Starting the new academic year brings with it excitement, apprehension and opportunities.  As the summer holidays come to an end and we prepare to go back to “reality” it’s the perfect opportunity to make new goals and objectives.

Reflecting on the past academic year, I feel very proud to work in the education recruitment sector and provide outstanding candidates to our schools. The last 18 months have been challenging to say the least, especially with school closures and staff having to adapt to ways of new working. But everyone involved with Affinity Workforce and its brands from candidates, clients and our consultants rose to the challenge.

We continued to provide outstanding candidates on short- and long-term placements at very short notice. We continued to deliver high-quality service despite the extra pressure Covid-19 brought to the sector. And we worked collaboratively with our clients to ensure their needs were met throughout the pandemic.

To do that was an achievement in itself. But we didn’t stop there. In September 2020, Sugarman Education joined the Affinity family, which has continued to grow in London and beyond. We also secured 7 managed service partnerships across the Northeast, Midlands, London and Bristol. This is an outstanding accomplishment and a testimony to the fantastic employees we have here. It showcases the ambitious nature of our business and reaffirms our desire to secure our position as a market leading provider within the education recruitment space.

We also launched two brand new websites for CER and Monarch, which boasts our refreshed branding to highlight the modern and innovative approach we take.

As we look forward to the new academic year, it brings with it opportunities and openings. One of our focuses this year is on the training and development of our candidates. We are passionate about ensuring our candidates have access to the most up-to-date training, so they can provide exceptional teaching and support for the younger generation. An exciting announcement regarding the development of our candidates will be announced very shortly, which I will probably be talking about for the next 12 months!

We also want to build on our success of last year and during the summer months, we have recruited some exceptional consultants, with experience in both recruitment and teaching. Hiring the top talent within the sector demonstrates our mission to seek the best candidates for our clients.

Although we have offices nationwide, we are very much a family. We celebrate each other’s successes through Friday Lunch Clubs, annual overseas trips and I’m sure there will be lots of celebrating this academic year as we reach personal and professional goals.

I would like to wish you all every success this academic year. I am hopeful that from last year’s experiences we can use our resilience, spirit and determination to make this year a successful and positive one!

Esme Bianchi-Barry

CEO, Affinity Workforce Solutions