South Shields pair help Compass steer new course

From left, Kate Hull, Amy Forshaw, Executive Compass director of marketing, and Alexander Holt,

The firm, which specialises in writing tenders for companies bidding into the public sector, is experiencing a steady rise in demand for its services and has helped many clients, from small owner-managed businesses to household names, win lucrative contracts.

Client wins include contracts for law, IT, health and social care, facilities management, security, the NHS, central government, online gaming and the energy sector amongst others.

Kate Hull, 23, from Beaconside, in South Shields, and 22-year-old Alexander Holt, from the town’s Redhead Park, were among six graduates who were recruited independently only to discover they had both attended St Wilfred’s Roman Catholic School before going to university.

Kate wanted to be a teacher and completed a history degree before gaining a masters in international business management at Northumbria University prior to starting with Executive Compass last December.

Alexander followed his dream to be a writer by studying English Language, a skill that he has found of great benefit in his new role.

“This really is my dream job,” he said.

“I’ve been putting into practice the theory that I learnt at university. The methodology of research is very similar to the work I did for my degree.

“The technical abilities are very similar. The role combines my love of research and writing with a very competitive spirit: I couldn’t ask for a more fulfilling job.”

Kate agreed: “Our training is comprehensive and we have other team members carrying out stringent quality checks to ensure that our standards are high,” she said.

“I’m learning about areas that I never knew about such as asbestos removal and it’s really interesting to see the amount of work that goes into each bid that we write.

“We need a detailed understanding of our client’s business to do justice to our bid writing.”

The Hoults Yard-based business consultancy, which employs 17 people in its Newcastle and Glasgow offices, was set up 10 years ago by managing director Neil Capstick.

Neil, who is studying for a Doctorate in Business Administration, is an advocate of the university system and has based part of his business plan on recruitment and retention of graduates.