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20 Years of Careers and Aiming for the Billion

27 Jul 2017

First Recruitment Group are delighted to announce their 20th anniversary, as they head towards £850 million worth of sales.

In 1997 our founders Steve Farthing (pictured far right) and Andy Cartledge (pictured far left) set up the company in a box room in Steve’s house, focusing on the specialist area of technical and engineering recruitment.

They started by building strong relationships with a small number of clients, one of which was Simon Carves, a multi-disciplinary engineering company, who are still a client to this day.

Brian Cornah, Head of Engineering at Simon Carves said, “It’s great to work with a recruitment agency we trust. The team at First Recruitment Group are friendly and straight talking and they continue to provide an excellent service. We’re proud to still be working with them after 20 years.”

To kick start the launch we have unveiled our new Legacy Wall in the office, showing a timeline of the last 20 years of business. Staff have also been treated to a birthday party in the office with a sit down meal and birthday cake.

Prize giveaway to win £1500 worth of training

Finally as a thank you to our clients, candidates and to everyone who has helped us over the years, we launched a prize giveaway to win up to £1500 worth of training or education. The prize could be used to learn new skills to progress your career or to pass on to a family member or friend to help them begin their own career.

Ambitions to hit 1 billion pounds worth of sales

CEO, John Urpi (pictured in the middle), commented, “I’ve worked with both Steve and Andy on a number of occasions over the last 30 years, long before First Recruitment Group. I feel proud to have had an influence on the companies direction, seeing it grow into an international business that is both successful and diverse.”

We are close to hitting £850 million pounds worth of sales since we opened in 1997, with a determined goal of hitting 1 billion pounds worth of sales in 2018. This is a great time to reflect, thank our staff for their hard work and our clients and candidates for their continued loyalty. And although our business has grown, we have managed to maintain a family feel with a strong commitment to our local charities and community. It’s a privilege to be part of the team.”

Timeline of our history

Legacy Wall

Here is a timelapse video of our Legacy Wall being installed in our offices...

And here is a picture of the finished wall...

Anniversary Launch Party

Testimonials

“We have required a number of Quality Assurance/Quality Control candidates within the Nuclear Industry. Since early 2016 First Recruitment Group have provided a number of QA/QC professionals in locations across the UK.

“We have been very pleased with both the quality of supply and the customer service demonstrated and will continue to use their professional services in the future.”

Bureau Veritas

“I have worked with First Recruitment Group as my partner of choice across a number of large and challenging Oil & Gas projects internationally over recent years.

“First are a high performing business who are built on credibility, honesty, expertise.

“As we push the frontiers of projects and move in to more and more challenging and locations, First will continue to be my partner of choice to help us deliver our projects with confidence.”

TechnipFMC

"I have had the pleasure of working with First Recruitment Group over recent years and we have formed a great working relationship. Their understanding of our exacting requirements is outstanding.

"The First team are highly experienced and knowledgeable across the recruitment spectrum and operate in the manner you would expect of a professional outfit of their stature. Their attention to detail and approach is faultless and their commitment and drive has helped our business with unique, complex and difficult recruitment requirements.

"Sarah, our Account Manager, is an incisive thinker as well as hardworking, diligent and reliable and has an extremely helpful and flexible approach to her work. This reflects in her team and with their ability to communicate at all levels in an honest and trusted consultative manner and gives us great faith in their ability to identify candidates who can help us to drive forward and achieve our business goals.

"I have no hesitation in recommending First as a recruitment partner and feel they would be worthy of selection for any engineering or manufacturing business looking for an intelligent and innovative solution."

Nuvia

“There is nothing negative about the service that we’ve received from First. Without fail they have produced positive feedback. The fact that they have placed a diverse range of skills from PA's to Engineers, just goes to show that they have the core skills, intelligence, and initiative that make them great recruiters, and preferred partners.”

Multi-Sector Client

"It’s great to work with a recruitment agency we trust. The team at First Recruitment Group are friendly and straight talking and they continue to provide an excellent service. We’re proud to still be working with them after 20 years."

Simon Carves Engineering Ltd

Read all Testimonials

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