To bolster the current wave of investment across the West Midlands, Starting Point Recruitment (SPR), headquartered in Walsall since 2002, has opened a 2,000ft new office on Newhall Street, between the Colmore business district and the Jewellery Quarter, creating eight new jobs.

“Birmingham is growing ferociously and we are ferociously focused on supporting that growth, as this long-term investment in a Birmingham base demonstrates,” said Professor Paul Cadman, chief executive of SPR.

“If you look across Birmingham’s skyline right now you see the new Sports Quarter, the new Creative Quarter, the new Life Sciences Quarter, the new Knowledge or Tech Quarter.

“Each of these growth areas needs great talent across a multitude of different roles to ensure they achieve the world-class outcomes they’re aiming for.

“With this in mind, SPR’s Birmingham office will have its own life sciences desk to source talent for roles in the UK’s fastest-growing cluster of medtech and biotech businesses right here in the West Midlands.”

Among a new intake of recruitment consultants brought in to help run the Birmingham operation are Jess Patel and Alex Devlin.

Jess, who has moved to SPR from Randstad, said: “It’s exciting to be involved in this new chapter for SPR. There’s a real energy to the place and a genuine interest in the candidates we see.

“For me personally, recruitment is more than matching skills to job descriptions - it's about understanding people, their personalities and what drives them. As recruiters, we have the privilege of shaping futures, building teams and creating connections that go far beyond the CV.”

Alex, who has experience in partnership development and tech recruitment, added: “We’ve got a great opportunity here at SPR to change people’s lives for the better, and that’s going to accelerate as we establish our new Birmingham office.

“Being part of an industry in which I can help people find their dream jobs is really rewarding. I love it. There are so many firms hiring right now, and so many brilliant people in search of work - exciting times.”

SPR deals with a wide range of candidates, including those on the government’s Restart scheme.

 Last month (July) SPR placed more than 100 people in jobs for the first time in its history – an important milestone which has buoyed the firm as it sets up its new Birmingham office.

These people are now no longer among the 131,000 people in the West Midlands, and 1.67m nationally, officially listed in official ONS (Office for National Statistics) stats as unemployed.