Recruiting for Retained Firefighters in Burton!

Burton and tutbury Fire Stations are recruiting retained firefighters!

Retained Firefighters provide emergency response cover from either their home or work base, which needs to be within five minutes of their local station.

As well as responding to emergencies, retained firefighters also get involved in Community Fire Safety initiatives in their local area; including home fire risk checks and school visits. After their initial training course, firefighters attend weekly drill nights to ensure they maintain their skills, in addition to which there are many more opportunities for training throughout the year.

Ian Pullen has been a retained firefighter at the station for six years and he is now a Crew Manager. He is also employed as a Prison Officer and so he fits in his retained duties around his shifts at the prison.

Ian Pullen says, “It’s a stark contrast to any jobs I’ve had before. You never know from one day to the next what type of incidents you may be called to, so there is always an element of the unknown. I enjoy getting out and about in the community – helping people and giving them advice on fire safety issues is very rewarding.”

Rich Critchlow has been with the Service for 12 years. Rich says, “The job is challenging, rewarding and exciting. The work varies so much we are sent to a whole range of incidents - fires, car crashes, animal rescues or even to children who’ve got their fingers stuck in something!”

Mark Wilson, Assistant Area Commander for East Staffordshire says “Retained firefighters are vital to the community and we urge people to come forward. Even if you’ve never considered being a firefighter before, we’d like to hear from you. Retained firefighters do the same role as their full time equivalents and receive the same amount of training.”

“So if you’re interested come and have an informal chat to us at our recruitment evening on 28th January at Burton Fire Station.”

Please confirm your attendance at the recruitment evening, to be held from 7pm – 9pm by calling 01785 898502. If you’re still interested but cannot attend the evening contact Assistant Area Commander, Mark Wilson on 01785 898597 to obtain further information. More information is also available at: www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk.

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‘Be positive, be prepared, be yourself’ is nextstep’s top tip for Burton on Trent jobseekers

This time of year is traditionally all about new starts – children moving up to senior school, students moving up to university and school leavers joining the jobs market.

But that doesn’t mean further education is the sole preserve of the young and it doesn’t mean that the job you’re in now is necessarily a job for life.

nextstep, the impartial advice service on learning and work for adults, has advisors all over Staffordshire ready to offer help and advice to adults who are looking to improve their job prospects, embark on further education or both.

One of the key skills jobseekers need is the ability to present themselves well at interview and nextstep believes that a little preparation goes a long way, particularly in knowing the kind of questions prospective employers are going to ask and the answers they expect to receive.

nextstep advisor Brian Morris said, “Generally, questions fall into a few main categories. Employers want to know about you directly, who you are and what experience you have; they also want to know what you know about them and the job you’re applying for.

“They might ask about your plans going forward and how you think they might fit into them. And, occasionally they will throw in a question that doesn’t appear that relevant at all, but may actually be designed to test how quickly you can think on your feet.

“And on that score, it’s always worth having a question or two of your own to come back with when the interviewer inevitably asks you if there’s anything you want to know.”

These are probably the questions a prospective employer will most often ask:

·    Tell me about yourself? – This is all about first impressions. Be brief but thorough. If it helps, use your CV as your guide. This is likely to be the first question and there will be many more to follow!
·    What are your strengths? – Keep your answers relevant to the job. And remember that while this may be a licence to brag, modesty is a strength too.
·    What are your weaknesses? – Turn this into a positive. Use it to show that even if you struggle in some areas, you’ve made efforts to improve and can show that you have done so.
·    What made you apply for this job? – Again, be positive and be prepared. Employers want to know what you know about them and that you have made a choice to join them, not that you didn’t get on with your previous boss.
·    Why should we hire you? – This is a “what’s this job all about” question and what’s required is an indication that you know at least something about what’s involved. Otherwise, why bother?
·    Where do you see yourself in five years time? – The interviewer will already have an idea of your previous employment history. Do you flit from job to job? Are you ambitious in this job or already looking down the road?
·    What salary are you looking for? – Be realistic. A little research should tell you what the guideline figures would be for the type of job you’re being interviewed for. But be firm, too. Don’t undersell yourself.
·    What interests do you have outside work? – Be honest. There’s no point in inventing some fanciful background story only to discover your interviewer is an expert in the field.
·    Do you have any questions for us? – “Um, no” is not the best answer you could give. Turn the tables a little. Why does your interviewer like working for this company? What will be your promotion prospects?

And there’s always:

·    If you were an animal in a zoo, what type would you be? – Go ahead, fill your boots. There is no right or wrong answer and in a sense it’s not the actual question, but the challenge to your speed of thought and creativity that counts.

Brian added, “These questions are just a guide, obviously, but the key messages remain relevant: Be prepared; be positive; be yourself.

“The prospect of any job interview can be daunting, so we would encourage jobseekers to give themselves the best chance of success. And that’s where we can help.”

nextstep, which is funded by Staffordshire Learning and Skills Council and managed by Connexions Staffordshire, provides impartial advice and guidance on learning, training and the world of work.

Targeted at people with few qualifications, it offers one-2-one support on a range of issues, including advice on training and qualifications, interview preparation and advice on CVs.

It can even provide information on financial grants that might be available to help people embrace learning opportunities.

For further information call the free Helpline on 0800 2980234 or visit www.nextstepstaffs.org.uk

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Crucial advice service extended in Burton

Adults in Burton on Trent have been given a timely boost in their search for more skills and better jobs with news that a crucial initiative has again been extended.

nextstep, the impartial advice service on learning and work has been delivering advice and guidance on jobs, skills and training to the over 20s across Staffordshire since 2004. Now it has had its contract extended until August 2008 with no fewer than 19 organisations helping to deliver the service across the county.

Last year in Burton on Trent nextstep exceeded its target of delivering over 850 advice sessions to adults in the town and the contract extension means that it will deliver a further 1,200 advice sessions in a bid to boost careers and enhance people’s quality of life.

Steve Lovatt, Business Manager from Connexions Staffordshire, who deliver the nextstep service for the LSC, said: “This is fantastic news for the area and testimony to the hard work of everyone at nextstep, including our partners and advisers who travel all over the county to deliver the service.”

He added: “The announcement falls in line with the government’s new five-year Skills Campaign, ‘Our future. It’s in our hands’ which looks to improve the skills of adults so they can access better jobs and employers can find the increased skilled workforce they need to grow.”

Since its inception, nextstep has delivered more than 30,000 advice sessions across the county, helping adults improve their employment prospects by finding suitable courses and training, giving advice on job search and interview techniques and offering help with completing job applications among other services. It can even provide information on financial grants that might be available to help people embrace learning opportunities.

Primarily targeted at people with few qualifications, nextstep offers face to face consultations with people in their own towns. It can also help adults to improve their self-confidence and help them get back into employment after a career break, illness or redundancy.

For further information call the free Helpline on 0800 2980234 or visit www.nextstepstaffs.org.uk

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The A38 corridor between Burton upon Trent and Lichfield is enjoying distribution fever, with over 1.5million sq ft of high quality units set to be available shortly it was revealed recently.

InStaffs, the inward investment agency for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, believes this latest news is further indication of the area’s growing popularity with domestic and international firms and, once occupied, could create in excess of 1500 jobs.

The facilities, which straddle the A38 corridor at Centrum 100, Centre 38, Wellington Road and Fradley Park, benefit from a wide variety of sizes and ‘arguably’ some of the best logistical links currently available in the UK.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Burton upon Trent and Lichfield to capitalise on widespread interest, creating thousands of jobs in the process,” explained John de Kanter, Chief Executive of InStaffs.

“The M6 Toll Road has had a major influence and improved access to the M6, A50, M42 and even the M1. This means that distribution companies - keen to reduce journey times - can be in Nottingham and Birmingham within 40 minutes, Stoke-on-Trent and the Black Country in 50 minutes and Derby in 20.”

He continued: “This is an ideal location and this has been reflected in the level of commitment from property developers, who continue to pour millions of pounds into new buildings.”

The biggest concentration of units is on Centrum 100 in Burton upon Trent with four facilities– ranging from the ex-Dunelm 100,000 sq ft building to the 460,000 sq ft Opus Axis – providing a total of 927,000 sq ft of space.

Elsewhere in the town, the 150,000 sq ft Cumulus building on Centre 38 is available, whilst Avro Business Park on Wellington Road will soon see a 300,000 sq ft unit under construction.

“Fradley Park in Lichfield has always been a magnet for distribution companies, with Hellman, Caterpillar Logistics and Amethyst already based on the scheme and Tesco soon to follow with its high-profile 710,000 sq ft distribution unit set to create close on 900 jobs.”

John added: “Another 460,000 sq ft warehouse has outline planning permission and, if previous experience is anything to go by, it may not be long until a pre-let is secured.”

In addition to the logistical benefits of the A38 corridor, potential investors are also being attracted by the area’s strong labour pools and attractive rental values for industrial properties, which are considerably lower than in the East Midlands and Birmingham.

It also boasts a strong pedigree of being able to act as a thriving hub for distribution businesses, who, once relocated here, have gone on to enjoy success and considerable expansion in a relatively short period of time.

John concluded: “The end result is that jobs will be created for local people and, increasingly, we are seeing higher-value positions added as a result of office/sales functions being based within these facilities.”

InStaffs is a partnership of Staffordshire Local Authorities and Chambers of Commerce providing a single point of contact for businesses wishing to move to, or expand within, the county of Staffordshire.

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