Tradewind Recruitment
“Established in 2000, we specialise in providing recruitment services to the Education and Social Work Industries. Tradewind Recruitment is the premier provider of Primary, Secondary and SEN Teachers, School Support Staff and Social Workers.
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Our company values all focus around making sure we provide our candidates with the best possible levels of service, as well as finding them suitable positions which allow them to further their careers.”
~Tradewind Recruitment Website
Note: Tradewind Recruitment has merged with SANZA Teaching. The companies share resources while maintaining semi-autonomous operations.
Very friendly, welcoming, and honest staff.
Two years….no days work!
Kinda says it all!
Since I’m on a roll with twos heres my summary in as many words;
TIME WASTERS!!!
signed Music teacher
I worked for 6 months for Tradewind which did not give me much work but SANZA did 60% of the time when I called in the morning. But this is not enough to survive as there are long holidays in schools when there is absolutely no work/pay.
I joined Tradewind last year (2011) and couldn’t be happier with the service that I have received. Right from the start of my time with Tradewind, my consultant (Duncan Wylie) has been an absolute star, he has been nothing but professional and has been booking me in for regular work in brilliant schools. I was able to have honest chats with Duncan about my school and year group preferences and he worked extremely hard to cater towards meeting these. I have had a really positive experience and will be working for Tradewind again in the future.
I have been very impressed with Tradewind and the high standard of service and support they have offered. I’ve been on supply for the past three years with some awkward requirements eg only advance bookings, but despite this,I have always been offered plenty of work and had my considerations generously taken into account. My agents have always discussed schools and positions honestly, let me know if a school/class might be challenging and greeted me cheerfully, returning my calls promptly. I would recommend them highly!
I would especially like to mention Duncan for his wonderful organisation and professionalism! He has liaised efficiently with schools on my behalf, worked for my best interests admirably and been a friendly and reliable support who returned my calls, dealt with me cheerfully and really listened to my concerns and queries. A very big thank you!
After working full time and having a class of my own in Melbourne, the uncertainty of daily supply was a little bit daunting at first. Tradewinds however, made the transition a lot easier and my time teaching in London an enjoyable one!
My agent Duncan was very attentive to my needs and made sure to place me in schools that were suited to me. The schools were always very easy to get to and in the age groups that I had requested. He made me feel valued and kept in contact with me regularly, getting my feedback on the schools i had been to as well as giving me feedback on my performance.
Furthermore, Duncan had work for me on a daily basis and many of these were advanced bookings making things a lot less stressful in the mornings and allowing me the opportunity to plan my week and my earnings.
I would highly recommend Tradewinds to anyone considering joining a Teaching Agency in London.
Same as SANZA: very friendly and personable people who keep calling you up with what seem good prospects of work that, ultimately, never quite materialise. Quite a common experience is to be phoned up about ‘at least a weeks work’, which over the course of the next couple of days gets whittled down to ‘just a day’ and then just disappears. This happened recently with exam invigilation, which although only £7 per hour, promised nearly a month of 5 day a week work. What actually materialised was the odd morning or afternoon, only paying for 2 hours, barely covering the cost of transport. Most annoying was the school concerned demanded a fresh CRB in advance, so I ended up £40 out of pocket.
I had a good experience working with this agency
Tradewind is another agency that I used that is a joke!! You would think since they are partnered with another agency they could do a better job at assisting teachers. They advertise that you can claim back insane amounts of money once arriving in the UK – which was all lies and false advertisement. Please do not be fooled by this company and the lies they feed you.
Having joined tradewind some time ago, i found them to be completely useless. I waited two months for a CRB which they forgot to send off claiming they had incorrect details barring in mind they had copies of all my details! I spent a lot of time going in circles with [name] ringing me for various things that she already had obtained from me. Would not recommend at all!
I was never offered a single day’s work from this crowd despite submitting all of the necessary documents and they had even secured my references. They make out that they have so much work available but the reality could not be further from the truth.
I really enjoyed my time working with SANZA/Tradewind. Tradewind provided me with the majority of my work, probably because Tradewind always had me booked before SANZA even had the chance to call me. That is one of the benefits of working with this agency. You get two agencies under the one roof with twice as many schools as any other agency around.
I have worked for a few agencies and Tradewind is by far the best. Other agencies often fail to return your calls and falsely tell you that you “are on top of the list”. The only way to succeed with agencies like those are if you have “connections”.
My main contact at Tradewind was Duncan. He was always professional, reliable and would regularly provide me with work. I cannot thank him enough for the work he did on my behalf. Don’t waste your time with other agencies. Go straight to Tradewind/SANZA!
Tradweind was a fantastic agency to work for they were extremely professional and personable. I would highly recommend this agency to NQTS as well as experienced teachers.
Never had any problems getting work, very friendly staff, and generally they got work for me near to where I lived. Better than all other agency’s worked for.
My high rating is solely for Duncan who was friendly, reliable and very professional. I loved the long term school I ended up in, and I know they were impressed with him too. Other advisors (for Richmond area) failed to find me any work at all and were very unreliable at returning calls.
Tradewind is an excellent agency that I have worked for on and off since I qualified 3 years ago. The agents are friendly, helpful and understanding. They always ask how you are getting along and they are extremely supportive. The agents are always honest about the school they are sending me to and if they have not sent anyone there in the past, they tell me. I have recommended friends to Tradewind and will continue to do so.
Tradewinds are a very honest and personable agency that really “call a spade a spade”. They have been very efficient in finding suitable, long term placements in good schools and are very keen to stay in contact even when you are on a longer placement. They do acknowledge the difficulties experienced at, and disorganisation of, some schools and readily welcome feedback. I have recommended Tradewinds as an excellent agency to many of my teacher friends who are looking for work or are having little success with their current agency. I was recommended Tradewinds by a colleague back in Australia and I have not been disappointed.
I am really happy with Tradewind having had the majority of my daily supply work through them. My consultant, Duncan, is fantastic and has been great at finding me lots of work this year. It’s been good to go back to the same schools too. The fact that Tradewind pay more than the other agencies who are around is also a bonus.
Have had a great experience this year through the various assignments I’ve had working at schools across Slough and Hayes this year. Hoping the regular work continues into the next school year too!
Of all the agencies I’m registered with, Tradewind definitely rate as my number one preference. Keep up the good work!
woah – tradewind totally awesome agency! they recruited the hell out of me + for craxy good price! so cool. i love tradewind, they are number 1 agency forever! with best honour. micky chin.
What an agency!! I have nothing but good things to say about Tradewind when they say they are going to do something they do it. It is not an agency that over promises and under delivers, they are always on hand to help you out and return your calls. The schools they have sent me to have been excellent and I have built some good relationships with the consultants there especially in the secondary team. I would have no worries in recommending them to any of my other friends who are teachers and like me they say very positive things.
They a very personable and friendly operation (in the sort of American ‘have a good day’ sense), however, other than that, there is little going for them. I signed up with them eight months ago, but have not yet got any work from them. They seem to like dangling you on a promise of the ‘perfect job for you’, which then just gets forgotten.
I was recruited overseas through tradewind and found an excellent long-term position at a great secondary school. This is why I have rated quality of schools as high because I’ve only been to one school under tradewind. However, when my contract ran out, it was nearly impossible to find even day-to-day supply with tradewind. I constantly have to call back to remind them that I’m looking for work and keep having to repeat what borough I live in. They say they will call back regarding possible long-term positions but I find myself waiting by my phone. They try to be personable but it doesn’t help when I don’t have a job! Now I am looking into other agencies.
I signed up years ago.My consultant promised a lot and couldn’t come up with the goods.I felt like an annoymous number on their big score sheet.
I came to Sanza after being discouraged by another teaching agency.
I was immediately given work everyday and even given feedback on my performance at each school.
They paid an extra 25 pound per day than the other teaching agency I was with and were quick to respond to any requests or calls I had.
Another benefit was having Tradewind to also supply additional work, so you got two agencies, for one!
One of the benefits of being with Tradewind is that you also have access to SANZA. This means that you have access to more work opportunities. I thought that because this agency is one of the bigger ones I would receive a less personable communication. Although they do have a bit of a “big-time” feel, the agents I have dealt with have been friendly and seem to remember me. Specifically, I have found Ashley to be a big help and someone who is straightforward and honest. But, then again, agents do have an agenda as well so always keep this in mind.
As for the schools, it is mixed. One day you could have a great school, the next could be a disaster. Overall, they are a decent agency to work for and seem to have more connections than some of the smaller agencies.