ResourceBank funds new school in Nepal for milestone anniversary

ResourceBank, which is based in Central Park in Telford, is on course for its record year and is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020.

To mark the occasion, it is holding 25th-themed activities each month as well as funding the new village school, which lies about 60 miles from Mount Everest.

Richard Pearson, managing director of ResourceBank, said: "We have been through two recessions which have been tough. But we are still here 25 years on.

"We want to celebrate that. We want to do something for our team and our clients about what has got us here.

"The biggest thing we are doing is funding the building of a school in Nepal in a village which has a population of 650 people and about 60 miles as the crow flies south of Everest. The children in the village walk two hours in the morning and two in the evening to the school and that's when the weather is good. If it's not, they can't do it.

"We are working with a charity called United World Schools and the building work will start soon. That will be ResourceBank saying 'thank you' to our clients and the people here.

"We are also taking the team off for the weekend to do all sorts of activities and we are doing something each month which has a 25 year theme to it."

The company recruits thousands of candidates each year for blue chip clients such as Wolseley, World Duty Free and Northgate.

It currently employs about 90 people across four offices, including 45 in Telford.

Mr Pearson said: "I started the business here in Telford with just one other. We grew the business rapidly and I found Telford and Shropshire a good place to recruit people for my business and grow.

"All my team are loyal and we have a large number of long-serving staff. Hopefully that's a good sign we are doing something right.

"We have also got some fantastic clients. We started off working for Marston's but also some larger clients like World Duty Free who we have been with continuously for 15 years.

"It has been very exciting to think about the changes in the last 25 years, and equally what changes could happen in the next 25 years."

Looking ahead, Mr Pearson said the company is looking to grow in the healthcare sector as well as its new service which connects apprentice training with employers that can most benefit from their services.

"We are investing in the healthcare sector. It needs help. It has got huge problems with a skills shortage and people moving jobs.

"Some of that is about good recruitment. We are working with a number of NHS trusts and private healthcare companies to help them recruit the right people. That is about a year old and growing rapidly.

"The other thing we are doing is developing a new Apprentice Link service. I am a big believer in apprentices which are currently underfunded. We are short of a number of key skills whether they are IT, mechanical or just business skills.

"The service links training providers with end employers."