Maintenance firm swamped with job applications for joiner position

Joiner job rush grabs headlines in the Mail and the Express – Property PR

A MAINTENANCE company giving landlords the chance to save thousands of pounds in repair costs on their properties has been left staggered after a job advertisement led to a tidal wave of entries from desperate tradesmen.

Edinburgh-based firm One Call Home Assist placed an advert in their local Job Center for a skilled joiner to join their team, following the successful launch of their fixed price service that covers every repair and maintenance costs that arise in properties being let out to tenants.

But staff at the firm, which operates from its headquarters on Gorgie Road, were left stunned when they received more than 50 CVs and a further 40 calls about the job within half an hour of it being advertised.

And they were forced to pull the advertisement altogether after 30 minutes, as their phone lines were jammed with calls from desperate tradesmen looking for work.

Director Paul Greaves said: “We didn’t expect to have such a big response for our advert, and it just goes to show that there are still a lot of skilled tradesmen who have been badly affected by the recession and are desperate for work.

“To have that many enquiries and applications in the space of 30 minutes would be an impressive achievement for a big UK-wide construction or building firm, let alone a new company dealing with a niche market.

“We ended up having to pull the advert altogether, as the enquiries were stopping us from taking calls from clients. Our phone line was completely blocked and we were worried that, if it continued, we would end up losing business.

“On the positive side, all of the interest meant that we were able to find the ideal candidate for the job and he has now joined the team. We hope his appointment will help us expand our service even further across Edinburgh.”

The company eventually offered the position to 35-year-old joiner Steven Craig, from Edinburgh, who had been out of work since the start of the year after being made redundant from his last job.

He said: “It’s fair to say jobs are pretty tough to come by in the construction sector just now, so I’m delighted to be joining One Call Home Assist. When I was made redundant a few months ago I did fear that I could be out of work for some time, so to land a job which such a good company is a life-saver.

“There are a lot of skilled tradesmen who are desperate for work, and there’s fierce competition for every position that becomes available. It really isn’t a surprise that so many people responded to the One Call advert, as they are a good company that offer something unique in the industry.

“When there is a recession, it’s good to be with a small company that has protected itself from the problems affecting others in the construction and property sectors by spotting a niche in the market.”

One Call Home Assist was launched in March as a value-for-money rival to expensive maintenance contracts offered by energy suppliers such as British Gas. With the contract, all emergency repair work to electrical, plumbing and heating systems are covered, as well as general maintenance issues. The contracts also cover all PAT and gas safety testing.

The service offers a range of fixed prices contracts depending on size of the property and type of maintenance cover required – with an all-in contract for a one-bed flat costing £32.99 a month (inc VAT). All the work is carried out by One Call Home Assist’s expert in-house contractor teams who operate on a round the clock basis from their base in Gorgie, Edinburgh.

One Call Home Assist has been launched by Edinburgh-based One Call Trade Services, one of Scotland’s leading all trades contractors providing insurance repairs, maintenance and renovations to clients throughout the UK.

All trades experts One Call Home Assist captured the public imagination after a job advert for a joiner brought a flood of 100 applications in just 30 minutes.

Paul Greaves, managing director of the Edinburgh-based property maintenance firm, was forced to pull the advert over fears the weight of phone calls would prevent customers from getting through.

The company, which launched late last year, has already signed up an ever-growing army of landlords thanks to its cost-effective, fixed-price maintenance deals it offers.

That success has seen the company expanding to deliver the highest standards of service – but Paul and his team didn’t expect the avalanche of applications which came shortly after the job was posted in a local job centre.

However, the flood of inquiries did help the company to find the right man for the job – Steven Craig, whose wife recently gave birth to twins.

While the unexpected jobs rush is being put down to the hardships being faced in the construction sector, the story was widely reported across all media.

After first appearing on the front page of local paper, the Evening News, the story was also reported on Scottish Television and graced the pages of popular daily papers The Sun and The Mirror.

The story achieved very successful coverage which was also achieved n the middle market and quality press, including the Daily Mail, Daily Express and Scotland’s biggest selling broadsheet, the Press & Journal.