Northumberland Businesses Unite to Support Merit Workforce
Northumberland’s business community is demonstrating its ongoing commitment to local people with a second jobs fair to support those by the closure of Cramlington-based construction firm Merit.
The event, organised by Business Northumberland, will take place on January 21st between 10am-noon at Cramlington Hub and focus on employers recruiting to back office and professional roles including administration, finance and project management.
The second fair follows an initial event in December, part of the ongoing work of the Merit Response Taskforce set up by Northumberland County Council with support from DWP, Job Centre Plus Rapid Response Team, the Department for Education, the North East Combined Authority, Business Northumberland, Northumberland College and Northumberland Skills.
The group was formed in response to and working with the administration of Merit Construction in Cramlington, to provide practical and immediate support to employees affected by redundancies at Merit.
The fair brought together a broad mix of employers including Northumbrian Water, Sterling PSL, Osbit, JDR Cables, Transmission Dynamics, Thermofisher Scientific, County Style Foods and the NHS who are actively recruiting across engineering, manufacturing, production, technical and management roles.
Local and regional partners also attended to offer careers guidance, skills support and advice on next steps, ensuring that individuals had access to both immediate opportunities, longer term pathways and apprenticeships.
Councillor Richard Wearmouth, Deputy Leader of Northumberland Council and Chair of the Merit Response Taskforce, said “Employers and support organisations have acted quickly to ensure those affected feel supported and have clear, practical routes back into employment or continuing on their apprenticeship journey.
“This collective response shows the strength and resilience of our workforce and our county.”
Early outcomes from the first Jobs Fair are already being seen. Several employers progressed to follow up interviews on the day, with JDR Cable Systems offering a job to a former Merit employee after meeting at the event.
Ryan Pattison, Resourcing Manager at JDR cables said “December’s jobs fair was extremely well organised, and you were able to bring together a number of reputable organisations from the local area to support those recently made redundant.
“The event created a great opportunity for us to meet some brilliant candidates and even allowed us to fill a vacancy on the day, already welcoming one back into work with us! We’re also hopeful that a number of the other individuals we spoke with can be supported into work with JDR in the near future.”
The Business Northumberland team are continuing active job matching efforts and encourage any businesses currently recruiting in: Engineering, Manufacturing, Production, Technical / Quality, Warehousing, Welding & Fabrication, Administration and Management to get in contact with the team.
With a strong pipeline of skilled former Merit employees available, there is an opportunity for employers to secure high-quality talent while supporting the wider community.
Former Merit employees who would like to attend the next event can register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1977382021857?aff=oddtdtcreator
There is also a dedicated webpage to support Merit employees: https://www.businessnorthumberland.co.uk/services/merit-employee/
Ongoing support is also available for former employers impacted by the administration process with applications, skills support or job-matching is still available. The Taskforce and partners remain committed to ensuring every affected individual has access to the right support at the right time.
For more information or to connect with available candidates or recruiters, please contact: Alex Kempster at Alex.Kempster@businessnorthumberland.co.uk or visit www.businessnorthumberland.co.uk