The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
AFTER 29 years and after placing a huge number of people in jobs, Shannon company Peach Recruitment is closing down.
Since the start it has been run by Derek Barrett, a well known figure in Shannon, and he said he really enjoyed the experience.
“It was a great business to be in, because ultimately we were helping people. The amount of people we placed in this town has been fantastic. We were always delighted to do that.
“There were others we couldn’t place, but we always tried to help them, whether that was improving their CV or giving them career advice.”
We always tried to do right by the jobseekers. They were always the number one priority, I know people would say the client, the employer is the primary one, but we would have taken a view that if we get it right for the candidate it all works out. If you get it wrong, it doesn’t work out for any of us.”
He said he had been touched by numerous messages he has received from former job seekers since taking the decision to close down.
Recruiters are very busy at the moment, but he said it’s a very different industry to what it was just a few years ago.
“The pandemic did have an impact on our business and our team, but it also had an impact on people’s outlook, what they want from their career and work/life balance.”
He says that since the disruption wrought by Covid, people have different desires and expectations from their jobs.
“It is a different space, candidates are looking for different things and finding matches isn’t as straightforward anymore. It used to be clearer, but things are a bit more fuzzy at the moment.”
Derek feels it is time for him to move onto a different phase.
“It’s a different business now and after almost 30 years I felt it was the right time for me to step off the treadmill. You’d be questioning if it’s the right time given that the jobs market is strong, but I think it’s the right time for me.
“I can only be grateful for the people I worked with, the people we met, the people we placed. You’d always be disappointed that you couldn’t help everyone but at the very least we gave them the time to talk through their options and discuss their CV even if we couldn’t help place them.”
While the pandemic might have affected business, he acknowledges Peach was luckier than many.
“People lost their shirt, lost everything. We didn’t, we got through the other side, but it’s a decision I have made myself.”
Over the years he has been involved with different groups and activities in Shannon, and he said having a very good team at Peach helped allow that.
“The reason I could do those things was because of the team I had. When I was going off on these mad tangents they were there to keep the business on track, they were a fantastic bunch.”
He says he wants to take a few months to decompress after so long in the same role, and is very grateful for the success of Peach.
“We were blessed to be where we were at the time we were and have the length of business that we had.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
