大象传媒

East by North East

Polish photo gallery

Dreaming of a new future - the influx of European workers. PA Images.

THE STORY IN PICTURES

The North East has a long and proud association with eastern Europe.

Goods have been coming into ports in the region for hundreds of years.

But the latest boom is the influx of Polish workers.

Officially there are now 40,000 eastern Europeans working in the North East, roughly the same size as a small town like Hartlepool.

The real figure is probably much higher, possibly double - that's easily enough to fill St James' Park.

Inside Out investigates how the Auf Wiedersehen Pet concept of North East workers going abroad for work has been turned upside down.

Big business

With the UK experiencing a shortage of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour, more companies have been looking to Polish, Eastern European and other EU workers to meet their staffing needs.

For North East firm F J Pearts, the boom in eastern European workers came when the company experienced a shortage of welders to make metal gates.

Job hopes - Freddie Peart runs Baltic Recruitment

It brought in Lithuanians to fill the jobs, and the results were very successful.

Freddie Peart was so impressed that he has set up own his recruitment agency - Baltic Recruitment in Hartlepool.

The new firm has tapped into a data base of 50,000 East Europeans, all desperate to work in the UK.

Baltic Recruitment places around 50 new eastern European workers every month.

It helps workers to find jobs, and follows up if there are any problems and thing go wrong.

The Office Manager at Baltic says that workers are willing and reliable, contrary to her previous experience working in an employment agency.

Meet the newcomers

One of the staff whom Baltic Recruitment found a job for was Eliza.

She took up a post as a receptionist in a car showroom.

Eliza is a typical of thousands of migrant workers heading for the North East:

"I am a very ambitious person. I would like to develop myself.

"I hadn't such a chance when I was working in Poland. I think in England it is more possible."

Personal development - Eliza is looking for new opportunities

Many eastern European workers like Eliza are well qualified and from areas of high unemployment.

They are looking to quadruple their earnings as Danuis from Lithuania explains:

"My motivation is money - it's about five times more. I like working here. Here is a better life and better money."

Baltic Recruitment is currently matching 50 workers a month to a variety of jobs.

The supplies of cash starved eastern Europeans show no signs of drying up.

Less certain is whether they'll continue to find work on Teesside - an area still considered an unemployment black spot.

Ups and downs

Danius was recruited from Lithuania because of a shortage of skilled welders.

Chasing dreams - Danius is typical of the new workers

He found work with a Teesside building firm but, despite his high expectations, he was laid off after only a short time.

Baltic Recruitment say that they will help workers to stay in the UK and find them alternative employment if things don't work out.

If the worst comes to the worst, they will also help migrant workers get back home.

Although most workers have had positive experiences so far, it remains to be seen how they will fare in the long term in an area of traditional high unemployment.

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