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Written by - Samantha Boreham
Australian Fires
Over the past 6 weeks, the Australian bush fires have destroyed wildlife habitats, residential homes and towns. It has been labelled by the Australian fire authorities as the worst in the state's history. The fires burn alongside the Eastern and Southern coast, which is where most of the population lives. This includes areas around Sydney and Adelaide. As of 8th January 2020, there have been more than 200 fires which have sadly claimed 28 human lives, numerous amounts of people missing, killed 8,000 Koalas and affected almost half a billion animals along with other estimates of animals such as bats, amphibians and invertebrates to have now put the number killed at over a billion, which have left some species on the verge of extinction. If you wish to donate, here are a few charities to consider. Any donations will help support all those in need during this dreadful time. General https://www.redcross.org.au/campaigns/disaster-relief-and-recovery-donate https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/donate/make-a-donation/donate-online/?appeal=disasterappeal https://donate.vinnies.org.au/appeals-nsw/vinnies-nsw-bushfire-appeal-nsw Wildlife https://www.facebook.com/donate/1386120504919105/10158318179549750/ Fire Service (NSW Rural) https://quickweb.westpac.com.au/OnlinePaymentServlet?cd_community=NSWRFS&cd_currency=AUD&cd_supplie
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Written by - Samantha Boreham
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
We would like to wish all our clients, candidates and suppliers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for all your continued support throughout 2019. We look forward to another amazing year with you in 2020!!
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Written by - Samantha Boreham
Christmas Opening Hours & Timesheet Deadlines
Here are our Christmas opening hours and timesheet deadlines. In order to deal with the Bank holidays, our payroll department will only have limited time to process the entire payroll for these weeks. We would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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Written by - Samantha Boreham
Christmas Party 2019
Experience Days generously donated a £50 voucher to spend on one of there experiences. Check out their website to view all they have to offer. www.experiencedays.co.uk Wednesday 4th December 2019 was our annual Christmas Party where we hosted a raffle with some amazing prizes. It was a great night had by all and we are very proud to announce that £810 was raised for 'Live Life To The Max' in aid of Cancer Research. Special thanks for all the donations from the companies above, without your generous donations we wouldn't have been able to raise such a great amount of money for the charity that means so much to us as a business.
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Written by - Samantha Boreham
Goodbye Stuart Wallis
On Friday 29th November we will be sadly saying goodbye to our HR Director Stuart Wallis, as he starts a new venture. Stuart started with 1st Step in February 2016 and has recently achieved the position of HR Director. Stuart has had a huge positive impact within the business with both clients and internal staff; as well as assisting with opening a new successful office in Slough, he also contributed in achieving authorised signatory for several major UK airports. Stuart has been instrumental in standardising all HR procedures within 1st Step. Our Owner & Chairman Simon Cowdrey said, “I have personally known Stuart for over 20 years and he has had a very constructive impact within the business and been a big part of the 1st Step family, it’s been a pleasure working with him over the past 3½; years. His work has been outstanding and provided a great deal of added value across 1st Step. Although I am sad to see him go, he leaves with my blessing and on good terms as the position he has been offered is an opportunity he can’t refuse. He has been an incredible support to me and the company and I would like to express my gratitude and wish him all the very best. I Look forward to crossing paths again in the near future.
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Written by - Stuart Wallis
Celebrating a 1st Step culture of diversity
At 1st Step, we are proud of our record in employing people based on their ability to do their job and for promoting a diverse workforce. Our latest statistics back up our efforts! Looking at our entire workforce of 50 employees, 60.4% of 1st Step employees are women, some of whom are now 40% of our senior team - almost treble what it was just 4 years ago. In terms of ethnic diversity, employees from a BAME ethnicity now represent 35.4% of our workforce. We believe that our ongoing growth and success is based on our ambition to have people working for us who have the ability to succeed, alongside having a workforce that is as diverse as the communities it represents. It's good to #bea1ststepper
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Written by - Samantha Boreham
Stansted Airport Approved
1st Step Solutions have taken a major step forward in our quest to become one of the leading aviation construction workforce suppliers in the UK by becoming approved airside signatories at Stansted Airport. This means that we can support your business across the airport sector with a security-cleared construction workforce from Labourers to Project Managers. Our Chairman, Simon Cowdrey said "Congratulations to the Heathrow West team on this major achievement." adding "Between Jas and Laila a great deal of effort has gone into processing our application. Which has involved speaking with contractors at Stanstead to gain an understanding of the way they have obtained their status and for us to understand the procedure of working alongside them to achieve a great workforce. Jas Dhunna, Business Manager said, “Credit must go to Laila Haddad for her hard work in getting this over the line.” Adding “Her hard work, dedication and support from myself and Stuart Wallis has secured us this amazing opportunity to provide our services” For more information on working for 1st Step at Stansted, Gatwick or Heathrow Airports, please call us on 01753 708988 or email heathrow@1ststepsolutions.co.uk and speak to Jas or Laila.
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Written by - Samantha Boreham
Careena Dabbs 15 Year Work Anniversary
Friday, 27th September 2019 we celebrated a major anniversary as Careena Dabbs has reached the milestone of 15 years with 1st Step. Careena has been with 1st Step since the very beginning and has become a mainstay of the business reaching the position of Executive Director in 2019, as a valued member of the Board. Simon Cowdrey, 1st Step’s Owner & Chairman, said “Careena is a highly respected and valued part of 1st Step, both internally and with our clients and peers across our business”, adding “She has become an integral part of what we do. From recruitment, advising clients as a business partner or mentoring and coaching colleagues, Careena has helped to shape and deliver 1st Step to be what it is today!” Careena is responsible for key areas in 1st Step, including compliance and support services such as our database as well as managing the London & South East M&E Trades team.
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Written by - Stuart Wallis
Max White - Always in our Thoughts
Saturday 17th August 2019 will mark the four-year anniversary of the passing of our friend and former Managing Director, Max White. Not only did Max join 1st Step on day one back in September 2004 and become a bedrock of what we are about, but he became a close friend and colleague to everyone he worked with – colleagues, clients and industry associates alike. He had an aura of calm and sensibleness that belied his years and instilled confidence in people he met. Many of our current colleagues at 1st Step didn’t meet Max, but every single employee that works for 1st Step understands the impact he had on our business, embedding our business ethics and vision for how we operate as a business. Even though time has passed, his memory has not faded and he is still the talking point of everyday conversations. Max succumb to cancer, after a long and hard battle during which he decided to devote his time to his campaign “Live Life to the Max”, which aimed to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. He thought that whatever life he had left, he wanted to live it the best way he could, alongside his daughter Ellie who he adored. He said that it was as important to understand the work Cancer Research UK do to help people live with cancer as it is to try and find a cure. This is why we will continuously support Live Life to the Max and Cancer Research UK as our charity of choice, to honour his legacy. Many of our 1st Step colleagues continue to follow his mantra of Live Life to the Max, facing their fears such as zip wires, abseils and skydives all in aid of honouring his memory whilst raising vital funds for this most worthy of causes. We ask that you join us in raising a glass to celebrate Max’s life this Saturday, 17th August and take a photo and post it on Instagram with #llttm and tag @1st.step.solutions and @cr_uk for Cancer Research UK. Raising awareness and remembering Max is Live Life to the Max (his was always a Guinness!)
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Written by - Stuart Wallis
Positively bucking the trend
Despite recent monthly recruitment monitoring from KMPG and the REC in the UK reporting an ongoing decrease in the availability of candidates across the permanent and temporary markets, we are embracing the challenge, confident that we have the relationships in place with candidates and clients to make the most of this opportunity. The permanent market shows a decrease in the availability of permanent staff of 25.4%, higher than the 22% in April. In the temporary market, the decrease in availability is showing the same trend, with a 14.4% drop in availability, compared with 12.2% drop in April. 1st Step’s Managing Director, Les Fillery said “Although 1st Step has bucked this trend in the same time period, the latest statistics from KMPG and REC bare out what we have been hearing in our conversations with clients and candidates. Uncertainty in the current economic and political climate is having an impact on the jobs market, both in terms of the availability of candidates and the salary expectations of those looking to move, but with the experience of our team, we are seeing this as a positive challenge.” Average starting salaries for permanent staff have increased further in May, with on average increases being at around 17.8%, whilst the temporary/contractor market has seen pay rates increase by around 18%. This trending scarcity of availability has had a significant impact on the “market rates” for new recruits. Analysing the report, REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry said “The jobs market is still creating opportunities for those looking for work. With vacancies rising and starting salaries going up sharply, it is worth people talking to recruiters about the next step in their career.” Our Associate Director, Davinia Farr believes that this gives more reason for candidates and clients to continue to put their faith in 1st Step. “We have excellent relationships with our clients and candidates alike, with my team having industry knowledge that is second to none. We understand what each stakeholder in the recruitment process is looking for, and never forget the ‘consultant’ part of our job.” Davinia advises that “the key to anyone thinking about a move, is to work with a recruiter that wants to understand you and the kind of business you want to work with or the projects you want to work upon. We can then marry this up with the clients we think are best suited to what you want to do. By maintaining close ties with our clients, we understand better than most their internal culture and values, and what kind of candidates they would want to see. 1st Step is not in the game of mass-CV mailshots, but of cultivating the right opportunities for both parties.”
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