We met Serious Pig recently, a local snack business, who told us about how they have been coping in the pandemic, the changes they’ve made to adapt in a post-pandemic economy, moving to Acton and having used the council’s help in recruiting staff. We want residents to get into good jobs while supporting businesses to thrive.
Watch the conversation between Councillor Mahfouz, cabinet member for decent living incomes, and Jo Watts, Serious Pig general manager, to learn more about their experience with using our free recruitment service.
Meet Mohammad
Mohammad is an Ealing resident, who has previously worked at Morrisons, both in Acton and West Drayton. He has been registered with Ealing Work West since November 2020. Our brokerage team put Mohammad forward for a few roles, including one as a dispatch supervisor at Serious Pig. He received interview support by both telephone and email from us, which was followed by an interview at the company, which we facilitated.
He says: “I found this job through Ealing Council’s job broker, Marc. He sent me an email with the job vacancy, which I applied to. I attended an interview and was successful.
“I started my role here on 1 October 2021. I’ve been enjoying it so far. It’s a really nice environment to work in, management and team.”
Resilience during the pandemic
Jo said: “The hard bit during COVID-19 was that up until that point 70% of our business was with pubs. We are also supplying products to the BA lounge at Heathrow airport. With the hospitality and aviation industries closing down overnight, we thought we were not going to make it through the pandemic. This was when we started developing our online shop more and selling directly to consumers.
“When you also add our move from Peckham to Acton, we feel like we have achieved a lot within a certain period of time.
“We changed our business model too. We were packing one of our products, salami, ourselves. We had a production room, just like in a factory. Whereas now, we have a charcuterie supplier to do that for us. We’ve gone from being a producer to dispatch operation, which allows us to scale. We have grown massively.”
Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for decent living incomes: “It was fantastic to see how Serious Pig have successfully juggled so many changes. Clearly, a business demonstrating an incredible resilience throughout the pandemic, having not only survived, but also grown.
“We are extremely pleased they chose Ealing to move their business to. We are also happy we could help them with hiring Mohammad and currently working with them on filling in another position and an apprenticeship.
“Whether you are an Ealing resident looking for a job or an employer in need of staff, we can help. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team.”
About Serious Pig
Serious Pig has been taking snacking seriously in the past 12 years. Why not follow it on Instagram?
Let us offer a helping hand
Support is available from council’s employment, learning and skills team for residents and businesses alike. Get in touch with us via:
Email: workwestadmin@ealing.gov.uk
Telephone: 020 8825 8486 – line open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm
Good jobs for Ealing
Ealing’s Plan for Good Jobs is the council’s action plan that sets out the short-term actions that are needed to help Ealing’s economy recover from the pandemic. The plan sets out a number of key priorities for the council and its partners including helping residents into gainful employment by making it easier for them to find jobs, retrain and develop new skills for growth sector employment. Focus will also be on protecting and nurturing existing businesses and encouraging local employers to work with the council to create good jobs.
Ealing’s Plan for Good Jobs is the council’s commitment to help the borough get back on its feet and create a sustainable economy.
