With a strong reputation in the construction and shopfitting sectors, Site Contract Personnel specialises in providing skilled and reliable labour to support projects across the industry. Their efficiency ensures that businesses have the right people in place to deliver exceptional results.
In our latest interview, we sat down with Contracts Manager, Matt Penny, at Site Contract Personnel to learn more about their expertise, their approach to recruitment, and how they support shopfitters in meeting workforce demands. Read on as we explore how their services can benefit NAS Members.
Why did Site Contract Personnel choose to join the NAS?
Although we’ve been established since 2010 and already have a loyal core of fitout clients, SCP didn’t have a dedicated Interior Fitout Division until we asked Matt Penny to join us at the beginning of 2023. When Matt, who has spent the majority of his 20 year recruitment career concentrating within fitout, suggested SCP join The NAS it seemed a natural direction for us to follow in order to help develop this side of the business further.
What challenges do employers in the shopfitting sector face when it comes to recruitment, and how does Site Contract Personnel help solve them?
It’s not just the shopfitting sector that faces these challenges, everyone operating within the built environment does! Employers and Government have got to address the skills shortage ensuring apprenticeships are promoted to fill gaps from people leaving the industry or retiring.
SCP are now in their 15th year of trading, and as result we’ve got one of the best databases in the country (being added to daily) which enables us to source local qualified and vetted operatives at short notice. A fair portion of new applicants come from referrals of operatives who’ve been working for us.
How do you ensure the candidates you provide are the right fit for specialist roles?
Each market we operate in (Civils / Construction / Fitout / Housebuilding / Plant) has a specialist consultant with several years experience sourcing labour in their particular sector. Unlike some of our competitors, our consultants handle your business from enquiry to delivery without passing your requirement to a team of resourcers. This enables the respective consultant to keep a track of who’s being shortlisted against our client’s needs. We’ve also recently invested heavily in a new database that automatically matches already, and newly registered, candidates to clients by sector on our system.
In shopfitting for example, often a joiner isn’t needed to just work with timber – having experience of glass / metal / plastic is often also required – so wouldn’t send a 1st fix or shuttering joiner to a fast paced fitout project.
Can you share a recent success story?
Last summer on an existing client visit we were already supplying on a project in a retail park, we noticed another fitout project going on nearby. After Matt called in to introduce himself and left some details with the site manager, that Friday evening just before 7pm he contacted Matt needing a painter for the weekend that he was able to source.
On the back of that service Matt provided, they’re now a valued client using SCP on 19 projects since last July, supporting them on both days and nights with contract trades and labour on a nationwide roll-out of department store refurbishments.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to shopfitting companies looking to improve their hiring process?
If you’re trying to attract talent yourselves – without using an agency such as SCP – ensure you have a clear job description, try and eliminate the need for multiple interviews, and plan ahead for notice periods that someone leaving their current employer would need to give.
Should the requirement be more immediate, and you’d need to use an agency, set aside a few minutes for when you’re on the phone to set out what kind of candidate you’re looking for and what you’d need them to do.
Contact Contracts Manager Matt Penny on:
Telephone: 0113 3970848
Mobile: 07503 948 414
Email: matt@sitecontractpersonnel.co.uk
Or find out more about Site Contract Personnel on their website: https://www.siteces.uk/
