Meet the Bourne Space Members: FTS Construction Recruitment

Bourne Space is home to a whole host of brilliant businesses and each month we’ll be introducing you to them. Next up, it’s FTS Construction Recruitment and Managing Director Jared Lee...

Hi, Jared. Tell us more about FTS

Having started my career in the Financial Services industry, I was invited to join one of the UK's leading recruitment agencies as a Trainee Consultant in 1996 and there began my love affair with recruitment.

I founded FTS in 2003 with the aim of providing a boutique recruitment service that was more consultative and personal than that offered by many of the large conglomerates.

Our mission is to supply technical and managerial personnel to the construction industry on both a freelance and permanent basis across the South of England.

What services do you offer your clients, and how do you do it?

As a recruitment company we have two sets of customers – the companies we find people for and the people themselves.

So, understanding the needs of both is paramount and we do this by regularly meeting our clients (employers) and interviewing candidates (job seekers).

Only by doing this are we able to match the two effectively.

Recruitment is an ever-changing environment. Companies grow, people change jobs and employment legislation is always changing so we offer a range of recruitment services to meet the needs of both customer types and to ensure we do so compliantly.

Our ‘Permanent’ service is for companies who are looking to hire for the long term and usually involves candidates leaving a current position to move across to a new employer with whom they continue their career.

Changing jobs is one of the biggest decisions someone is likely to make and we are sympathetic to this in the way we work with them to make sure it’s right for them and their family.

Freelance tends to be more transactional and suits those who prefer to have a bit more say over when, where and with whom they work.

There’s less security than with permanent employment and we need to stay in close contact with our temporary workers so that we can be lining up their next assignment for them once their current one ends.

With our long-standing relationships with our clients, we have a thorough understanding of the culture of the company, what they look for in new joiners, and what their plans are for the future.

This information greatly assists our selection process when we search for candidates.

Once selected, our consultants guide the candidate, ensure we match up what they are looking for in their next career move and aid them throughout the recruitment journey, ultimately leading them to a new job.

Give us an example of one of your greatest achievements

One of our greatest projects was when one of our clients expanded into Bournemouth a few years ago and required recruitment assistance as they were new to the area.

Our FTS team pulled their resources together and project staffed our client’s new office who then went on to construct over £100m of new building works for Bournemouth University.

Why did you choose Bourne Space?

Upon setting up FTS I wanted an office that I would be proud of when meeting customers and in which I could grow the business and expand the team.

The suite of flexible solutions available was really important to at the outset when wanting to keep my fixed costs down.

What attracted me to Bourne Space initially was the prominent location in Bournemouth, the facilities and the friendly team who were really helpful with the move and really efficient in setting up the communications side of things.

What’s kept me here for 18 years is that Bourne Space doesn't put on a show to get you into the facility and then lose interest as soon as you’re in.

In fact, my experience of the team, the facility and the service is that it just keeps getting better.

What is the most important feature of Bourne Space for your company?

The most important feature of Bourne Space is the assistance from the team.

By having a dedicated team manning the foundations of the business, it frees our team up to focus on recruiting.

As we have been here for 18 years, we have moved offices and floors within the building numerous times and the Bourne Space team help with patching in our network, helping us set up our new workspace and ensuring the minimal amount of downtime to our staff which is invaluable.

Tell us how the community at Bourne Space has allowed you to collaborate and/or network with other Bourne Space members.

Bourne Space creates opportunities to network with other members, either by attending their frequent social events, relaxing in the breakout rooms or on the roof garden or even a fleeting meet when using the communal kitchens.

What’s next for your business?

We are carefully rebuilding our team following a tough year in the pandemic.

It has given us an opportunity to pause and analyse our future goals and now it is time to find the right people to assist with it.

We look forward to attending more socials with the Bourne Space team and many more happy years here.

Find out more about FTS Construction Recruitment by visiting their website.