A RECRUITMENT agency specialising in finding work for ethnic minorities yesterday marked the opening of its new head office with a pledge to drive forward a project in the North-East.

Middlesbrough-based Talent will work with voluntary organisations and community groups across the region to match job vacancies to the thousands of socially-marginalised groups, including single parents and disabled people.

The Third Way project was launched nationwide in April, backed by £5m of Government money, to enable companies to advertise vacancies to a wider range of people and develop a more diverse workforce.

Founding director of Talent, Jonathan Baldrey, said: "The model we are delivering means essentially sub-contracting our work as a recruitment agency out to voluntary organisations, clubs and community groups in order to reach more people. We are acting very much like a wholesaler."

Talent was set up 13 years ago in London, where it now has four offices. It moved its headquarters to Middlesbrough five years ago and recently upgraded to offices in the Middlehaven area of the town, creating more than 30 jobs.

It also has branches in Hartlepool and Newcastle and is considering opening a site in Sunderland.

Penny Thomas, regional manager for Talent in the North-East, said: "This move to the Middlehaven area means we are a living example of a national company that has chosen to invest inwardly and support a previously deprived area."

Nationally, more than 50 per cent of those placed into jobs by Talent are from ethnic minority groups. It has a number of big clients, including KPMG, Pricewaterhouse- Coopers and Garlands call centres, which employs about 2,800 people at five sites across the Tees Valley.