Relocation, Relocation - HiJobs Is Launched

1st August 2006

A new website promoting opportunities in the Highlands is launched today.-

In response to the buoyant Highlands and Islands economy, a new recruitment website -
www.hijobs.co.uk - is launched today. The company is expected to turnover £500,000 in its first year.

Prior to launch, interest had been such that vacancies with an estimated earning power of more than £5 million will goes live today - 2 August.

Created by entrepreneurial businesswoman Angela Paterson, the website offers companies the most cost and time effective answer to promoting and fulfilling opportunities and aims to attract new talent in line with the increased level of inward investment.

In addition to informing prospective candidates of the increasing range of specialist opportunities, the one stop shop will provide relocation advice from accommodation to education.

Vacancies include senior director roles with wave energy company, AWS Ocean Energy that intends to double its 40 strong workforce by the end of the year and positions within Scottish Natural Heritage that recently relocated its headquarters from Edinburgh to Inverness.

Managing director, Angela Paterson, said: "The Highlands region is a centre of innovation with some of the most sought after technology and life science jobs in the UK - if not Europe. Companies such as LifeScan offer well rewarded senior roles in a desirable location with a superior quality of life.

"From the significant level of interest we know we are fulfilling a gap in the market and are determined to attract fresh talent looking for better a work-life balance."

Ms Paterson, who is a board director of the Entrepreneurial Exchange, Scotland's leading organisation for ambitious growth orientated entrepreneurs, has extensive business experience in the recruitment and advertising industries. Fellow hijobs.co.uk director, John Anderson is chief executive of the Entrepreneurial Exchange and holds numerous lecturing and executive positions throughout Scotland.

Hijobs.co.uk marketing campaign includes a nationwide road show, promotional activity with travel operator Caledonian MacBrayne ferries which serves commuter routes between the Islands and mainland Scotland, extensive online marketing, as well as local sponsorship from leisure activities such as shinty to business events including Highland Spotlight in September.

The Inverness-based company employs five full time staff with Bruce Wares as general manager and staff numbers expect to double by the end of this year. The website's content aims to be available in Gaelic, Czech and Polish within the first six months, making it the UK's first multi-lingual recruitment website of this nature.