The Sentinel

30,000 mobile phone repairs means an extra 20 staff by end of the year Thriving techno to double its wo

- By LAURA WATSON Business editor

ATECHNOLOG­Y repair business has revealed plans to double the size of its workforce by Christmas. Chesterton-based TMT First has already taken on 40 new staff since the start of lockdown after seeing thousands more mobile phones come in for repair.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Samsung Authorised Repair Partner has seen more than 100,000 mobiles come through the doors for processing – 30,000 of which needed repairing.

It follows a host of new contract wins with the NHS, police forces, the Government and local authoritie­s.

Now the company is planning to recruit another 20 staff by the end of the year – to take its workforce to 120.

The firm, which is based in Holditch Road, has already recruited operationa­l, sales, customer services and warehouse staff, senior managers and repair technician­s.

But with more mobiles due in, the firm needs to recruit even more in the coming months – particular­ly experience­d mobile phone repair technician­s.

TMT owner Adam Whitehouse, who founded the company in 2006, said: “It has been an exceptiona­lly busy time for us, and we are in a very privileged position to be expanding at a time when the economy has been so badly hit by the pandemic.

“At the start of lockdown, we had 60 staff, we’ve now got 100. By December we want at least another 20 staff on site. We especially want to recruit repair technician­s to help us with the sheer volume of mobile phones we are expecting to come in over the coming months. If there are people out there who have experience of repairing electrical products such as TVS and laptops, we want to hear from them.”

He added: “We have a dedicated training section on site so anyone who needs additional training will be fully supported. Once completed they will also become an authorised trained and accredited Samsung technician.

“The new roles are ideal for anyone with the relevant experience who wants to work and progress in a fast growth technology company like ours.”

A growing workforce means TMT will also be expanding into a neighbouri­ng space when the current tenants relocate next year.

The move will give the company 43,000 sq ft to operate from and ensure it has enough room for its continued expansion plans.

At the same time, TMT is developing a Digital Device Repair Technician Apprentice­ship in partnershi­p with Samsung, and other technical businesses in the UK, in a move which is thought to be the first of its kind in the country.

The scheme will help to fill the skills shortage and ensure that there is a pipeline of skilled technician­s.

Adam said: “As a business we are looking at a period of sustained growth. We have seen a surge in demand for our services and expect that to continue.

“The future is looking bright for us – we’ll have extra space to operate from next year and are currently in the process of having our websites redesigned which will help grow the business further.”

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom