A HI-TECH firm is mounting a hunt to find 100 workers to fuel its rapid expansion in Oxfordshire.

JDS Uniphase, of Witney, says traditional job searching has proved fruitless in a district with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Britain.

The company, which has been based at the Thorney Leys Business Park for the past five and a half years, makes fibre optics for the telecommunications and data communications industries.

The firm, part of an American-Canadian corporation which employs 120 people at Witney, plans a rapid expansion, but has been unable to find recruits

Executive assistant Tracy Mead said: "We are looking for about 100 employees and have been trying to encourage people to look at the benefits of working for such a large organisation.

"We have new products and new developments under way and the business in data communications is going like a rocket."

She said traditional job advertising had so far not paid off. "We are not sure why this is. We have some high level jobs like engineers, but a lot of the jobs are for production workers with full training given.

"It is possible we have frightened some people off, but full training would be given to people whatever their level."

The recruitment drive comes just weeks after council officials at West Oxfordshire District Council admitted it was no longer going all out to bring new jobs to the area, because there was not the available workforce. Latest figures showed 345 people out of work and claiming benefit in the area.

New unemployment figures are due out on Wednesday.

Ben Webster, head of economic policy and development, said: "You have to change the emphasis from time to time and that is what we are doing."

Story date: Monday 14 February

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