Astute Technical Recruitment, of the Technopole, Kingston Crescent, Portsmouth, has already grown to 10 people in its second year of operation and believes that is due to the growth of the energy and renewable energy markets as well as the quality of its recruits – who are mainly ex-navy.

And now it has decided to prove its mettle against other companies within the small business sector.

The company was set up in August last year by Terry Buckel who moved into a one-man office at the Technopole, but who had even then a plan of rapid expansion.

However the expansion has taken even him by surprise. His five-year plan estimated there would be four people working for the company during its second year.

Mr Buckel said this was because the sectors in which it was concentrating were booming. These are the sectors of power generation and energy from waste, maintenance engineering, facilities management, process engineering, construction management, project management and project engineering, electronics and software systems, controls and automation, marine engineering, condition monitoring, research and development, the defence industry and the oil and gas sectors.

All these sectors are recruiting massively locally, nationally and internationally. Locally the firm has recruited for Wartsila and Veolia.

But Mr Buckel, a former Petty Officer Technician, admitted his connections in the Royal Navy had also helped in putting the company in touch with personnel about to retire.

He said: ‘I recruit those types of people who have got a healthy understanding of what our clients need.

‘And we hope in the next 12 months to recruit another five consultants in the technical field followed by another 10 the year after.’

Now it has a new website and has recently hired a new senior consultant to help in the firm’s growth.

jeremy.dunning

@thenews.co.uk