Sheila Jones, of the Financial Times, reports on the success of an engineering industry sector

WHEN Dresser-Rand, the US-owned engineering venture, decided to close a factory in Manchester and make 400 of its UK workers redundant, it looked for an agency to help find new jobs for its staff.

It found the best deal was on its doorstep, in the north-west branch of the Engineering Employers Federation. The EEF north west has pioneered an agency which it says has

scored a success rate of more than 90 per cent job placements from about ten companies since it started operating last year.

The federation created the agency in response to the growing number of redundancies and closures among its member companies in engineering and manufacturing. At the same time, many companies were complaining of staff shortages, particularly among highly skilled workers. "We had been circulating CVs informally because we had the expertise and the contacts through our membership," says John Malam, the chief executive of the EEF north west.

"We have more than 400 members and many of them had vacancies. We trialled the agency last year and since then it has gone very well. It's positive for companies to want to

look after staff they are losing, and for us trying to keep people in the industry. The federation runs a database of vacancies from its members and from related industries.

"Mr Malam acknowledges that the agency's work is likely to become more difficult during an economic downturn, although while there are skill shortages the EEF can match redundant workers to vacancies as they arise, particularly from a skilled workforce such as Dresser-Rand's. More than 95 per cent of the 400 workers have found new jobs, most of them in engineering.

Typically, an EEF jobs shop will be on the company's own site. The whole operation, which can take a few days or several months, can take place under one roof, from training

to job interview.

The EEF network gives redundant workers early access to the most appropriate vacancies. "We can get the job vacancies from our members before they are made public. That gives people a head start," says Mr Malam.

Training and counselling is provided in areas such as CV preparation and interviewing skills. Job vacancies are advertised on site, and will also include jobs from agencies such as the Employment Service. Interviews between prospective employers and jobseekers can take place at offices within the jobs shop.

Centres are equipped with tele phones, a fax, photocopying and clerical support, as well as specialist staff from the EEF, and from government agencies, for counselling and career

advice. Ed Roberts, a former Dresser-Rand employee who was brought back to run the jobs shop, says the service was valuable not only in securing jobs, but also in helping to build trust

after the shock of the redundancy announcement.

Unions at the factory have been closely involved in the project, he says, which began in February and ends this month. The work of the agency also won the support of Dresser-Rand's US owners, for whom the project represented a substantial

financial commitment.

"The service can cost about £100 for a small company seeking, perhaps, only a one-day session," Mr Malam says. A large number of redundancies that may need a jobs shop for

four days a week over six months would cost several thousand pounds.

Revenues go back into the pot for the outplacement agency and to help keep EEF subscriptions down.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.