Bristol recruitment business ISL has appointed learning and development specialist Oli Hartley to grow its internal professional development practice and helm its revamped recruitment academy.
Oli, pictured, previously led the learning and development programme at national recruitment organisation Resource Solutions Group (RSG), also based in Bristol. 
He will work on enhancing ISL’s offer in line with the new academy as it opens for applicants all year round.
The change in direction follows a successful internal recruitment programme aimed at attracting higher quality candidates, in which the academy has played a key role.
The existing internal people strategy has resulted in the business gaining fourth place in the Great Place to Work Awards alongside nominations for multiple other accolades. It has also achieved a significant leap in the number of potential employees applying.
ISL director Alan Furley said: “Having Oli Hartley come on board to lead this newly-designed programme is a game-changer in terms of development of what we will be delivering for those chosen to join the Academy.
“A business lives and dies on the strength of its talent and our original academy started four years ago to help us recruit the best talent out there.
“Our application process, however, was getting so effective we were getting bottlenecked by having only one or two windows in the year. And people who leave higher education are increasingly doing other things before deciding on stepping into the world of work, which meant we were missing out on some good candidates.
“He brings with him a wealth of expertise in learning and development and organisational design and can’t wait to find and create great new talent.”
Oli, who previously designed and developed the learning and development programme at RSG, said: “I’m delighted to be joining at a point where learning and development can have a major impact on the future success of ISL and its people.
“I will be building on the great work that has been done in the academy and the wider business, developing a clear career development programme with supportive mechanisms and processes to ensure people are effective and engaged in their work and roles in the business.
“As well as training, I will be focussing on the broader learning and organisational development that will enable us to grow as a business. This means having clear career road maps for staff already in the business in addition to the talented graduates coming up through the academy.”
ISL Recruitment (ISL) was set up in 2007 and specialises in recruiting into skilled and senior positions across the UK’s engineering and IT sectors. It is run by partners Alan Furley, Henry Keeys and Geoffrey Keeys.
