Which job sectors are beating the credit crunch?

Someone asked us that the other day, and since they asked we are happy to oblige with the answer:

Oil and Gas - even though the price of Brent Crude has dropped well below the stratospheric level of $147 a barrel seen in July, there is still loads of recruitment activity in Oil and Gas firms operating in Aberdeen. And this means there are excellent opportunities in engineering, drilling, finance, management and office support.

Renewables - the next big thing in the Highlands and Islands? We think there is every likelihood, especially in the north of the region. We are seeing increasing opportunities in Orkney and Caithness for the wave-generation technology sector.

Public Sector - vacancy levels not significantly down and many of these jobs come with what the Daily Mail insists are 'gold-plated pensions'!

Care sector - there are still strong levels of advertising for support workers in several organisations across the north of Scotland

Accountancy and Finance - many firms have struggled to attract qualified personnel to the north of Scotland in the past few years during the economic boom. We have a great lifestyle here (hundreds of people were skiing last weekend in the Cairngorms!), wide open spaces, lochs, mountains, glens, stunning scenery and great careers away from the rat race, long commutes and high cost of living away down south! So what's holding you back?

Aberdeen rebrands to platformjobs.co.uk

Hijobs.co.uk – the leading job board in the North of Scotland – with over 800 jobs and 250 courses on our site – and growing fast!

Aberdeen Rebrands to platformjobs.co.uk

Since we expanded into Aberdeen from the Highlands a year ago, we have consistently listened to our customers and taken their advice on how best we can meet their needs. You often told us that you felt that the brand was not right for the Aberdeen market. We are delighted to announce that from this month, we will be trading in Aberdeen as platformjobs.co.uk. Building on our existing technology and customer base, we will operate under the new brand and continue to promote jobs in all sectors.

This decision has been fully supported by our magazine partner – Platform Magazine – and we will continue to promote advertising in that medium as well as on the site.

Energise 08

Finding talent for the energy, renewables, oil & gas and engineering sectors continue to be a challenge for companies in Aberdeen and the Highlands. One of the issues is that there is a lack of understanding about what living and working in the North is actually like. Jobs are advertised but candidates have little or no knowledge about the companies or locations. Following a highly successful event in March this year – Expo 08 – we have organized a focused event for Glasgow on 6th November. Basically we plan to showcase the companies, jobs and locations and drive talent to the North!

TV, Radio and Press Adverts – together with direct mail invitations and a healthy attendance from students in relevant disciplines – will ensure a great turn out for businesses on the day.

To book your stand or for more info – call 08454655627.

Other News
Congratulations to our Customer Support Manager – Laura Bleasdale – who passed her driving test this month!
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Advertise your jobs today from £100 per week!
Advertise your courses today from £10 per month!

Hijobs.co.uk: Fairways House Fairways Business Park, Inverness IV2 6AA
Platformjobs.co.uk: 12 Bon Accord Square, Aberdeen AB11 6DJ

Tel: 08454 655627 / 01463 258843

Hundreds of courses on hijobs.co.uk!

Phew, it's been a busy month here at hijobs. As well as hundreds of great north of Scotland job vacancies in oil & gas, engineering, management, admin, hospitality and marketing etc, we now have hundreds of commercial and academic courses in Aberdeen, Inverness and the Highlands & Islands.

Go to www.hijobs.co.uk/courses and see how you can improve your job prospects!!

Here's some good news about us!

We issued the following press release recently:

Inverness-based jobs board hijobs.co.uk has had a record number of jobs posted on the site over the past month – double the amount for the same period last year.

Hijobs.co.uk, which celebrated its 2nd birthday on 1st August, attracted more than 750 jobs on the site despite the traditional summer slowdown in recruitment.

It is also one of Google’s top ranking sites on the web for jobs in Inverness, Aberdeen and the Highlands.

Angela Paterson, Managing Director says that despite bad news stories from around the UK and beyond, its team is not seeing any slowdown in business in the North of Scotland. She says:

"We are seeing continued growth and expansion in the North. This is particularly evident in engineering, the drinks industry, hospitality and renewable energy sectors. These sectors are showing no sign of slowing – in fact we have seen considerable investment in the businesses and the people within these industries. Our increased business is also a reflection of a move towards the internet as a favoured method of job search."

This month has also seen the launch of Hijobs Courses – a service which lets companies advertise training courses on Hijobs.co.uk for as little as £10 per course.

Angela Paterson says: "This is another significant development for us and it means that hijobs.co.uk is now offering a truly comprehensive service. We aim for it to become a key focal point for people in the North of Scotland who are looking for a new job or wanting to learn a new trade or further develop their skills."

As you can see here, there is never a dull moment for the hijobs.co.uk team as we strive to make our site the best of its kind in the north of Scotland!

We've joined the blogosphere!

This is our mascot Oggie's first blog so forgive him, he's learning!

So, what's happening with the hijobs.co.uk team this week?

Prospects

We keep hearing bad news in the UK media about the economic situation brought on by the credit crunch but every cloud has a silver lining! And we would just like to say we are positive about job prospects in the north of Scotland for the rest of this year!

Yes, house builders appear to be suffering at the moment, and this reality was brought home when Inverness-based Tulloch Homes announced some job cuts this week, but there are still plenty of construction vacancies in the north of Scotland civil engineering sector, for example.

And other sectors like hospitality, accountancy and legal continue to struggle to attract qualified personnel.

And if you know anyone looking for retail management work on the Isle of Skye (where we've been told there is a shortage of workers in some sectors) could you please get in touch!

So our message is: don't be alarmed by negative media-driven hype about the worsening state of the UK economy. Our site is proof that the credit crunch hasn't bitten every sector - we have hundreds of current vacancies across the north of Scotland!!

What's hot on hijobs.co.uk?

Coffee is king - Starbucks' Management jobs in Aberdeen and Inverness.

Who's been speaking to us this week?

The Presiding Officer of The Scottish Parliament, Alex Fergusson MSP, and David Stewart MSP visited our office this week!

Lighter side of life

We loved this - check out office speak you love to hate here

Tell Oggie what YOU think - add a comment!

...about this blog, our website, your career hopes and fears. Click the comments link at the foot of this blog.

Thanks for reading this!

Oggie