Hiring spree at recruiting firm

An Edinburgh-based agency focused on the construction and property industry is to boost headcount by twothirds within two years due to “significant growth” in the sector.

Peace Recruitment said yesterday it will increase its staffing from 18 to 30 after its recent move to a new, larger HQ off Dalry Road, near Haymarket station.

Group MD Chris Peace, who in 2009 founded a business that claims to recruit “from labourers to chief executives”, said substantial investment had been committed to the planned expansion.

“Our job flow has increased significantly year on year as the industry becomes busier and skills shortages are prevalent,” he said.

“We have also seen a 40 per cent rise in the number of interviews we are confirming. The surveying and property market is very busy at the moment and there are big demands for site managers and contracts managers, particularly in the affordable housing sector.”

The new site comprises 2,500 sq ft of refurbished offices, almost double the 1,400 sq ft in Peace Recruitment’s former HQ on the other side of the city, in Ferry Road.

Peace said he would be adding adding consultants and managers to the company’s specialist teams. He added that the business took pride in its success in training its own staff.

Of those who have worked for the company, he said 50 per cent had no recruitment experience when joining, and that some had gone on to take senior positions in the sector.

“We were bursting at the seams in our former head office,” Peace said. “When we given the opportunity to move into the city centre it suited our growth plans perfectly.”