Earlier in the year we were delighted to become an official supporter of Smart Works Leeds, a charity that supports getting unemployed women into work. Since then we’ve been busy raising money for Smart Works by cycling many miles in the run up to International Women’s Day, and attending the powerful ‘Reigniting the Fire’ Smart Talks event.

At 300 North, we like to feel on fire about the issues and causes we're passionate about.

Well it certainly has been a whirlwind couple of weeks hasn't it! The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt in every corner of business & society all throughout the world. From the outset, the wellbeing of our team, our clients, our workers and market colleagues has been of utmost importance.

At 300 North, our team has been working remotely since the 17th March as we have always been set-up to do so. Thankfully for us there was little change allowing us to immediately continue our normal service. Of course we have truly missed the physical presence of our team and our peers but we’re finding new ways of working and socialising and benefitting at the other side from spending time with our families. We’re choosing to make the most of this time, press the pause button on other aspects of life, enjoy the small things and looking forward to sunnier days.

We want to send a message of support from our team to yours, to let you know we are here if you need us. From a business perspective, we appreciate that everyone is facing different hurdles and it may be particularly challenging for you and your colleagues at the moment. Please be assured that we are here and ready to support and help you in any way that we can. We are in contact with all of our clients and contractors, checking in on their health and wellbeing on a regular basis.

We are also keen to help ensure the continuation and safe working environments of buildings, estates and facilities that we support. We would encourage our colleagues on critical infrastructure sites to get touch if they need help with maintaining staffing levels at this challenging time. We are already working to support our Hospitals, Schools, Local and National Government sites, MOD, Fire and Utilities among others – please get in touch with us if you can offer help or need further resources for your teams.

We hope that you are all safe and well, and continue to be so.

From all the team at 300 North

300 NORTH - THE EXPERTS IN FACILITIES MANAGEMENT RECRUITMENT, DELIVERING THE BEST PEOPLE HASSLE FREE.

WE BELIEVE IN BEING A PEOPLE BUSINESS THAT ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT PEOPLE.

GET IN TOUCH TO FIND OUT HOW WE CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR RECRUITMENT NEEDS BY VISITING THE 300 NORTH WEBSITE OR CALLING 0113 336 5161.

300 North are delighted to provide this guest blog, written by Baskar Sundaram at Bacchu RAIN, market development and strategic research specialists for the built environment. We would like to thank Baskar and his team for providing these insights to our clients and candidates in the Facilities Management sector.

Joe Firth

I am the Director of 300 North's Construction & Engineering team. I work within the MEP Contracting, FM Lifecycle, Capital Works Projects and Construction sectors. I also manage the Hard Services Engineering covering Engineers & Back office support plus our Specialist Fire Engineering team. We recruit both freelance & permanent hires for our clients.

Tell Us About Your Professional Background

I started my recruitment career working on M&E trades, initially recruiting electricians, plumbers and pipefitters on sites around Yorkshire. I then progressed to white collar M&E permanent placements and gradually moved into FM along the way.

What Do You Like Doing Outside Of Work?

Outside of work I love spending time with my wife and young daughter. I'm also keen on a spot of gardening, with a hidden talent for making a mean hanging basket!

Tell Us Something About Yourself That People Won't Know

I'm originally from Essex for my sins!

If You Won The Lottery What Would You Buy?

Definitely a ridiculous supercar like a Bugatti.

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.

We wanted to take a minute to introduce our new team member Amy Bell and say a huge welcome to 300 North! We're all delighted that Amy has joined the Newcastle office as a Recruitment Administrator supporting the team, our clients and candidates in the North East and Scotland. Already having a good knowledge of the Facilities Management (FM) sector, Amy has got stuck in straight away and we're loving having her!

Mindful of the fact that many of us are fed up with the ongoing ‘situation’ we all know as Brexit, we’ve delayed writing this post for some time. However, ignoring it won’t help anyone; least of all the sector’s employers, employees and contractors.

A lot has happened since the UK’s original exit date back in March but one thing that hasn’t changed is the uncertainty and how a deal or no deal agreement might impact the UK’s economy. Without knowing exactly what will happen come 31st October, it’s hard to know what the future holds but there is one dominating factor throughout all of this…people.