ABOUT US

We are RECaid. We created RECaid in 2009 in response to some seismic events in our industry, and in the deepest recession in living memory. Good friends and colleagues had lost their jobs and livelihoods; we felt we had to do something. And we mean to stick around and go on doing something for people in the recruitment communications industry long after those events are a fading memory. We’re not partisan. The reasons why people are out of work are of no concern to us: what is of concern is how we can help them.

What sort of people are we talking about? Well, anyone in recruitment ad agencies who has been made redundant, or believes they’re facing redundancy. And we mean anyone. We’re not just here to help the creatives and ‘suits’, but all the support and back room people who make an agency function.

And when we talk about ‘doing something’, what do we actually mean? We can help financially, but the sums won’t be big. We’re not, and never will be, in a position to pay someone’s mortgage or rent. Probably the most valuable thing we can do is to help people acquire the new skills that our rapidly changing industry increasingly demands. We can also help with job-seeking, interview and ‘self-marketing’ skills, to give people the best shot at the jobs that do come up within our industry, or even a totally different one.

We already have access to that kind of training through a partner organisation that’s successfully been helping people in the broader marketing communications industry for years. But where their courses don’t quite meet the specific needs of people in our sector industry, we’ll create our own.

The most valuable thing? Maybe not quite. Just by being here, by raising funds and staging events (with so much creative and organisational talent working with RECaid already, they’re things we should be pretty good at), by staying in touch, we can prove to people in our industry that losing your job doesn’t mean losing your friends, your contacts, your self-respect.

HOW WE CAN HELP

While we raise funds and make the casualties of the recession in our sector of the industry realise they haven’t been forgotten, it’s NABS who provides the practical support to help people back into work.

On paper, NABS is a charity; in practice, it feels more like having your own totally switched-on support network. Like everyone else in the marketing communications industry, NABS has evolved and adapted.

The National Helpline is the first point of contact. Trained advisors offer emotional and practical support to callers, as well as financial support to nearly 600 beneficiaries and their dependents each year – providing ongoing support to people with cancer, terminal illness, mental health issues, depression or disabilities as well as one-off grants to people in need of short-term assistance.

The team will also offer impartial advice on employment law and workplace issues. Not surprisingly, nearly half of the calls to the Helpline are people asking questions about redundancy issues, from both employees and HR professionals.

As well as offering emotional, financial and professional support to people who find themselves unemployed or at a career crossroads, NABS also has a team of expert careers coaches, offering a series of workshops, one-to-one coaching, and other professional support packages to meet the real needs of real people in every sector of our industry.

NABS can show you how to use the latest online technology to build your own network of contacts to find future jobs or contracts. If you’re one half of a creative team, they can help find your other half – or make a serious success of the freelance life. They’ll help you tackle the hard issues, like cv design and career change. And the so-called ‘soft’ issues (which in reality are much tougher) like confidence, motivation and self-belief.

NABS relies on the generosity of people in the industry; through donations and support at their events but remember, contacting NABS doesn’t make you a charity case – just a professional seeking help from fellow professionals.

Click here to find the NABS contact details, or take a look at their website – www.nabs.org.uk

SUCCESSES

Even in the toughest economic conditions most people can remember, RECaid is proving that it can help people who have been victims of the recession find not just any old job, but good jobs within our industry or related sectors. So far, we’ve helped:

FUTURE FUND RAISING EVENTS

In early February, we’re planning a major Question Time event – your chance to ask a panel of industry experts about life, the universe and the future of our industry. We’re aiming for some really top names on the panel and in the chair – and our good friends at the FT have offered us their prestigious South Bank building as a venue. Should be quite an event.

CONTACT

If you’ve lost your job, you’re at risk of redundancy, or if you’ve simply having a really bad time at work, you can talk – confidentially – to someone at NABS who really understands the industry and the pressures it puts on people.

The NABS helpline number is 0845 602 4497. And, as they say themselves, it’s for anything ‘from a small question to a life crisis.’

You can connect to RECaid’s LinkedIn group to make new, potentially valuable contacts and renew old ones.

If you work in any part of our industry, and you’d like to support RECaid’s work, our Chairman, Paul Walker, would be delighted to hear from you. You can contact him at c.walker3@btconnect.com




COMMITTEE

Bob Anthony – Ri5
Simon Bolton – Executive Creative Director of Penna Barkers
Rose Colledge – International Managing Director of Work
Jon Dobinson – Executive Creative Director, Othe (Chair of the committee)
Jamie Haskeyne and Martin Rimmer – joint Creative Directors of AiA
Mark Horley – Group Creative Director of Work
Simon Howard – Chairman, Work Group plc
Lucy Owen – Chief executive of NABS
Jim Landen and Andy Rigden – joint Creative Directors of Bernard Hodes
Peter Rice – Executive Creative Director of Euro RSCG Riley
Michelle Roberts-Clarke – Managing Director of Other
John Whitehurst – Freelance
Andrew Wilkinson – Chief Executive Officer, TMP
Karen Williams – AMRA and committee member of the Small Circle