Tradewind
An international education recruitment agency is poised for further expansion in Hull in response to the city’s increasing investment in schools and its growing appeal to teachers from overseas.
Tradewind Recruitment Branch Manager Sarah Dally only launched her team at The Deep Business Centre in 2015 and is seeing growth driven by investment locally in education and by the enhanced profile of the city.
Sarah said: “Schools have a lot more flexibility than in the past and there has been a lot of money invested in education in Hull. There are more roles being created in one-to-one tuition and in intervention roles to boost core subjects, and we are growing week on week.”
Tradewind was formed in 2001 and has branches throughout the UK and in Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. Sarah opened the Hull branch with one colleague and no candidates. Within two years she had expanded the team to five – all education specialists with more than 40 years’ combined experience – and grown the candidate database across the Hull and Humber region.
Sarah said: “When we first started, Tradewind was unknown in this area but our business has expanded significantly because of our policy of giving candidates their own personal consultant. We have been given a lot of recommendations and it has become a lot easier to attract candidates.
“It is a very competitive sector but I knew when we set it up that there was a massive amount of business in this area. We’ve got space in our offices for more people and we will definitely hire more in the future.”
Sarah has worked in Leeds and Bradford but her home has always been in Hull, and her passion for education is matched only by a love of her home city which makes it an easy sell to candidates.
She said: “Hull is massively on the up. We’re promoting it in Australia where we have identified a lot of interest. Our overseas candidates fit in very well in England and we have some good people in the pipeline waiting to come over.
“Hull is close enough to London, the cost of living is low and there is so much going on. It’s got some great job opportunities in education, it’s a really nice place to live and work and we have the best location at The Deep.”
Freya Cross, Business and Corporate Manager at The Deep, said: “Tradewind Recruitment has thrived since opening a branch in Hull and the fact that they are planning more recruitment of their own is a very positive sign.
“Sarah’s passion for Hull is a big factor in attracting staff and candidates to the area, and having such an advocate to promote the city is beneficial for us as a business centre and for other organisations as well.”