When Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was asked what was the greatest challenge for a statesman, he replied: ‘Events, dear boy, events’. His successors within the Tory party over the last 12 months would surely agree. For a recruiter, however, events are less of a challenge and more of an opportunity. In my first four months as a Senior Consultant at Ellwood Atfield I have had the good fortune to attend over a dozen events, including 5 within the space of a fortnight, meeting clients and candidates alike. Here is just a snippet of some of the events that I have been able to attend.
Firstly, I was invited to a parliamentary reception on the behalf of Starship Technologies to discuss the rollout of their autonomous robots and the need for new national regulation to ensure that the UK remains a world leader in this green industry of the future. As more autonomous robots are rolled out across towns and cities in the UK, it was interesting to see them in action – dancing, even!
Later that week I joined a parliamentary breakfast discussion on a similar subject – the green jobs of the future, hosted by WSP. The presentation started with some exclusive polling that had surveyed young people and their attraction to careers in sectors crucial to meeting the UK’s net zero ambitions. The panellists discussed ways to bridge the gap between climate concern and the lack of attraction to the key sectors at the centre of our green future by bringing educators, charities, businesses and government together to mobilise talent.
Many reading this will know that Ellwood Atfield works very closely with Trade Association’s, and it was great to attend the launch of the Trade Association Forum’s annual benchmarking report alongside one of our Founder’s, Gavin Ellwood. It was interesting to hear that Trade Association’s are facing similar issues to other clients when it comes to recruitment and that more work than ever is being done to attract new talent into the sector.
A short while later I had the privilege of attending Ellwood Atfield’s flagship annual extravaganza – the political cartoon of the year awards. What a night it was. With hundreds gathered in St John’s on Smith Square, it was a brilliant night of laughter (courtesy largely of The Rt Hon Angela Rayner – at the well-received expense of The Rt Hon Jacob Rees Mogg), interest (as we met with clients, new and old), and serious politics (as we heard from Ukrainian cartoonist, Vladimir Kazanevsky, on his determination to expose Putin’s terror through his political art).
The following morning I attended a panel discussion on the future recruitment needs of leading university media teams, hearing from directors and media experts on the challenges that the sector is facing. As the vertical market lead at Ellwood Atfield for the education sector, attending events within my area remains of crucial importance. There is nothing better than hearing from the ‘front line’ when it comes to knowing what to look out for when headhunting the very best candidates.
With more events scheduled in for the New Year, I am looking forward to getting back out across London, meeting with clients and candidates who are getting ready to embark on new challenges of their own in 2023. If you are one of such people, why not drop me a message, perhaps we can have a chat over a cheese sandwich or a glass of wine at such an event.