we did utilise the services of a production company to edit and produce the film .The company Blether media have to be congratulated on their finished article which you can see at the foot of the blog page but the idea itself was the brainchild of the team here at Scottishjobsonthe.net and with that we are proud that our entry into the Business awards takes it's place and has the potential of a good showing.

Sherlock Mcholmes iTunes Voucher Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Mat Wright) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:46:00 +0000

Attention Job seekers !

Scottishjobsonthe.net is giving you the chance to win an I Tunes voucher to the value of £20.

All you have to do is come up with a witty line that The job Detective ' Sherlock Mcholmes ' is saying to the driver of the Scottishjobsonthe.net taxi.

Prizes will be given to the top three most witty answers !

Judges decision is final.

To enter the competition please enter your suggestion by using the comment form below. If you don't have one of the accounts listed to be able to post a comment simply email your suggestion to contact@scottishjobsonthe.net.

Job legacy After Chapelcross

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:35:00 +0000

A Million pound plus investment is being directed into Dumfries and Galloway to mitigate the effects of jobs losses caused by the closure of Chapelcross a former nuclear power plant.
‘Beyond Chapelcross’ is the project which is being financed through the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) socio-economic fund, which is being aimed at helping to offset the anticipated loss of over 500 employees and contractors from the site at Annan by the time decommissioning is completed in 2017.
Chapelcross Site Stakeholder Group (SSG) chairman Councillor Ian Lindsay explained: “It’s something the SSG worked hard to get to this position, where we’re getting £1.2 million.”
Noting the declining workforce at Chapelcross, he added: “We’re obviously hoping that from this money we’re going to be able to provide some smaller companies with money to keep them going, and maybe to set up new organisations that will benefit the area.”
Despite the project which has emerged as a legacy from the closure of Chapelcross the investment is intended to benefit the whole of the region.
The Councillor went on to describe the investment as ‘hugely important’, noting the loss of highly-paid jobs at Chapelcross and the money spent in the area by those families.
In addition a further £2.5 million from the NDA socio-economic fund has already been pinpointed for three business development areas in Gretna, Lockerbie and Annan, with a site now established in Kirtle Place in Gretna and another earmarked in Annan.

Jobs Announcement by Amazon

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:59:00 +0000

Amazon the ever expanding online retailer is expected to unveil further expansion plans for Scotland which will create hundreds of new jobs.

Alex Salmond Scotland’s First Minister will join the firm's vice president of European operations, Allan Lyall, at Edinburgh Castle to announce a ‘significant’ jobs boost. This will come just months after the leading internet company said it would establish around 950 full-time jobs at a new distribution site at two Scottish towns and an extra 1,500 temporary posts during peak periods

.In January this year , Amazon said its new operation centre at Dunfermline, Fife, will create more than 750 jobs and transfer its entire permanent workforce from nearby Glenrothes.An extra 200 jobs were announced for its site in Gourock, which packs and ships items for customers.

This was assisted by £2.5 million in grants from the economic agency Scottish Enterprise.

Mr Lyall at the time said “Our decision to base this major expansion in Scotland, against stiff international competition, is due not only to the excellent local workforce but to the impressive professionalism of Scottish Development International."

Bleak Forecast for Scotland on Employment Map

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:15:00 +0000

An area which was once viewed and was seen as the countries industrial heartland West Dunbartonshire has the ignominy of now overtaking some of the poorest London boroughs to record Britain’s worst employment statistics in a recent study commissioned by the TUC.

More than 40 dole claimants in the region – which takes in Clydebank, Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven – chased every vacancy in March this year, when there were 3786 people registered as out of work and 94 vacancies.

The published figures represent a steep decline in employment rates since 2005/2006 when the area was ranked 38 in the UK, illustrating that the region has been hit hard by the economic malaise married with local authority spending cuts.

The study looked at the proportion of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants to Jobcentre vacancies in every local authority in the UK from March 2005 to March 2011.

Another Scottish region, East Ayrshire, was ranked second worst for employment rates with 139 job vacancies for 4564 claimants in March, or 32 claimants for each vacancy. This area witnessed a major employment shock in 2009 when drinks giant Diageo announced it would be shutting its bottling plant in Kilmarnock, at a cost of 700 jobs.

At the time East Ayrshire Council chiefs estimated the closure would cause over £17.5million loss in wages to the local economy.

An adjoining region North Ayrshire saw 196 vacancies for 5552 claimants, giving a ratio of 28 claimants per job.

In contrast Moray in the Highlands recorded the brightest labour market change in Britain, moving from a ranking of 26 in 2005 to 98 in 2011.

SNP Finance Secretary John Swinney said the figures showed more needs to be done to tackle unemployment in Scottish communities.

But he added: “Scottish employment has risen in each of the last nine months and our unemployment rate has fallen for the last five months, the only part of the UK to see such progress.”

Scotlands Hospitality Sector Grows

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:35:00 +0000

A report by a leading Scottish Bank has pointed to a significant growth in employment within the hospitality and catering sector.The report commissioned by the Bank of Scotland under it’s trademark ‘Labour market barometer’ concluded that permanent employment grew for the seventh month in a row.
The Banks chief economist Don Macrae said that growth in all eight sectors in Scotland occurred in April.
He said "The number of temporary staff vacancies also rose in April, at the fastest rate in four months. Again, all eight employment sectors saw greater demand."

The growth in the hospitality sector saw the biggest rise.

Arts jobs cut in Dumfries

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Thu, 12 May 2011 17:14:00 +0000

AXE FALLS ON DUMFRIES ARTS JOBS

Workforce cut by five

MORE than half of the jobs at the region’s arts association are being axed under a reorganisation and restructuring programme.

The core number of posts at dgArtswill be reduced from eight to three after the organisation suffered a big cut in public funding.

Among those going is current director, Susan Garnsworthy, who has resigned her post.

Details of the five redundancies were announced this week by dgArts which said that the new business plan sets out key delivery areas, maintains strengths and will deliver ongoing commitments throughout the whole of the region, ensuring existing contracts are being met and new contracts are being signed.

A spokesman said: "Staff being made redundant have been offered the opportunity to be contracted to support delivery of existing and future projects on a freelance basis.

"A decision to move all dgArts staff from Gracefield to the Midsteeple site is a further business efficiency.

"The restructuring has also allowed an opportunity for the current director to consider her future and the board has in mutual agreement with her, chosen to accept her resignation from her existing post which will allow a new director to join the team."

A statement from dgArts said that following an intense period of restructuring, the region's arts organisation, would be looking to identify new board members with specific skills to assist with the delivery of creative arts throughout the whole of Dumfries and Galloway.

Chairman Pat Smith said: "The last year has been very challenging for the staff and board of dgArts and the board have put a significant amount of time into creating a new business plan and structure to best utilise the funding currently available.”

Growth in permanent placements

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Thu, 12 May 2011 10:49:00 +0000

Report on Jobs shows permanent placements rose at faster pace in April, but growth of temp billings eased

Released on 11 May 2011

Permanent staff appointments rose at a strong and accelerated rate in April, although growth remained below February’s ten-month high, according to the Report on Jobs published today by the REC and KPMG. The increase was attributed to a further marked rise in demand for permanent staff.

The pace of expansion of temporary/contract staff billings eased to the lowest of 2011 so far. There were reports from survey respondents linking the weaker rise in short-term appointments to softer demand from public sector clients. The rate of inflation of permanent staff salaries quickened to the highest for nine months during April, and was slightly above the survey’s long-run average. Temp pay rose at the fastest pace in a year.

Recruitment consultants reported a further improvement in the availability of candidates during April. Permanent staff availability increased marginally, while temporary/contract staff availability rose at a solid pace.

Kevin Green, the REC's Chief Executive says:

“This month’s Report on Jobs shows a clear split developing in the UK labour market. Public sector employment is radically slowing while there is growth in the private sector, confirming that we are now in a two-speed jobs market.

"A number of permanent hires made in IT, construction and engineering suggest that employer confidence on the whole is improving but temporary employment is slowing. This month’s figures for temporary jobs are the worst we’ve seen for four months and is likely to have been caused by employer caution over the impending Agency Workers Regulations.

"The Government guidance, published last Friday, should act to reassure employers of the ongoing effectiveness of temporary labour and the value of being able to flex their workforces to meet demand.”

Bernard Brown, Partner and Head of Business Services at KPMG comments:

“The latest figures reveal a very mixed picture of the UK job market. In many areas of the private sector employers feel confident to hire again on a full time basis, though the picture is very different in the public sector where hiring freezes and cost cutting seems to be the order of the day.

"Indeed, private sector businesses with a dependency on the public sector are clearly on a knife edge, as they wait to understand how the unfolding government policy will impact them. The fundamental issue facing the UK’s ‘twin track’ job market is whether the private sector can create enough jobs to offset the expected job losses in the public sector.

“If the Government encourages greater private sector engagement in the provision of public services, this would not only support creation of private sector jobs in the UK, but provide a platform for those business services providers to export their skills, as governments around the world grapple with how to reduce their deficits and transform public services.”

The Report on Jobs provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market drawing from original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.

Scottish Job News

noreply@blogger.com (Scottish Jobs On The Net) — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:23:00 +0000

Scottish Job News - The Bank of Scotland job survey has commented that the labour market has shown improvement in February

February was the fourth month in a row in which the permanent job placements increased.

There has been a remarkable increase within the construction industry jobs.

Scottishjobsonthe.net launches employment blog

noreply@blogger.com (Mat Wright) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:09:00 +0000

Independant Scottish job board, Scottishjobsonthe.net has launched it's own Blog to provide a new way to reach out to new and existing job hunters and advertisers.

The new site blog.scottishjobsonthe.net will includes posts on a range of employment topics from jobseeker tips for interviews and CV writing to the latest news from the Scottish employment market.

Independent Scottish Job Board that covers across all recruitment
sectors and regions in Scotland. We offer excellent customer service
and drive quality applications to the recruiter at a very competitive
price .