Funding helps South Tyneside firms accelerate growth

Zenith People and Zenith Training have come together under one roof at Monkton Business Park in Hebburn after receiving support from The Growth Fund – which was set up to help companies looking to expand in Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland and the wider North East.

Zenith People is a Recruitment Business covering Engineering and Manufacturing; Technical and IT; Commercial, such as Marketing, Sales, Finance and Customer Service; and Construction.

Zenith Training supports companies with recruitment and training of apprentices, upskilling existing staff and accessing other funding sources.

The companies took over two floors of a building in Merchant Court in June, allowing both businesses to align their work much more effectively and collaborate on opportunities.

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Managing Director Angela Anderson believes that the positive impact of the move is already being felt.

She said: “Culturally it brings the two companies closer together and allows for a much more integrated workforce.

“From a commercial perspective it allows us to have much more effective conversations and look at new business more easily and service our clients better.

“So there’s the positive impact on the staff – bringing us all together and aligning the skills – and the commercial impact of allowing us to grow the business far quicker through more direct communication.”

Alan Metcalfe, Commercial Director, who is also vice-chair of the Advanced Manufacturing Forum and Chair of South Tyneside Chamber of Commerce said: “There aren’t enough individuals available to fill all of the vacancies, whether that be for apprenticeships or skilled roles, there just aren’t enough, at the same time, overheads are increasing and businesses are struggling.

“What we’re trying to do is integrate the funding that we have, developing more effective methods of recruiting and looking where we can add value to new and existing clients, without incurring costs where we can.

“For us it’s all about producing a new business model to allow other companies to grow more effectively using our services.”

The companies, which currently employ 45 people, has plans to grow and increase the number of staff at its new South Tyneside base.

Angela added: “We have a number of national clients, but around 90% are North East based. We find that South Tyneside is a good central location, it’s easy access to Teesside but equally as easy to travel along the coast to Northumberland.

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“We’ve always been based in South Tyneside, we like the community, we work well with the businesses in the borough, we work well with the council and we find it’s a good place to be. The business community in South Tyneside is excellent.”

Cllr Margaret Meling, Lead Member for Economic Growth and Transport at South Tyneside Council, said: “This initiative will not only benefit the companies involved, helping them become more streamlined and efficient, but will also allow our workforce to take up more skilled work when it becomes available, in turn attracting other employers to the Borough.

“South Tyneside is a great place to do business, and we’re always delighted to watch our local firms grow and flourish, taking advantage of our fantastic location, facilities and business community.”