Spotlight on James Spurling: Our Operations Director gives us an industry insight into the Recruitment and Engineering space!

For this edition of our Spotlight blog series, we enjoyed a few moments with James Spurling – Carbon60’s Operations Director – to find out a bit more about him, his career so far and his insightful views on the future of recruitment and the engineering industries…

Tell us a little bit about yourself / career journey so far?

I started in the industry when I was 19 and have been in it ever since, having worked my way through the ranks from a trainee to Operations Director. I have only ever worked within the engineering and manufacturing sector, a sector that for me is forever changing and critical to the UK’s economy.

What are your thoughts on evolution of the recruitment industry?

The industry has evolved massively from when I started. Back then I used to send a cv via a fax machine! However, some things remain very much the same – for example, building good relationships will always be at the heart of everything we do internally as business and externally with our customers.

Where do you see the future of the Engineering industry going?

I foresee than many more technological advancements will lead to new sectors emerging, so I think there are exciting times ahead.

How do you think Covid affected the industry overall?

Working from home is now much more common, and this has changed recruitment dramatically, because traditionally it was an officed based industry. The ease and convenience of being able to meet online, via teams for example, has meant that there are fewer face-to-face interactions now. I will say that there are pros and cons to both!

What would you say makes a successful engineer? 

Knowledge, skills, and a willingness to constantly learn and develop are key. However, it is also very important for engineers to have an employer or mentor who will nurture their talent with coaching, training, and advice, to help them fulfil their potential.

If you were to start from scratch in the recruitment sector, what would you tell yourself?

Be the best you can be at whatever you do, stick at it and don’t take anything too personally!

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the Engineering industry?

Find your passion and pursue it with everything you can.

Now into the fun part. Have you got a funny or interesting story that's happened in your career so far?

I recently had the privilege of being taken around a racetrack at speed by an advanced driver who works for one of our clients. We are supporting them on a project, and this is one of the reasons why I love engineering you get to do things you would never do.  I’m not too proud so say that when he took his hands off the wheel at 100 mph, I was a tad uncomfortable!

He explained that when you go around the concave of a race track the vehicle will automatically stay in lane hence the hands can come off the steering wheel. Two days are never the same in recruitment that’s for sure.