CY Partners gears up for growth

Jan 7 2010 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

A FIRM that matches skilled science specialists with the top jobs in the sector is gearing up for growth in 2010 as employers look to grow their workforces to prepare for the eventual recovery of the economy.

Gateshead-based recruitment consultancy CY Partners heads into its second full year in business with a plan to take on staff and grow its revenue amid signs of recovery in the science, technology and engineering industries.

Since launching their business 18 months ago, Daniel Younger and Probier Chatterjee have grown a national client base by helping to fill niche technological jobs in the North East and beyond.

Mr Younger said the two-man company was hopeful of a growth in trade this year as pharmaceutical and other science-related businesses look to increase their staff levels, with brighter times ahead approaching.

He said: “This year is going to bring different challenges than last year but the early signs are positive for us. I think there are companies that will be recruiting in 2010 and we are getting positive vibes from our clients.”

Meanwhile, in the longer term, the company is aiming to tap into the North East’s evolution into an international hub for new technologies such as printable electronics, which are being developed at NETPark in Sedgefield.

Mr Younger said: “Not many people have the technical expertise in those areas, but it’s becoming a lot easier to get them to come to the region.

“There’s still a North East tradition in manufacturing, chemicals and polymers, but people are moving here from more recognised scientific bases in Oxford and Cambridge. Plus we’ve got five excellent universities where a lot of people are coming to study and then staying on.”

Mr Younger is a medical engineer who worked in prosthetics at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, while Mr Chatterjee graduated in chemistry with chemical engineering, an area that took him into research and development in oils, lubricants, petrochemicals and refrigerant gases for ICI, Exwold Technology and Uniqema.

They came together at Science Recruitment Group (SRG) in Newcastle before Mr Chatterjee went off to head up the company’s Oxford office and Mr Younger took up the equivalent role in Newcastle.

Today the partnership’s clients include specialist pharmaceutical companies such as The Specials Laboratory, in Prudhoe, Northumberland, which manufactures unlicensed medicines (specials) for thousands of community and hospital pharmacists and doctors throughout the UK and Ireland.