LONDON, January 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Hays, the leading global specialist recruiting group, has announced further expansion into the United States with the establishment of operations in Houston, Texas. This is the second Hays office to open in the U.S. this year and it will focus on the recruitment of skilled staff for the oil and gas industry.

The development of the Houston office will be spearheaded by Hays North American President John Faraguna, a long-term Houston resident with a BS and MS in Geology and many years of experience working in the industry. Faraguna will be supported by Matt Underhill, global director of Hays who oversees the development of the oil and gas business for Hays around the world.

"We have a great opportunity to become valued partners of energy companies and the service industry.  The highly skilled workforce in this sector such as geophysicists, reservoir engineers, drilling engineers and IT professionals, are a key asset for all the companies involved in finding, producing, refining and distributing oil, gas and associated products," said Faraguna.

Houston is the home of many companies with whom Hays has already established relationships in Europe, the Middle East, Asia or South America and, as such, the recruitment specialist's global reach and focus on recruitment and staffing excellence will assist clients in finding these professionals either on a permanent or contract basis. 

About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments.

As at 30 June 2011, the Group employed 7,620 staff operating from 255 offices in 31 countries across 20 specialisms. Specialist roles recruited for include engineering jobs, finance jobs, construction jobs and health and safety jobs.

For the year ended 30 June 2011:

- the Group reported net fees of £672 million and operating profit of £114 million;

- the Group placed around 60,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 190,000 people into temporary assignments;

- 31% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 33% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 36% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;

- the temporary placement business represented 54% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 46% of net fees;

PR contact:
Emma Price
Hays
Stockley House
130 Wilton Road
London
SW1V 1LQ
+44(0)20-7259-8821
http://www.hays.co.uk

SOURCE Hays