Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce 'Trades Local' With Two New Appointments

A leading business organisation in Coventry and Warwickshire has practised what it preaches after adding two new staff to the team.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has urged local companies to utilise the services of fellow businesses in the region as part of its Go For Growth: Trade Local campaign.

And when the Chamber was on the hunt for two new recruits in its membership team, Coventry-based QPLtalent offered its support.

That led to Alex Kerr being appointed as the Chamber’s new membership adviser while Pui-Lin Raposo has been hired as a membership account manager.

Alex has joined the Chamber team from a family-run business while Pui-Lin, known as Pin, has moved from Capita to be part of the organisation which offers support to firms across the region, a range of events and also acts as a voice for companies across Coventry and Warwickshire.

Hazel Pilling, the Chamber’s membership manager, said: “We were looking to recruit two new people into the membership team but, as our survey work with companies keeps telling us, it’s difficult to find the right people because of a mix of both a shortage of skills and low unemployment.

“I spoke to Richard Merkl, of QPLtalent – one of our members – and he said he would be able to help. Once I’d given him the job specs, he quickly provided us with several suitable CVs and we moved to the interview stage swiftly.

“The whole process has been very smooth and we are delighted to have Alex and Pin on board in the membership team as the Chamber goes from strength to strength.

“It is great that we have been able to practise what we preach when it comes to Trade Local!”

Richard has been working in recruitment for more than 20 years and, while QPLtalent specialises in finance and HR roles, he put his experience and expertise into practise to help the Chamber recruit for its vacant roles.

He said: “There is much more to recruitment than simply advertising for vacant positions. We find out the type of people a business is looking for and will conduct a thorough search of the marketplace.

“It has been great to work with the Chamber in helping them to bring in Alex and Pin. The Chamber knows better than anyone how difficult it is to recruit because unemployment is one per cent lower than the national average here in our region.

“We used all of our experience and knowledge of the market to help find the right people for the jobs even in this difficult climate and it has led to a great outcome for everyone.”

Pictured (left to right): Hazel Pilling, Richard Merkl, Alex Kerr, Pui-Lin Raposo