20th Anniversary Celebration

20^th Anniversary Celebration

Forde Recruitment the South Yorkshire recruitment company founded on a £40-a-week grant in a recession is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a move to bigger offices this summer.

Forde Recruitment, which specialises in recruiting temporary and permanent staff for commerce and industry, was launched during the1991 recession - a time when tough economic times saw many businesses failing and unemployment was on the rise.

The company, based on Leopold Street, Sheffield, which has a track record of two decades of success, is now set to expand following the purchase of new, larger offices in Townhead Street, close to the city centre.

Managing director, Paul Forde, said: “I am proud of our success and with us reaching such a significant milestone in our history; it’s now the right time to be looking forward and plan the next stage of the business.”

He founded the company after returning from a career in recruitment in London to set up his own company using a £40-a-week government grant specifically for start up businesses.

He said: “I started off in an office in Cross Burgess Street in Sheffield in June 1991, with just a desk, a phone, and a list of contacts. I was very determined to succeed.

“Right from the start the aim was simple - to provide an honest and reliable service to clients throughout South Yorkshire, and to never compromise on quality and these are the principles that have guided us over the last 20 years.”

The company was founded on solid, traditional business principles. In the early years, Forde Recruitment did not expand too quickly, to avoid the need to take out costly loans. This financial prudence has paid off, enabling Mr Forde to maintain tight financial control over the business, an element which he says remains key to its success.

The business has remained in balance for 20 years and the company has never factored its invoices – which is extremely rare in the recruitment industry with hundreds of temporary workers on the weekly payroll.

Forde Recruitment is one of a select group in South Yorkshire, as just a handful of recruitment firms are independently owned amidst many nationally recognized high street competitors.

Over the last two decades the company has grown organically and through acquisitions and has adapted to changing business conditions along the way.

The company has focused in the past four years on its transport division – involving the recruitment of hundreds of drivers each month for car remarketing and delivery specialists including Manheim and UFD.

The company has also diversified into new areas and in 2010 launched Forde Education, which recruits teachers and other educational specialist, as well as developing Forde Technical division which supplies temporary and permanent candidates to engineering, rail, civil engineering and construction. This is part of the company’s plan to build new business, while at the same time maintaining an excellent service for its more established clients.

Mr Forde said: “We have always valued our clients and are finding that other sectors of the market are strengthening, we are well placed to take up new opportunities.

“Reaching our 20th anniversary in June is a landmark for the company – and we remain as ever focused on delivering high quality services to our clients.”