As well as ramping up recruitment, the partnership will see the two firms work together to reach ilke Homes’ target for women to account for 20 percent of its workforce.

This will be achieved by working together on devising and implementing the first industry-leading MMC apprenticeship scheme, whilst also starting to implement various other initiatives.

The recruitment drive follows two years of rapid growth for the company, which remains on course to become a top ten house builder within the next five years. ilke Homes recently announced that it has raised £60 million from the UK Government and investors from the private sector, including Asda owners TDR Capital, to support the company’s expansion plans.

Founded four years ago, the company has an order book worth over £200 million. ilke Homes’ pipeline already consists of over 3,000 homes.

Their diversity campaign is focused on gender initially, spending time in local communities and creating women’s-only assessment centres, to boost female applicants and also exemplify what it’s like to work at ilke Homes.

The partnership began in January and has already seen some huge successes, with a total of 126 talented candidates joining them throughout January alone.

Dave Sheridan, executive chairman at ilke Homes, said: “We have a responsibility to help people from all backgrounds find employment and for too long, the construction sector has sat on its hands while the skills shortage has hit crisis point. Creating local jobs and helping get more women and young people into the sector have to be priorities.

“By training people up from all walks of life to manufacture energy-efficient housing in factories, companies, such as ourselves, can help create the skills needed to decarbonise housing, deliver significant social value via the creation of highly-skilled employment opportunities and open up the industry to groups that have been previously under-represented in house building - such as women.”

James Leighton, founder of Andersen James, comments: “Andersen James are extremely proud to be working with ilke Homes and their board of directors during this period of growth. This partnership is incredibly unique to us as we have complete insight due to internalising the recruitment process, enabling us to provide strategic and in-depth advice whilst also securing exceptional talent. We’re also doing our bit to support in solving the UK’s housing crisis, which gives this project a deeper purpose.”

Jo Mansell, Executive Director of Partnerships at Ilke Homes, said: “We are really happy to be working with Andersen James, and it is a great time for this partnership to happen due to their track record in the market with similar businesses and initiatives. We are already seeing great results and we’re pleased with how impactful their decision-making has been thus far.”

It seems on-site partnerships are becoming the new norm for fast-growing businesses and consultative recruitment agencies.

These partnerships enable for a more thorough and meaningful recruitment process, and enable businesses to be strategic with their hiring, whilst also having the space to look at wider initiatives such as D&I. The by-product is higher quality talent, a smoother onboarding process, and a trusted recruitment partner to take their brand to market, which can help with reputation and future hiring.

500 jobs to be created in Yorkshire as ilke Homes targets becoming one of the region's top employers