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 has taken on two new staff in the last three months as it enters the busiest time of the year for finding and placing supply teachers. More staff are likely to arrive in the spring as Sarah Dally, branch manager in Hull, builds the team which she launched only last year at The Deep Business Centre.
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.
“We’re working now on our placements for January. It’s one of the busiest times of the year from now until March. Schools are like any other business. Staff need time away from their main job for many reasons, ranging from illness to paternity and maternity leave, and there are other requirements for supply teachers for example boosting by teaching assistants, working one-to-one and with special educational needs.”
Tradewind was formed in 2001 and has branches throughout the UK and in Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. Sarah opened the Hull branch in April 2015 with one colleague and no candidates. The latest recruits have expanded the team to five – all education specialists with more than 40 years’ combined experience – and reflect the growth of 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 next year for secondary and for SEN. We place great importance on finding out what kind of people our candidates are and what sort of schools they will fit into.”
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. There is a shortage of teachers for maths, science and English 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 as they approach their second anniversary here.
“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.”