Squaring up to Ulsters latest recruitment challenges ...

Roisin Sloan manages the Department for Employment and Learning's European Employment Service and the Central Vacancy Team for the Belfast area. She talks to Fiona McIlwaine Biggins about her busy role helping jobseekers find work across the 30 EU member states

Roisin gets ready to update www.jobcentreonline.com with information about the latest vacancies for jobseekers

DAILY SCHEDULE

The work of the European Employment Services team enables jobseekers to search for and view vacancies in the 30 EU member states. The team prints and publishes promotional materials in various different languages to help our migrant worker population and provide advice and guidance. The Central Vacancy Team provides a high quality vacancy taking service for employers in the Belfast area and ensure all vacancies are displayed on the Departmental website www.jobcentreonline.com

At the moment a lot of my time is spent planning the recruitment campaign for the Victoria Square development in Belfast. I am currently liaising with employers signing up for tenancy to let them know how the department can help them to fill their vacancies ahead of the centre opening on March 6, 2008. Assistance includes issuing application forms, sifting, scheduling interviews, dealing with queries from the public and providing interview rooms, if necessary.

MONDAY

My team is currently managing the recruitment drive for House of Fraser, the anchor tenant for Victoria Square. Recruitment for managerial positions has just closed and this morning I am meeting with House of Fraser senior management to determine the sifting criteria to be used for this competition. Later I will meet with my Central Vacancy Team manager to prepare a schedule of interviews.

This afternoon I will do my weekly web update on www.jobcentreonline.com - this week I am telling the general public that the current round of vacancies for managerial positions in the House of Fraser has now closed. I am also telling them that a new vacancy for floor managers has been added to the site.

TUESDAY

This morning I am meeting with my European Employment Advisers to timetable and discuss visits from Austria, Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic. A programme of events is drawn up including a visit to one of our jobs & benefits offices, a meeting with a Northern Ireland employer, a presentation on the economy and some cultural visits as these people are visiting Northern Ireland for the first time.

I'm off to Larne this afternoon to discuss how to fill vacancies with a local businessman who is interested in employing migrant workers.

He has not been able to fill the vacancies from the local labour market despite having advertised publicly for four weeks. Having exhausted all possibilities he requests that we help him to fill his vacancies from another EU member state. This is a service we offer free of charge to any employer who is having difficulty in filling their vacancies from the local labour market.

Then back at the office I request that my European Employment Advisers contact other member states to check for any surpluses in the field of expertise that the employer is looking for.

I'm off to Birmingham this evening to attend a meeting with my colleagues in JobCentre Plus. Dinner and networking with colleagues in the evening provides the opportunity to exchange areas of good practice in relation to European Employment Services activity.

WEDNESDAY

Today I am attending a meeting with JobCentre Plus colleagues from England, Scotland and Wales. We are discussing marketing materials, and ones produced by my team in Northern Ireland for migrant workers and Northern Ireland nationals wanting to travel make a great impression. JobCentre Plus colleagues are considering producing similar materials for their customers.

THURSDAY

This morning I'm catching up with emails and returning the many telephone messages which have gathered in my absence. Then my Central Vacancy manager updates me on the House of Fraser recruitment exercise.

All application forms are sifted and successful candidates have been contacted by telephone and invited to interviews that are scheduled to begin next Monday.

Later I attend a Victoria Square forum meeting consisting of local community representatives, Belfast City Council, Multi Development and DSD. Updates are given on the Victoria Square site and I update the group on the House of Fraser recruitment process.

Then it's back to the office for a meeting with House of Fraser. We discuss best practice and lessons to be learned from the managerial recruitment exercise that we have just completed. These can be implemented ahead of the larger recruitment exercise for 500 additional staff for House of Fraser and the concessionary companies.

FRIDAY

I am travelling to Ballygally this morning with a member of my team who will provide a presentation to managers from a well known hotel chain.

The presentation is about our employersonline service. This is a completely new service for employers and allows the employer to enter his/her own vacancies onto www.employersonlineni.com

This 24-hr facility is increasing in popularity - we have seen a steady increase in its use over the last six months and now more than 30% of all vacancies posted onto our website are via employersonline.

We have just produced the second edition of our "Living and Working in Northern Ireland" booklet for migrant workers and I'm heading to the printers this morning to sign off the proof.

Then it's back to the office to arrange a visit to Poland for the Larne employer who is experiencing hard to fill vacancies. One of my European Services Advisers is liaising with the employer, having an article translated into Polish for the local newspaper network and arranging interview facilities and an onsite translator.

I finish off the week by reviewing the activities for the week and planning and allocating tasks for next week, delegating what I can. Then it's lights out and feet up ahead of another challenging, but very enjoyable week.

Work CV

I joined the Civil Service when I left school and worked for many years in the Social Security Agency.

I have been in the Department for Employment and Learning since 1999, working in a number of Jobcentres, in various roles.

In 2004 I took over management of the targeted Initiatives Programme for North and West Belfast and worked with many community groups as well as the Job Assist Centres during this time.

I also took on management of the Central Vacancy Taking Service, Employersonline and the European Employment Service.

HIGHS OF THE JOB

I enjoy the variety of work and the real buzz which has surrounded the Victoria Square recruitment activities. I have a fantastic team of staff who make my job look easy as they beaver away in the background keeping all of the activities on track.

LOWS OF THE JOB

It's a very busy job and having only one pair of hands can be a problem.