450 new jobs boost at digger maker
JCB KICKS OFF RECRUITMENT DRIVE AS DEMAND FOR EQUIPMENT STARTS TO SOAR
DIGGER giant JCB is set to sign up hundreds of new employees as it starts to see a surge in business following the worst effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Rocester-based firm, which has a factory in Foston, will be signing up 450 new shop-floor agency employees as part of its current recruitment drive, which has kicked off today.
Bosses have also announced plans to give hundreds more agency employees permanent contracts as demand for construction equipment soars.
JCB has started looking out for 450 new employees at its factories in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Wrexham.
Later this year it will give an additional 400 agency shop-floor employees with more than one year’s service permanent JCB contracts. These will include assemblers, welders, fabricators and CNC machinists.
JCB chief operating officer Mark Turner said: “The rebound following the Covid19 pandemic continues to gather pace and even in the space of a month since we started recruiting, we now need a further 450 shop-floor employees. The creation of a total of 850 jobs this year is very good news for our business and for the areas where we operate.
“It’s also great news that this year we will give permanent JCB contracts to more than 700 agency employees, starting this month.”
Last month the firm revealed it was hiring more than 400 UK shop-floor agency employees and giving permanent JCB contracts from April 1 to more than 300 existing agency employees.
JCB says the market for construction equipment has rebounded sharply after the severe impact of the pandemic in spring 2020, which halted production at its factories around the world.
In March 2020, JCB’s orders disappeared overnight when the pandemic took hold. While no shop-floor jobs were lost, many staff positions were impacted. It took more than six months for the business to recover to production levels last seen in March 2020.
The firm says forecasts predict a continued solid recovery, with strong demand from mainland Europe and North America.
AN aerial picture taken of work on the project that includes the new Woodville bypass designed to ease Swadlincote’s traffic problems shows just how far the project has come along.
Work is now well and truly under way on the Woodville-to-Swadlincote regeneration route project, which will create a long-awaited bypass.
It is designed to take traffic away from the heavily congested Tollgate Island, which is a bottleneck and often results in long delays for motorists going into and out of nearby Swadlincote.
Now, Derbyshire County Council has shared a bird’s-eye view of how the project is taking shape, clearly showing the roundabouts and the new road layout.
A council spokesman said: “Check out this bird’s eye view of the Woodville to Swadlincote regeneration route taking shape.”
The project will involve building a new road from Occupation Lane, Woodville, to Kiln Way, Swadlincote, which leads onto Woodhouse Street’s junction with Derby Road.
The council says the project aims to unlock the development potential of the Woodville regeneration area and will cost approximately £13.44 million.
As well as the bypass, it will also include commercial units and 300 new homes, creating 3,100 jobs, plus extra jobs linked with construction.
Work officially started at the junction of Woodhouse Street, in October, and it is estimated to take around 40 weeks to complete.
It includes building the new road north-westwards from Occupation Lane, widening and building sections of retaining wall within Kiln Way, demolishing a part of the Woodville Business Centre in Woodhouse Street and building the new roundabout.
As part of the first phase, excavation of the new road at the former opencast site in Woodville was completed in January.
The council has now moved on to laying the three layers of stone which form the foundation of the new road. This will take approximately eight weeks, to March.
During February and March, drainage will be laid for the new road.
Culverts will also be installed to take the new road across streams flowing through the site. During December, the council worked with an environmentalist to ensure any wildlife hibernating in these areas was safeguarded.
The final part of phase one is work to upgrade the roundabout in Occupation Lane, Woodville. It was delayed from January and is now expected to start on February 8.
This work will need three-way traffic lights on the roundabout.
This will be the start of the Woodville bypass
Phase two
This will centre around the new roundabout at the junction of Woodhouse Street and Derby Road.
Severn Trent Water and Cadent Gas are working in this area, diverting the mains services in preparation for the new roundabout.
Three-way traffic lights are in place at the junction of Woodhouse Street and Kiln Way until the end of February.
Work in Derby Road at its junction with Woodhouse Street has started with three-way traffic lights and is expected to last until mid-February.
The groundwork team will continue laying stone to form the base of the new roundabout.
Phase three
This will involve work in Kiln Way. The retaining walls have been completed and work to install an acoustic barrier will continue throughout February.
The phase one works have now been joined up with phase three through to the Kiln Way cul-de-sac.
The route of the road is now continuous and clearly defined. The earthworks have been completed and the road foundation will now be built up. The completion of the Derby Road roundabout, the road from Occupation Lane to Kiln Way, and work to improve Kiln Way are expected to take place in May this year. The completion of the Kiln Way section is expected in August this year.