Welcome to Joe Firth who we're delighted has joined the growing 300 North team as a Principal Recruitment Consultant.

To introduce Joe and allow everyone to get to know him, we asked him a few questions to start us off:

Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a very friendly chap who likes to have a good craic with my friends, colleagues and family. I enjoy helping others and adding positive contributions where possible. I have worked in recruitment for 8 years since leaving University, it’s a demanding job but rewarding! Having good colleagues and a good working environment makes all the difference!

This is the first in a series of blogs with a focus on diversity and inclusion. A hot topic at this year’s Facilities Management Show and other industry events, it’s also an issue we come across regularly as recruiters within Facilities Management (FM).

We begin by looking at the role women play in FM; a sector perceived (rightly or wrongly) to be dominated by men.

We're pleased to report that our Office Manager Katie Ashley is now qualified as a Mental Health First Aider, which is vital in enabling us to provide support to our internal team and also our candidates and clients in the Facilities Management and Construction sectors. As a recruitment company, we're dealing with people everyday, many of whom may need support. According to The Mental Health Foundation, 1 in 6.8 people are experiencing mental health problems in the workplace.

It’s time to talk legislation. Specifically, IR35, and the impending changes to the private sector planned for April 2020.

Our aim isn’t to overwhelm you with information and jargon; we simply want our clients and candidates to understand how the changes could affect you and how the team at 300 North can help.

Last year 300 North announced that we are sponsoring Callum Hall, International Wheelchair racer in his bid to reach qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  We asked Callum to do a guest blog to update us on his progress over the last quarter and here's what he had to say...