AN IT services specialist from Hampshire is bucking the economic gloom trend by announcing it is looking to recruit ten new members of staff.

Fareham based Taylor Made Computer Solutions, which employs 102 staff, is targeting Solent residents as part of its expansion. There are opportunities for all ages from school leavers to experienced IT professionals and sales.

The firm, familiar from its 50- strong blue and silver branded vehicle fleet and community sports sponsorships, has already hired 15 new starters in the past six months.

The announcement comes as the number of 18 to 24-year-olds claiming unemployment benefit in October across the Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council and Isle of Wight areas, rose from 5,635 a year ago to 7,030.

The number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds has now passed one million nationwide for the first time since comparable records began in 1992.

Managing director Nigel Taylor said: “It’s fantastic news, not just for Taylor Made, but for a local job market that is really tough, especially for young people.

“We have superb opportunities to launch a successful career as well as fulfilling roles for industry veterans ready to take a step up.”

He added: “Despite the challenging economic conditions, we have grown steadily to the point where we now need a significant number of new staff. We are looking to attract talented people who live in the area and want to work for a progressive company.

“After 17 years of solid steady profitable growth we are seeing a huge surge of interest in hosted and cloud based computing and it is essential we have the right people in place, trained and ready to deal with the substantial growth in new technologies we are using.”

Taylor Made is ranked among the best small companies to work for in the UK.