A former footballer has launched a new recruitment platform and mobile app for the private security industry.
Manchester-based Broadstone Engage was set up last year by Tom Pickersgill, who had worked in the private security sector for three years before launching his business. Prior to that, he was a professional footballer playing for Morecambe Town.
Pickersgill saw a gap in the market for a new recruitment platform. In particular, it was clear to him that the private security industry needed to embrace technology.
The app connects jobseekers and employers in the private security industry and allows them to communicate seamlessly about opportunities, beginning a fully-compliant vetting procedure.
The launch follows Broadstone receiving a £200,000 investment from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) last year. The funding came after Pickersgill sought advice from Business Growth Hub.
“Business Growth Hub has been fantastic in providing me with support and advice, but mostly, providing me somebody I could chat over my current thinking and pull all my thoughts together,” he said.
“Being a founder, it can be very isolating. This meant having somebody there to talk through the progress I had made, plans that I needed to execute and the challenges I experienced was very valuable.”
The business used the cash to extend its team of software developers, and build both commercial and community teams ahead of the launch of the new and improved platform.
Pickersgill has also used the funds to hire local talent. He said: “It’s very competitive when trying to attract talent in Manchester, but the tech community is rapidly growing and we have very good universities here that we intend to build strong relationships with, alongside the wider community.”