Siemens today stepped up its activity to support the recruitment of a 1,000-strong workforce in Hull. For the first time, the company revealed details of a wide range of jobs that will be available as a result of its investment in the wind turbine blade manufacturing and associated facilities in the city.
A small number of the jobs are available now, but most will be advertised later this year and in 2016. The company said it wanted to give potential applicants a clear picture of future vacancies at the earliest opportunity.
Siemens has worked with Hull City and East Riding Councils and Job Centre Plus to publish the comprehensive jobs information on a new Siemens careers section of the Green Port Hull website, which is managed by the council. People who are interested in opportunities with Siemens in the city can also register their interest via Siemens website .
A wide range of jobs in the blade factory, engineering and managerial functions are listed, with details of the skills, experience and behaviours Siemens is looking for. Potential applicants can see details of the recruitment processes involved for each position and the rewards the jobs offer. Information about warehouse roles will be added later this year.
The lead-in time will enable potential candidates to be proactive in gaining training and support, if required, to equip them for the positions and the selection process.
Carolyn Woolway, Siemens’ Head of Human Resources for the Hull project , said: “We want people to have clarity, at the earliest opportunity, about the types of roles, skill sets and experience we are looking for so, if necessary, they can be proactive about upskilling themselves to fit the requirements.
“So, if a person does want to work for us and there is a specific job they are interested in, there will be time for them to enhance their skills or look at whatever other support there may be available to put them in the best possible position to apply for the role.
“We believe giving people early visibility of these positions will be helpful to potential candidates, but we are also appealing for people to be patient. The recruitment process will take time because of the volume of jobs involved and our determination to manage the process thoroughly to ensure we get the very best recruits and applicants have the best possible opportunity to work with us.”
Siemens stressed it was fully committed to employing as many local people as possible and said applicants would be expected to live locally or commit to relocate into the area.
Woolway added: “We have always said we want to recruit local people and this new facility opens the door to a lot of people who live and work locally who we know have similar and transferrable skill sets.
“In addition, we will work with the Green Port Growth Pathway Programme, which is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, to highlight training opportunities, through third-party providers, to equip local long-term unemployed people with the skills that potentially could enable them to work with Siemens.”
With partner Associated British Ports (ABP), Siemens is investing £310m in the Hull project – the city’s biggest ever inward investment. The facilities at Alexandra Dock will create 1,000 jobs directly, with more during construction and in the supply chain.
Siemens already employs around 25 people in Hull in project management, wind turbine commissioning and stores positions. Almost all of the operational roles made available so far have gone to local people.
The first major phase of recruitment is scheduled for later this year when Siemens expects to advertise around 250 operative and team leader positions for the blade factory. A significant number of these will undergo periods of training in Aalborg, Denmark, where Siemens has a blade manufacturing facility.
Image: Siemens