Finance firm to create 80 jobs

Bon Accord Life offers career chances

Around 80 new financial sector jobs are set to be created in Stirling.

Bon Accord Life/Smarter Choice Solutions have announced they are creating the jobs in the next year in the Stirling area.

The company, based at Castle Business Park, says it is keen to show that “in a time of workplace uncertainty” many local companies are still keen to invest in the creation of “proper” jobs.

Bon Accord Life were established in 2008 but have grown in just a few short years from having two members of staff to now employing over 100 people as demand for its services has grown dramatically.

The company is recruiting around 40 staff in a variety of roles from insurance sales representatives and retentions consultants through to customer service and administration and support team members. The roles are open to graduates and experienced customer service/sales consultants.

Training and recruitment manager Craig Stolarek said: “In order to meet this recent new demand we have developed a new arm of our business, Smarter Choice Solutions, which will branch into new areas and create another 40 jobs over the next year. Again, this will be within the financial services industry but based around a much wider product portfolio to ensure a more encompassing service for customers.

“In a period of great uncertainty with high youth unemployment and where zero hours contracts are considered the norm for many, we are ensuring a safe, secure and well-paid working environment for all our staff. We are also investing in the new generation of recent school or college leavers by growing our apprenticeship programme in Providing Financial Services, offering young people the chance to build experience and see their careers grow. With our plans to open up new premises in Stirling in the coming months we are looking for skilled customer service and sales representatives to join our team to help our company grow for the benefit of our customers and our employees alike. I have been with the company for more than six years now and originally joined in a sales capacity when we had just six members of staff. Since then I’ve seen the company grow to having over 100 employees. It’s very exciting to be part of the new expansion programme and to see the creation of jobs.”

Last year saw almost 650 local jobs axed since the summer with BHS and McArees closing their Stirling stores, HSBC announcing it was leaving Castle Business Park and 44 jobs lost when Guardian Systems Ltd was liquidated.

In a period of uncertainty..we are ensuring a safe, secure and well paid environment