Riverside Recruitment - Poland Branch
In 2006, after several meeting with our solicitors in Poland we were able to secure a lease on a second floor office suite situated just off Rynek Square in the centre of Wroclaw in Poland. The opening of this branch had involved many visits to the city together with numerous meeting, and after some 6 months of negotiations and permit applications we were finally granted permission to trade.
Wroclaw is Poland’s fourth largest city, surrounded by the River Odra and situated in the West of the country and close to both the German and Czech Republic borders.
The population of Wroclaw is close to 1 million and the city has a diversified industry base together with the largest academic facilities in Poland, and it was this broad spectrum of skills that made this location the perfect choice for our first Eastern European office.
On 1st May 2004 the 10 countries (including Poland) became members of the European Union and over the next two years the United Kingdom saw a dramatic increase in the number of Eastern Europeans seeking work. At Riverside Recruitment our business changed dramatically over that initial period with a massive increase in the number of foreign candidates seeking employment. However at a time when unemployment in our area was low and there was a distinctive skills shortage, the influx of Polish to Carlisle solved many of the recruitment issues facing both employers and ourselves alike.
The next stage in developing this market was to ensure that we were able to offer our customers reassurances that the recruitment process for Polish candidates would replicate the high standards set in our UK operations. Unlike many of our competitors we were not comfortable using “partners” in Europe and to ensure we retained total control of the recruitment process the only option was to open our own office with our own consultants following our own standard procedures.
The Wroclaw branch was now been open for some 18 months and over that period we have registered in excess of 450 applications and organised the transportation, induction and placement of over 100 Polish nationals in the UK.
The office is currently being managed by Jolanta Siczynska our bi lingual Recruitment Consultant and she is assisted in this role by Anna Liberska who acts as the liaison officer between our Head Office in Carlisle and our office in Wroclaw.