01/09/08
Cast HR Opens new offices in Regent Street Cambridge:
Cast Hr has now opened it new offices on 57 Regent Street, Cambridge. Working on appointment only, we are happy to meet with clients and candidates alike to discuss how we might help your recruitment needs.
31/03/08
Cast HR unveils new site update:
We are proud to introduce our new look website. Enhancing the previous incarnation with even more content but more importantly integrating new functionality into our CASTrack™ system. Clients can now use the new intranet system for our managed clients featuring real-time update facilities so that our interviewers can upload the very latest on any vacancies progress directly to the website. Candidates will now be able to watch presentation videos from our clients to give them an extra insight into the company that they are interested in working for giving them a better idea of the company ethos and what may be required of its staff.
09/02/08
Cast HR unveils new video vacancy service:
We are proud to unveil our new video vacancy system. With the help of our interactive web site we are able to show a short film about every vacancy we are recruiting.
The system, which is available to all retained and exclusive clients, permits recruiting managers to sell their company and vacancy far more effectively than any written job spec could ever achieve. Candidates get a real insight into the vacancy and what it is like to work for a particular company or individual. Clients can now be sure that candidates chosen for interview turn up with no dissolutions about what they are being interviewed for.
08/02/08
Sir Alan: Law hinders women
Government employment laws are making it more difficult for women to get jobs, Sir Alan Sugar warned today. The millionaire Apprentice star said managers should be allowed to ask women at interview how they would “cope” with the demands of work and home. Equality campaigners condemned his comments for representing an “outdated stereotype”. Sir Alan’s outburst came as a committee of MPs called for more funding to narrow the equality gap. He told a national newspaper equal opportunity laws mean many firms would bin a woman’s CV rather than offer her a job, he said. “If someone comes in to an interview and you think to yourself there is a possibility that this woman might have a child and therefore take time off, it is a bit of a psychological negative thought. “If they are applying for a position which is very important, then I should think that some employers might think ’this is a bit risky”. “They would like to ask the question: ’are you planning to get married and to have any children?’ “These laws are counter-productive for women, that’s the bottom line, you’re not allowed to ask so it’s easy - just don’t employ them. It will get harder to get a job as a woman.” “Would you prefer me to say ’thank you, goodbye’ and then chuck the CV in the bin? Wouldn’t you prefer me to say ’hang on, if I did give you this job how would you cope?’ “Then she would have the chance to explain if she has a solution. If I am employing you to do a job, I want to be sure you can be there so I want to be able to ask what provision you have for children.”
A spokeswoman for trade union Unison said: “Sir Alan Sugar’s comments just show that discrimination against women is alive and well in the UK today. “Any employer who just dumps a woman’s CV in the bin is missing out on a huge pool of talent that would benefit their companies and their customers.” The Fawcett Society said Sir Alan’s comments reinforced “outdated stereotypes”. A spokesman said: “The suggestion that it is appropriate to ask women about childcare at job interviews reinforces outdated stereotypes that childcare is only a woman’s responsibility. “It is true that it can be hard to balance the demands of a family and a career, but it is true for both women and men. Speaking today, Sir Alan denied he endorsed discrimination. He said: “No, I don’t endorse it. All I’m saying is women are discriminated against by these laws because human resources managers in the back of their minds play along when interviewing people, knowing in the back of their minds this person’s CV is going in the dustbin.” Mother-of-two Katie Hopkins quit the last series of The Apprentice after Sir Alan asked her about her willingness to relocate her two young children from Exeter to Brentwood. She turned down a place in the final of the show, eventually won by Cambridge graduate Simon Ambrose.