"Stockport is building a reputation as one of the fastest-growing commercial centres in the North of England."
Operations Director Caroline Patten
The firm, which specialises in ‘grassroots’ or fundamental recruitment solutions for sales, technical and office vacancies, has seen a 30% increase in new enquiries from employers looking to expand their operations in the last six months.
Most are from organisations looking to relocate or open an additional office and choosing Stockport over city centre competition.
At the same time the company has experienced a doubling in monthly job applications and candidate registrations from jobseekers specifically wanting to work closer to home.
Operations Director Caroline Patten is delighted with progress. “It’s a very exciting time to be in recruitment in Stockport.”
She continued: “Stockport is building a reputation as one of the fastest-growing commercial centres in the North of England. With £1 billion investment from Stockport Council and its partners over the next 5 years, economic growth is strong particularly in business and professional services, digital and technology sectors.”
To meet demand Grassroots has employed Theo Hall, 26, as a Recruitment Consultant and Molly Marsden, 21, as a Marketing Executive on a Graduate Internship. Molly will be helping to promote the agency locally and deliver an integrated candidate attraction strategy.
A further two new consultants will join the team as the company also moves into larger office space in Stockport’s centrally-located Regent House next month.
The space will be a mix of offices and meeting rooms to allow the company to provide a range of careers advice workshops and Assessment Centres on behalf of their clients.
Caroline again: “An increasing number of highly skilled and educated professionals from the SK catchment are choosing to join Stockport’s growing base of employers, instead of commuting to Manchester town centre.
Grassroots works with local businesses to profile their target candidate pool then provides insights into the availability of skills and experience with selected demographics, as well as assisting with workforce planning, salary benchmarking, and attraction strategies.
Access to a large candidate pool – 3 million people live within 30 mins peak time travel – is one of the main reasons why employers are choosing Stockport. An 82% employment rate (versus a NW average of 75.6% and wider UK average of 77.8%) is also helping position Stockport positively.
Caroline comments: “The Borough has a high performing workforce with 30% of households in Stockport categorised as affluent achievers and 48% being employed in managerial, professional, technical or senior level roles.
“A third of the working age population of Stockport residents are educated to degree level or equivalent and Stockport has a diverse workforce with over 121,000 people employed in over 12,000 businesses. It is an area rich with talent which is now being mobilised in Stockport to the long-term benefit of all.”
