Midlands recruiter expands workforce to meet rising demand
A multi-sector Midlands recruitment firm has increased its workforce by 36 per cent to meet growing demand.
Starting Point Recruitment (SPR), based in Walsall and Birmingham, has taken on 12 new staff this month, increasing its total headcount from 33 to 45.
The hiring of these new people reflects SPR’s continued expansion over the last two years as the West Midlands, despite a gloomy jobs market, continues to attract significant investment in the life sciences, tech, manufacturing and creative industries.
In the 12 months to the end of March (FY 2025/26), SPR placed 1,148 into jobs - a 65.4 per cent increase on the previous financial year when it delivered 694 job starts. The past financial year was SPR’s best performance since its inception in 2002.
This comes against the backdrop of a bleak UK jobs market. The West Midlands' latest unemployment rate, from December 2025 to February 2026, is 5.5 per cent compared to a national rate of 4.9 per cent for the same period, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.
Professor Paul Cadman, chief executive of SPR, said: “Despite a tough national and regional jobs market, the West Midlands is currently attracting huge investment, and that requires talented people to resource, which is where SPR comes in.
“If you look at the skyline of Birmingham, you can see a new Life Sciences Quarter, a new Knowledge Quarter, a new Creative Arts Quarter and a new Sports Quarter visibly taking shape as billions of pounds pour in. We’ve expanded our workforce by more than a third to cater for this growth.”
“There has never been a more exciting time to be right here in this region, a region whose best chapters lie ahead.”
Birmingham's new Sports Quarter alone represents a £3bn investment, forecast to create 8,400 new jobs annually.
The project, led by US company Knighthead with a £100m investment, includes a 60,000-seat stadium, sporting facilities, and commercial and residential spaces. It is expected to generate £370 million in annual economic growth, according to the ONS.
SPR’s 12 new starters are:
Natalia Hemmati - Success coach
Bradley Reid - Success coach
Cornelia Gheorghe - Success coach/recruitment consultant
Omar Whyte - Success coach
David Woakes - Commercial lead
Elizabeth Kaur - Commercial delivery and performance lead
Jennifer Carnell - Success coach
Muhammed Mustafa - Marketing data and systems analyst
Tanya Lees - Success coach
Ximena Holzer - Success coach
John Michaels - Recruitment consultant
Amelia O’Sullivan - Workplace support coach
These 12 new people will maintain and build on the more than 100 job starts each month that SPR currently handles.
They will also build the flow of matching top talent into specialist commercial roles across sectors including tech, life sciences and advanced manufacturing.
Jamie Naish, executive director at SPR, added: “There is no substitute for great people, and we’ve just hired 12 to help broaden our client offering as the West Midlands charts a course of strong growth.”