Revamped FE Careers sees 148% job seeker increase

The number of job seekers using FEcareers.co.uk, the specialist recruitment website, has rocketed by 148% in just six months, after its biggest web development since the site was launched in 2004.

 

The sister site of FEnews.co.uk, which advertises jobs targeted at the Further Education, Work-Based Learning and Skills sector, saw its monthly traffic soar from 109,000 job seeker visitor sessions last April to 270,367 in October this year.

 

Gavin O’Meara, chief executive, said: "To enjoy a 148% increase in job seeker sessions in just six months is amazing and is totally above my own estimations of what was possible. We also tripled the amount of enhanced advertising space with the new site design as the waiting list for these services was for several months on the old site."

 

"Six months down the line and with triple the amount of space, we now have a waiting list again for several of our enhanced advertising services and at one point last month all of the space for enhanced advertising was filled."

 

The credit crunch has caused many companies across the nation to report dramatic falls in business, particularly in internet advertising, but FEcareers.co.uk is enjoying quite the opposite. Several large public sector recruitment agencies have committed to long term advertising campaigns from this month alone. Some of the biggest Government-funded training providers in the UK have also been eager to sign up.

 

Mr O’Meara continued: "We’re enjoying a real snow ball effect at the moment, with more training providers and Colleges using the site on a continuous basis. All of the major FE and specialist NVQ Recruitment Agencies advertise on FE Careers … we are now being approached by an ever increasing number of very large and also start up agencies all of whom are starting to move into the Further Education sector.

 

"With the credit crunch effect on the rest of the UK economy and the doom and gloom reported on a daily basis in the press – it appears that a lot of people can see that a recession will actually further boost the Further Education sector, particularly the NVQ & Skills sector, Employability, Advice and Guidance, if the slump hits a lot harder than predicted."

 

Steven Shippey, operations director of Training Enterprises, the Government-funded training provider, commented: "Since signing up FE Careers it has helped us recruit around 8 new qualified members of staff and all have been of a very high standard.

 

"In April 2008, FE Careers gave their site a new shape & look and the response to our advertising has continued to be very good if not even better. The new changes makes it even easier for employers to see how the advertising is getting on. I would recommend FE Careers to any colleges, schools & national training providers like us."