Retailer creates 150 new jobs at hub near airport
RETAILER Buy It Direct is creating another 150 jobs at the site of its new distribution hub near East Midlands Airport.
The firm is getting ready to take on the extra workers in its brand new 563,000 sq ft warehouse.
It sits near Castle Donington and is next door to supermarket giant Marks & Spencer’s’ giant distribution centre.
Buy It Direct has already recruited 50 staff recently through Sky Recruitment Solution.
But it is now looking to add another 150 roles to the site, which comes as a welcome jobs boost for the area.
Beckie Elliott, business manager for Sky Recruitment Solutions, said: “Recruitment is absolutely vital for this company and, although the targets are very ambitious, it’s going very well. It is an impressive operation and is a fantastic chance for people to upskill and take advantage of improved pay rates.”
Ms Elliott said Sky was seeking “proactive and reliable” people to work in permanent positions, with full training given where required.
She said: “This contract is massive for us and just shows how far our company has come in the last few years.”
Sky’s relationship with Buy It Direct began in 2018, when it stepped in to recruit for the retailer’s site in South Normanton after the previous recruitment agency under-performed.
Sky was then asked to launch an onsite operation at Buy It Direct’s centre in Huddersfield, during the first lockdown of 2020.
Buy It Direct, which made last year’s Sunday Times PwC Top Track 250 league table, has expanded significantly in recent years.
Starting out in 1999 as a Huddersfield store selling laptop computers, the firm now has large sites in Huddersfield, Elland, South Normanton, Swansea and Luton, now selling everything from household and tech appliances to furniture, bathrooms and hot tubs.
It is taking on warehouse operatives, fork-lift truck drivers, cherry picker drivers and counterbalance clamp operators. Heading up the Sky Recruitment operation at Buy It Direct’s new base is contract manager Kristian Reid.
He said: “It’s a really impressive place, with more space than is currently needed, so there is room to expand. We’ve got a great relationship with Buy It Direct, and they know we can respond to their needs.
“We are looking for drivers whose material handling equipment (MHE) certificate may have expired, or newcomers with no experience but lots of enthusiasm.”