Natwest and Government Support SERT Through COVID-19

01.05.2020
One of the South Coast’s leading recruitment and training agencies is using funding support from NatWest to continue supporting 250 staff in the UK’s energy sector during the coronavirus pandemic.

SERT, which is headquartered in Fareham and has a training centre in Southampton, provides key recruitment services to the country’s energy industries. It specialises in the provision of engineers for smart metre installations, who are used by companies including e-on and npower, as well as providing services to the international recruitment and global defence and cyber security sectors.

It’s chairman Simon England, who founded SERT in 2002, said the company believed it was important they worked hard to continue supporting engineers recruited for the energy sector, despite the temporary downturn in work due to the pandemic lockdown. The company has been supported by NatWest through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme.

Simon said: “The defence and cyber security sectors have been relatively resilient during the pandemic because these are industries where specialists can work from home and still provide the frontline services required. The energy sector has been more affected simply because engineers need to be able to visit a person’s home to be able to install a smart metre, which isn’t possible right now.

“As a company we’ve built a robust business that is able to weather the storm and continue supporting its customers, but we believed it was just as important to help those we have recruited to the energy sector as well. We worked with NatWest who supported us in providing the additional finance we needed to help our colleagues and the response from them has been very touching.

“This is a difficult time for a lot of sectors and businesses, but we are fortunate to be a resilient business that is able to continue helping its customers and colleagues.” 

Mark Dancer, Relationship Director, NatWest said: “SERT is working really hard to help the people it serves as a business and we share that purpose as a bank. We’re working to provide businesses throughout Hampshire and Dorset with the support and finance they need during the pandemic and feel a real responsibility as a bank to help our customers in these unprecedented times. 

“That is why alongside the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, we also launched a £5bn Working Capital Fund so businesses have access to the funds they need.

“We want businesses to know we are there for them and will do everything we can to support them.”
Posted by: Simon England

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