Jason Grey, a young man who has the optimism, initiative and self belief

In the field of business, as in the community at large, it is not uncommon to hear heated discussions taking place about the availability of suitably qualified and reliable labour. No matter how large or small a business, recruiting and retaining good people remains a challenge and the discourse surrounding this issue – whether in the business or political environment, is very often negative and depressing in content. How nice then to share a more positive experience.
Biggleswade based Endoline Machinery Ltd designs and manufactures high quality packaging machinery for industry. Although a privately owned SME, Endoline is the supplier of choice to some of the worlds best known companies – Pepsico, Amazon, Kraft and Tesco to name but a few.

 Thanks to astute management, excellent products and most importantly, an efficient and dedicated workforce, Endoline has bucked the economic trend since 2008 and performed very strongly throughout the recession. Such has been its success that it is currently embarked on a very exciting program of expansion and investment which has required the recruitment of new staff in several areas of the business. When local resident Jason Grey literally knocked on the door, announced that he was seeking employment and asked politely whether there were any vacancies, his determined approach so impressed the management team that he was invited to apply for the role of store attendant – a role that was vacant at the time.
Accepting the invitation, Jason was subsequently the successful candidate for the position and has now been with the company for 3 months, during which time he has taken on his new role with interest and enthusiasm, slotting seamlessly into the Endoline team where he has made a very positive impression. The “can do, will do” approach that led him to Endoline in the first instance is continuing to serve both Endoline and Jason well, as he recently embarked on an internal training programme that will enable him to build a number of sub assemblies ready for integration into machines as they are assembled in the factory.

Endoline owner and Managing Director Alan Yates commented, “Endoline is a competitive UK manufacturer. We have achieved that enviable position through a longstanding policy of recruiting excellent people who are trained and enabled to maximise their potential within a strong team environment. Within this, the crucial “X” factor has always been our willingness to build on potential rather than always looking for the finished article – Jason Grey is a good example of this approach in practise”

This story is first and foremost a tribute to the resourcefulness and mindset of Jason Grey, a young man who had the optimism, initiative and self belief to go directly to his prospective employers and offer his services for hire. This approach will not work for every individual or every company, but it is a timely reminder to the community at large, and the business community in particular that there is a wealth of determined and talented people who are available and willing to offer their services for hire – the real challenge is learning how to find them.