Yodel creates 5,000 jobs across the UK
Parcel carrier recruits part- and full-time roles ahead of Christmas peak
Yodel, the UK's leading independent parcel carrier, is recruiting 5,000 part- and full-time staff across the UK in preparation for the Christmas peak in online sales. The news comes at a time when unemployment is still 410,000 higher (2.02 million) than before the financial crisis in November 2007 (1.61 million).
The vacancies will include 750 warehouse staff to work at Yodel's parcel sorting centres, 760 employed drivers and 470 self-employed van drivers with their own vehicles, to deliver to and collect parcels from customers. There are a further 2,830 vacancies for self-employed couriers, to work flexible hours in their own neighbourhood, making it ideal for people who need a job that can fit around other commitments, such as child-care, hobbies or other part time work.
In addition to the front-line roles, Yodel also has vacancies for three service centre managers, three operations managers, 40 service delivery managers and 135 customer service and admin staff.
While these are seasonal positions for the festive period, when the firm expects to handle up to a million parcels a day, many of the roles are expected to become permanent thanks to the increase in Yodel's client base and growth in parcel volumes.
Yodel's Christmas jobs are located across the country, but there is a focus on recruitment in London and the South East, Aberdeen, Carlisle, Edinburgh, East Kilbride, Glasgow, Hayes, Leamington, Middleton, Northampton, Reading, Selby, Southampton and Tilehurst.
Carol Dobbing, 55, from Humbledon Hill in Sunderland, has been working as a neighbourhood courier for Yodel for over two years. She works 18 hours a week and says: "Looking back, becoming a courier was the best decision I've ever made. I'm more active and I enjoy meeting the people I'm delivering to, some of who have become good friends. I also have flexibility to work around any other commitments that might arise, such as taking my mother to a doctor's appointment."
Dick Stead, executive chairman of Yodel, said: "This is a key time for our retail clients and their shoppers alike. We began our recruitment in September, to ensure that our workforce is fully trained and prepared to deliver the perfect Christmas.
"Many of the vacancies are flexible and perfect for those who want to fit work around families, or who have retired but want to remain active and earn some extra cash. Others are full-time and we expect many people to stay on beyond December. Whatever the job, we're giving everyone working for us the tools they need to deliver a top service."
Further details can be found here.
[1] 1 BBC News Online, Economy tracker: Unemployment, 17 September 2014