We were delighted this week to receive the news that our entry under the category, Service Excellence was successful and we have been short listed as a Finalist . The SME Bedfordshire Business Awards are in their 7th year of celebrating the success of businesses in the local area and are made up of 22 categories. All entries are judged by a panel comprised of up to four individuals who are supporters of the category. Alliance Consulting has carved a reputation over the course of two decades establishing itself not only as a leader in the provision of best in class recruitment solutions but also for the level of service we provide to our clients and candidates. Listed below are just a handful of the testimonials we are proud to have received in recent years: "Having dealt with many recruiters in my time, I can confidently say Maria is the most competent, professional and personable I have I encountered. Maria has extensive industry knowledge, great experience and a wealth of contacts which make her a trusted and respected advisor in my industry ( Cybersecurity) Throughout the recruitment process she provided me with very valuable feedback and insights which made a huge difference. I am truly grateful as she helped me get a great job at an amazing company" "At my most critical moment, Dan Horne played a very important role in my career journey, enabling me to open a new page and I had the chance to join the talented team of Exveritas as a Senior Electrical and Electronic Product Certification Engineer. Dan's support was not limited to just providing new job role support, he also offered unique, excellent and professional support to help me find a home to rent while moving into my new workplace. It was an extraordinary privilege to work with Dan because of his exceptional problem-solving skills, professionalism, and determination that ultimately led to successful results. Thank you for your support, Dan and I wish you continued success." "Maria Mazzei and her team have helped us out tremendously and she's proven herself to be an excellent partner who buckles down to get done what needs to get done, and fast! She is honest with her capabilities and will tell you if something is not in her wheelhouse, which isn't much, but she can deliver what she promises. It's amazing to work with her and I see her as a trusted partner and valued friend. High-energy, trustworthy, honest, humble and fair are good words to describe her and I look forward to a long-term future partnership. THANK YOU! :) Until next time!!" "Transparent, go-getter, creative, out of the box & partnership are terms that I would use to describe Maria and her way of approaching recruitment. Maria was recommended to me by my colleagues in the UK. She helped us in finding the right candidates for difficult to fill positions such as Sales and Project Engineers & Service Technicians for our locations in the Netherlands and Belgium. She really helps throughout the entire recruitment process and challenges and gives advice on the best approach. Since she first wants to know the company she recruits for, she can give candidates a very good briefing and explanation of what Munters does, how we work and what we are looking for. A true partnership and extension of our company and hope to continue working together for a long time to come!" Having been a Finalist in 2023 at the REC Industry Awards for a similar award "Client Transformation through outstanding Recruitment Services delivered" we are exceptionally proud to have been recognised again by the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce. We look forward to attending the Awards Ceremony at Bedford Corn Exchange on 4th July.

Add Native Language Skills for Technical Sales to the Shortage Occupation List Language skills are vital in a world in which increasing numbers of businesses have a global presence and communicate in multiple languages. The UK is very much a hot spot for these types of companies and have hubs here from which they manage a vast number of their customers across many countries. These employers require multilingual staff, ideally native speakers of languages including French, German, Italian, Spanish and Chinese to name but a few. Since 2019, the UK has seen a steep decrease in EU nationals able to look for work in the UK with Brexit meaning a clampdown on free movement from the EU. In the first three quarters of 2023, 11,600 EU citizens were turned away at the border in comparison to 2,200 in 2019. At the same time, reports published showed that there has been a decrease in language learning skills in schools. With Linked In data from this month demonstrating more 2,000 roles currently open in the UK for German speakers, the same for French and Mandarin and 1,000 for Italian, it is apparent that fears from employers since 2019 that a shortfall for these skills would emerge were certainly justified. Whilst the Government has acknowledged that language skills are “increasingly important” for business, trade and competitiveness in the global marketplace and vital for many UK employers, they are yet to take steps to find a workable solution. Alliance Consulting has submitted a petition to the Government requesting the inclusion of I.T/Technical Sales staff to the shortage occupation list. Please show your support by following the link below and adding your signature. Thank you. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/657989

Fund Raising for Mental Health UK

The Alliance Consulting team is looking forward to their 2nd annual fund raising event for our charity partner, Mental Health UK on May 5th 2024.

Mental Health is of huge importance to our business following the loss of our company founder, Grant Mead, who sadly lost a long battle with his own mental health, passing away in July 2021.

We will be hosting what promises to be a fun packed day from 2pm at Thurleigh Sports and Social Club in Thurleigh, Beds, Grant’s home village to raise funds and awareness for this very important cause.

There will be food vans throughout the day and into the evening along with ice cream and desserts and the children can expect to be entertained with various activities including face painting, games, funfair, pamper stations, karaoke and bouncy castle. . Later, the “grown-ups” can enjoy dancing and a sing song with our terrific resident DJ, purchasing “Dutch courage” of course and therefore donating further to our cause as Thurleigh Sports and Social Club will be donating a portion of their bar takings for the day.

We are already receiving wonderful donations of restaurant vouchers, hampers, and other attractive prizes from a number of local sponsors for a raffle and our vendors will all be donating a portion of their proceeds.

For those who cannot attend, we would welcome your donations via our justgiving page featured below. We would also welcome raffle prizes and further sponsors who can provide financial contributions.

We look forward to welcoming you all on the day

For further information, please contact reda@alliance-consulting.co.uk

https://www.justgiving.com/page/r-m-1688554188972...

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What are T Levels ?

As last week was National Apprenticeships Week, we wanted to give our network a closer look at T Levels and what they can mean for employers. This is a subject quite close to our hearts as Alliance Consulting welcomed their first placement student Michele Mazzei in November 2023. Michele is studying towards a T Level in Business

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• T-levels, introduced in 2020, are vocational qualifications aimed at 16-19 year olds and which focus more on practical subjects than academic ones.
• Each course lasts two years and is roughly equivalent to three A-levels.
• The qualification includes a mixture of both classroom learning and on-the-job experience, with a work placement of at least 315 hours - or about nine weeks - making up roughly 20% of the course.
• T-levels are designed to cater for students who want an alternative to A-levels but do not wish to take an apprenticeship, which usually requires as much as 80% of a student's time to be spent with an employer.
• Final grades are based on a combination of exams, coursework and completion of the industry placement.

 
What T-level courses are available?

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• The number of T-level courses has expanded each academic year since 2020 and now include: accountancy, digital business, finance, healthcare and manufacturing, legal services, agriculture, land management and production  As of 2024, animal care and management, craft and design, media, broadcast and production will also be available. A marketing T-level is due to roll out in 2025.
• T-levels were introduced to "streamline" post-16 education and make things less confusing for students and employers.

 
What are T-level grades worth?

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• T-level qualifications are equivalent to three A-levels.
• Students get one of four grades, ranging from a distinction* to a pass. Their certificate shows their overall grade and lists their experiences on the course.
• A distinction* is worth 168 Ucas points - the same as three A*s at A-level - and a merit is equivalent to three Bs at A-level.

 
Maria Mazzei – Managing Director of Alliance Consulting was invited last month to the T Level Business students at Bedford College to give them an insight to the working world and how what they are currently studying will impact later on their career paths.
 
Talk to us if you are interesting in learning more about T Levels or about #engineering #cybersecurity #technicalrecruitment #engineering #recruitment 

Visas, Sponsorship and Engineering Skills Shortage

From April 2024, the UK Government will increase the earning threshold for overseas workers by nearly 50% from its current position of £26,200 to £38,700. The reason for this is to encourage businesses to look to British talent first and invest in their own workforce, helping employers to not over-rely on migration.

The government will also increase the minimum income required for British citizens and those settled in the UK who want their family members to join them. Altogether this reinforces that all those who want to work and live in the UK must be able to support themselves, are contributing to the economy, and are not burdening the state.

Immigration rules laid on 14 March will abolish the Shortage Occupation List, remove the 20% going rate discount for occupations, and introduce the new Immigration Salary List to be reviewed by the Migration Advisory Committee. It will be introduced in early April

However, with the UK still experiencing a huge shortage of skilled engineers, many employers may still need to look to overseas engineering talent pools. 

We have compiled a short video detailing what an employer may need to know in this respect. 

For further information, please contact Daniel Horne on 01234 355311 or dan@alliance-consulting.co.uk