Expanding Shrewsbury caravan dealership creates new jobs in Accounts team
Shrewsbury based Salop Leisure has recruited three young people to its accounts department to cope with the growth of the business.
William Butler, 19, from Shrewsbury, Emily Buxton, 17, from Brockton and Sophie Ratcliff, 21, from Shawbury join as accounts trainees with the successful company based at Emstrey, Shrewsbury and are working towards an Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualification.
Finance director Stephen Higgins said the new recruits to his team were needed to cater for the extra workload created by the opening of the Love Plants business at Salop Leisure’s headquarters.
“Through the 20 years I have been with Salop Leisure, we have always had a policy of providing work and learning opportunities to young people,” he added. “Due to the continued growth of the business we are now creating two extra posts in the department.”
Salop Leisure’s chairman Tony Bywater said all the staff in the accounts department had joined Mr Higgins either from school, college or university. “These young people are the future of our business,” he said. “I am very proud of our excellent and efficient accounts department.”
The company now has 15 young people, aged from 16 to 22 years, on apprenticeships or other learning programmes. Mr Bywater is passionate about creating opportunities for young people, whom he described as the lifeblood of the business.
“Young people are our future and we learn so much from their ideas,” he said. “It has always been our policy to grow and mould our employees and to provide progression opportunities for them.
“Joint managing director Mark Bebb is a good example of someone who first came to the company to wash caravans in his school holidays and at weekends and now he is leading the business.
“We also feel that its our duty to employ local people wherever possible because the business is very much part of the local community in Shropshire. We have been in business for nearly 50 years in Shrewsbury and our workforce has increased from 15 to around 175 in that time as we have diversified and grown.”
One of the young people recruited by the company is Ed Glover, assistant marketing manager. He said he had been attracted to Salop Leisure by the company’s positive attitude towards young people and the opportunities to progress within the business.
For more information, please contact Mr Tony Bywater, Salop Leisure’s chairman, on 01743 282400.
