Northumberland College Partnership Drives Taxi Firm’s Recruitment Search
A recruitment drive by North East taxi company, Phoenix Taxis, has led to its first ever partnership with Northumberland College in order to offer unemployed people the chance to become drivers whilst gaining a valuable customer service qualification prior to interview.
The unique opportunity enables those currently out of work the chance to enrol onto a new, eight day learning programme at the College’s Ashington site and gain essential communication and customer engagement skills whilst preparing for interview with the well-known taxi firm.
Anticipated to be one of a few, if not the only learning course regionally to guarantee a job interview upon completion, it also provides an effective solution to Phoenix Taxis’ current recruitment search by offering a regular stream of new candidates with the exact bespoke skills required by the 30 year old firm.
Matt Rogers, Operational Manager of Phoenix Taxis explained, “Delivering excellent customer service has always been a key aspect of the company and as well as good driving ability, we require all drivers to have the correct attitude and social skills to engage with clients. Often we’d find potential candidates could possess one set of skills and not necessarily the other, therefore by partnering with the College, we are now turning our recruitment process on its head and teaching the exact skills that we’re after to people looking for employment prior to interview.
“The course is very much customer-focused and has been tailored specifically to our requirements based on years of experience. It incorporates communication techniques, role plays, professionalism and scenarios whereby those enrolled learn how to effectively deal with difficult customers. It’s a new way of recruiting so we’re looking forward to welcoming our first candidates for interview via the course very soon.”
The course is free and open to both men and women looking for new job opportunities, whether due to unemployment or wanting more flexible, full or part-time working hours. Northumberland-HQ’d Phoenix Taxis, which serves all areas of Northumberland, Newcastle and Durham, has approximately 200 drivers with prospective new jobs on offer through the company or via self-employment.
Shona McCreedy of Northumberland College added, “This is a great way for employers to find suitable candidates for employment and a fantastic opportunity for those looking for work to gain valuable qualifications, and potentially, a new job. This is the first time that we have partnered with Phoenix Taxis and we’re hoping to deliver a real solution to meet their exact recruitment needs.”
The Phoenix Taxis pre-employment course starts at Ashington campus on Tuesday 23rd October 2018 and is available to candidates aged 21 years and over. Those interested must be experienced drivers (four years and over) and hold a full driving licence.
For more details or to enrol on the Phoenix Taxis course at Northumberland College, please email or call: 01670 841262
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