A GROWING company has blamed lack of rural transport for its inability to recruit staff, writes David Duffy.

The Metal Window Company, based in Shipton-under-Wychwood, near Burford, employs 18 staff and wants to take on more as business grows.

But managing director Valerie King said poor rural transport and the lack of affordable housing meant finding job seekers was a constant struggle.

Earlier this year, fibre optics manufacturer JDS Uniphase based in nearby Witney, said it was having trouble finding 100 workers to fuel its expansion in the district, which has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Britain.

Ms King said: "The main reason we are struggling to find staff is the cost of petrol and lack of rural transport.

"With a good transport network in place we could attract people from outside this area, but apart from organising our own transport, which is very difficult from a logistics point of view, there is little more we can do."

Ms King said the firm recently received the Investors in People training quality award but it had not made recruiting any easier.

She said: "IIP has been a superb benchmark for us to work towards and a very valuable experience, but even so finding people to work for us at all levels, is proving virtually impossible."

Ms King said even recruitment specialists had failed to find staff to boost the workforce, which ranges from computer-aided design experts to technicians to assemble the roof lights produced by the firm.

She added: "We are offering good salaries, full training backed up by our IIP award so no experience is necessary and we are absolutely non-discriminatory. We will happily consider, for example, older applicants."