Tier breaks barriers to employment by recruiting for its new operations division in the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) through Big Issue Recruit.
Big Issue Recruit (BIR) is a specialised recruitment service under the umbrella of the Big Issue Group, a social enterprise with a dedicated mission to generate social and economic opportunities for individuals struggling with poverty. It supports individuals facing barriers to employment, facilitating their access to sustainable job opportunities.
When Tier won the competitive tender issued by WECA, to provide the WESTscooter, WESTcargo and WESTbike shared services in Bath and Bristol, it was clear an additional operations division would be needed.
George Chamberlain, Senior Corporate Communications Manager, Northern Europe, told Zag Daily: “The service we are launching across Bristol and Bath is going to be one of the biggest micromobility systems in the UK.
“We knew from the off that we would need partners with a strong presence in the West of England who could support us in setting up a world class operations team, and Big Issue Recruit has already proven to be exactly that. Their network and experience in the industry are helping us scale quickly and train our new operations team members effectively.”
An initial team of 10 employees from BIR have already been operating in Bath since mid-September when the first stage of the new service launched.
Chamberlain continued, “The first phase of our roll-out across the region was our launch in Bath last month with 10 of our new rangers having joined through BIR. They manage battery swaps, ensure the fleet is balanced across the city and perform checkers on the vehicles to make sure they are safe to ride.”
With the cost-of-living rising, the UK is experiencing record levels of poverty and inequality. Close to 15 million people in the UK are currently experiencing poverty. At BIR, candidates are paired with experienced job coaches to build confidence, resilience and essential skills to be work ready at no cost to them.
“We are working closely with BIR to fill ranger roles in Bristol ahead of our launch in the city. Our initial target is for 20% of our operations team to be filled through BIR, with plans to ramp the numbers up from there.”
Tier’s Bristol service will launch later this month.
