While job seekers in Swansea were recently hit hard by the news that Virgin Media were set to close their Swansea division with the loss of 800 jobs, the town has seen job prospects boosted by a massive recruitment drive by ERS, the UK’s largest specialist motor insurer.
ERS provides motor insurance for specialist vehicles such as classic cars, combine harvesters and the most exclusive of supercars for unique events like the Gumball 3000 Rally. The company have already recognised the talent potential in the Swansea area, having moved into new 33,000 sq ft premises in Crucible Park, Swansea Vale in 2015 to facilitate its ongoing expansion in the city.
ERS has already doubled its size in Swansea over the last three years taking it to well over 450 employees, and this month held a recruitment drive to hire an additional 100 new team members to work at their Swansea office.
The company are developing employees in Swansea to undertake more specialist roles across functions like IT, claims and underwriting, giving rise to a range of opportunities, which saw them receive over 150 job applications at the recruitment fair. ERS says it will also invest in training and development over the next 12 months, and will continue to offer further opportunities at all experience levels as the company continues to thrive.
The news of the recruitment drive was particularly welcomed by the many former and current employees from Virgin Media, with those attending saying the news of ERS’ recruitment drive was a boost to their morale. One described it as “light at the end of the tunnel” during a stressful period in their lives.
Lauren Edwards, Head of HR at ERS, said:
“To be in a position to be recruiting in the current environment is a great place to be – both for ERS and for Swansea.
“We are very sensitive to the impact the closure of Virgin Media’s Swansea office will be having on its employees and so are very pleased to have met so many strong candidates from Virgin, among others at our open day.”
“The event itself was a great success and I was extremely proud to receive comments from attendees on the day about how enthusiastic and friendly our employees who supported the event were – the team did a great job depicting our culture and the best bit about it is that they were just being themselves.
“I am delighted that we are able to increasingly offer not just jobs but real career opportunities as we continue to expand.”