ALEKI Lutui, Worcester Warrior's star rugby hooker, has officially opened the new offices of Select Appointments in the city.

The 29-year-old Tongan international, who joined Warriors in September 2006, was guest of honour at a launch party at the recruitment company's offices at 14 The Tything.

Select Appointments is one of the country's leading staffing firms, placing temporary and permanent office staff into various sectors, including secretarial and administration, call and contact centre, accountancy and finance, sales and marketing, legal and medial marketplaces.

Lee Broadway is heading up the team at its new base. Mr Broadway has always lived in the Worcester area and his local knowledge and recruitment expertise means that he is well aware of the problems companies can face when trying to recruit.

"Having worked in recruitment in Worcester for the last 10 years, I am aware that the recruitment industry continues to be very challenging, yet also varied and rewarding," he said.

"The services the industry offers are now more in demand than ever, mainly due to the shortage of correctly skilled candidates.

"HR departments are becoming ever more involved in areas such as employee relations and, as such, are not always able to devote the time to recruitment in the way that a dedicated, specialist supplier can.

"Worcester is a thriving town that benefits from continuous investment, meaning more jobs and more challenges in recruiting. We will be working closely with local businesses and local people in order to achieve our goal of finding jobs for people and people for jobs."