DIY lockdown boom creates 80 vacancies

A COMPANY launched a major recruitment drive with 80 new jobs on offer.

Online bathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing announced the vacancies as part of their business expansion – and said the trend for lockdown home renovation projects is the driving force behind it.

The Merseyside-based firm currently employs 400 staff and is scaling up to 480.

As well as increasing its headcount by 20% in the next three months, the firm is investing in an additional 50,000 sq ft of warehouse space at its dispatch site in Skelmersdale to handle increased orders.

The jobs expansion is a welcome boost to the region after figures released by the Office for National Statistics showed that the region’s unemployment rate is 7% – higher than at the height of the financial crisis in 2007-2008.

Victorian Plumbing said it was looking to hire across all areas of the business, but with a particular focus on warehouse staff and customer service roles.

With a showroom in Formby and a warehouse in Skelmersdale, the 80 new vacancies are all within commuting distance for many job hunters on Merseyside.

Victorian Plumbing’s managing director, Stephanie Judge, said the company had seen huge growth during lockdown.

She said: “There has been an increased appetite for home renovations during lockdown and investing in a bathroom revamp has been a key project for many.

“We are seeing consumers realise the benefits of renovations such as a new bathroom.”