A young entrepreneurial business based in Shropshire that has more than doubled its turnover since its launch in 2008 is taking on the best graduate talent the region has to offer to support its continued growth plans.
Telford-based ChoiceShops, ‘Best New Business’ winners at the Shropshire Business Awards 2010, has taken on three high calibre graduates in the last few months thanks to Grad Central. The graduates have taken up various positions within the company as part of a wider expansion programme by ChoiceShops to develop its existing range of speciality online stores and target new markets.
Libby Calaby, Horticultural Business Manager at ChoiceShops Ltd, commented: “It’s an extremely exciting time for our business. In only two years we have grown from having just one or two online stores, to now where we operate 10 successful niche websites selling a range of health, mobility and horticultural products to a wide variety of customers. We are not a company that rests on its laurels, with more stores in the pipeline we aim to become one of the UK’s top 100 retailers in the next few years. We have also been awarded with brand licensing deals with some of the UK’s leading charities, including AgeUK and the Royal Horticultural Society.”
“In order to support our growth plans, it is therefore essential we have access to the best and brightest people. Our recruitment strategy is based on employing people with entrepreneurial spirit that can add value to our business and make us more competitive. By recruiting graduates, we are tapping into the wider talent pool, offering sustainable career opportunities to those leaving university and bringing a higher academic level of education into our workplace.
“Having being involved in the recruitment industry for many years, I understand it can often be a very costly and time consuming exercise to find the right candidates. We therefore approached Grad Central because unlike other recruitment agencies, they specialise only in graduate positions purely for the West Midlands region. After meeting Grad Central’s consultant, we were confident they could meet and exceed our requirements. It’s testament to the service they provide that Grad Central has a 100% success rate with ChoiceShops – the three candidates they put forward are now successfully working in our business.”
Grad Central work with businesses every step of the way to meet their recruitment needs, helping to make the process as simple and efficient as possible. The company has access to a wide range of recently qualified graduates and those with industry experience.
The three new graduates joining the ChoiceShops team are Rekha Chhiber, Rob Jenkins and Vicky Pierson. Telford-resident Rekha graduated from Wolverhampton University with a BA in Business Management, MA in International Business and a MBA. She has joined to help the company research and develop potential new online retail categories. Rob is working as a horticultural advisor following the completion of his Accounting and Finance degree at Aberystwyth University. Vicky, after graduating from Huddersfield University with an International Business Studies degree, returns home to Telford and is working as a customer services advisor for ChoiceShops’ incontinence store.