2012 could be the year the economy start coming back actually!

The early signs of uplift ARE here. It could still be seasonal, but the last couple of months have been better for a long list of companies than any single month in the last 3 years. There is an uptake in investments in the future. I see companies looking to go to the new markets, and doing it in the radical ways. Modern and new skills are in demand, and there is plenty of employers super-hungry for the staff. Such was the atmosphere on the recent careers and jobs fair in Dublin: CareerZoo.

Organised by Brian Ó hOisín and Jackie Slattery who do it really, really well the CareerZoo 2012 was a true success over the last two days. On one side there was a long cue to enter that with the great organisation worked quite well so the cue was moving really fast. On the other side there was a long list of companies looking to collect the CVs of the perspective candidates. There have also been some educational institution offering up-skilling as well.

What was different from this careers fair and the last few ones I was invited to was that CareerZoo over the weekend had more positivity than any similar event in a long time. It wasn’t one of those ‘Work in Australia’ type of the events that we keep on hearing about a bit too much lately (for my taste), but a really positive and local recruitment event. With real jobs, and PLENTY of them in all different sectors and what’s even more important different locations in Ireland.

Speaking independently with the HR and staffing managers and job seekers, but have seemed extremely positive after the event. Booth groups actually looked exhausted yesterday. Employers have been very happy with the CVs collected and job seekers all agreed that this was well worth visiting, simple because there is a job for everyone. There have been a lot of IT companies, but the jobs have been offered in a vast range of disciplines and skills required.

I even got some goodies (like it is pre DotCom!) – more about hat on my personal ‘Jobs Blog’. The goodies on the fairs are the sign,… the Doom & Gloom days might be replaced with something completely different in 2012!

Agency of the year – Large Agency National Recruitment Federation 2011 Award winner is Parc Aviation.

This award was sponsored by LinkedIN.

    This category portrayed all entries showcasing fantastic standards.  Unfortunately a smaller selection had to be made based on the applications presented.  The winner quite literally pipped at the post, but win they did, based on their demonstration of their industry leadership at interview that simply complimented their application. They have a clear vision of what is expected of them from the customer. They are focused on their business and the balance is spot on between the customer/candidates and their internal staff.
Their commitment to meeting the expectations of their client was very evident which made them a very strong contender in this category.

The nominees in this category were:

CPL

Hays Recruitment

Brightwater

Noel Recruitment

Sigmar

Parc Aviation

Grafton Recruitment

Agency of the Year – Small Agency National Recruitment Federation 2011 Award winner is Recruitment Plus.

This category was sponsored by ICON accounting.

The winner of this category impressed the judges very much due to their innovative approach to the business. Their commitment to the customer came across very strongly. Internally they embrace the work life balance and the longevity of the staff was testament to this culture. Professionalism shone through hence why they were declared the winner.

The nominees in this category were:

O’Reilly Recruitment

Recruitment Plus

Jackie Brown Medical

Osborne Recruitment

Expect Talent

Three Q

Parc Aviation is the Best in Practice National Recruitment Federation 2011 Award winner for a Specialism.

This category was sponsored by Arithon.

For this award the judges took account of the size of an agency, what the specialism was and why it stood out from the other applications when making their decision.

The winner was selected by the judges because they showed whilst they operated in a niche area their commitment and dedication to meeting the clients and candidates needs was very evident. Their commitment to their staff development and the clear road map they have of how they go about their business is very prominent.

Nominated for the award were:

Executive Connections

FRS

Logiskills

Parc Aviation

Blueprint

The Production people

Best in Practice National Recruitment Federation 2011 Award winner for IT & Telecoms category is CPL.

The Award was sponsored by Project House and presented by Les Cooke.

    This year saw a huge amount of entries to this category. The judges were blown away by the quality of the entries and found it extremely challenging to shortlist and declare a winner. There was but a marginal couple of points between the outright winner and the rest of the nominees. The winner stood out for the judges for their very strong business growth and development in recessionary times. They showed a commitment to delivering the best to both the candidates and the clients. Their submission proved they are very committed to the Industry and from an employees perspective how good they are to work for.

In this category the nominees were:

Vantage Resources

CPL Resources

Hays Recruitment

Gempool

Elan IT

Stelfox

Archer Recruitment

Sigmar won Best in Practice National Recruitment Federation 2011 Award for Office & Secretarial category.



This category was sponsored by Broadbean and presented by Shaun Weiss.

The judges found this category to be very narrowly contested with the winner scoring just a few extra points for their understanding of their target market. The winner stood out because they demonstrated how they operated in this sector, how they knew their target market and the innovative approach they used to obtain new business.

Nominated for this category were:

Contract People

Sigmar

Alternatives

Best in Practice National Recruitment Federation 2011 Award for Office & Secretarial category went to Osborne Recruitment.

This category was sponsored by Gary Irwin Solicitors.

The judges selected the winner in this category because- They were not trying to be all things to all people or markets, but concentrated and focused on what they were good at in this sector. They demonstrated the long-givity of the Agency and Client relationship and the value of what they offer to clients and candidates. The strong relationship and investment in internal staff and processes was very evident.

Nominated for this category were:

Office Angels and

Osborne Recruitment

Careers Register wins Best in Practice National Recruitment Federation 2011 Award for Accountancy & Finance category.

This award was sponsored by Brennan Insurance in association with Hiscox and presented by Eamonn Doherty.

    Another category where the judges were blown away by not only the number of entries but the quality of this sector entries. The winner was narrowly chosen from the rest because of their well rounded submission. They portrayed themselves as a leader and innovator especially in the Candidate section, how they worked with and the support they offered to get the unemployed back to work, the achievements over the past year, and how they have positioned themselves in this area.

Nominees for this award were:

Sigmar

Hays

Robert Walters

Quest Recruitment

Careers Register