JOBS: Ikea sets out recruitment timetable for Sheffield store

The company, in partnership with Job Centre Plus, will be launching the ‘big wave’ of its recruitment process this December.

It is understood around 350 jobs in various capacities will be advertised online.

Around ‘90 per cent’ of roles are earmarked to go to people living in the surrounding area and the long-term unemployed looking to get back to work.

The application process is set to take around eight weeks and staff would be working inside the store by February ahead of the official opening day next June.

The news comes as unemployment in the region since 2010 has fallen by 46 per cent.

South Yorkshire Job Centre Plus manager Nigel Coleman said the jobs market in the region was still ‘very encouraging’.

He said: “We do get peaks and troughs in the figures but here in South Yorkshire we’ve had steady figures for the past two years – it’s a healthy outlook – we’re still operating here at a good pace.

“Retail in particular is very strong across South Yorkshire with lots of opportunities.

“The Ikea development is an exciting one. We’ve been working very closely with them for a long time and we expect the vast bulk of jobs, around 90 cent or so, to go to job seekers in the surrounding areas.

“There are loads of roles from retail and warehouse work to hospitality, working in the restaurant kitchens.”