Swedish winter adventure business, Axehandle Mountain, has been using Land-Force.com for several years to recruit seasonal kennel staff to help look after its 65 purebred Siberian Huskies.

The business offers sled-dog tours from Christmas to Easter each year from its base in the small village of YXSKAFTKÄLEN in the North of Sweden.

Recently Axehandle Mountain needed to recruit an additional kennel worker to fill an urgent vacancy and so it once again turned to Land-Force.com.

Graham Kent from Axehandle explained, “we needed to rapidly find a new member of staff and so we placed an advert on Land-Force.com on a Thursday. We had 20 applications very quickly and following telephone interviews on the Saturday our new employee flew out to join us on the following Monday, just 4 days after advertising! I particularly like the CV functionality on Land-Force, which enables me to browse CVs and shortlist candidates for interview. We only advertise vacancies on Land-Force.com as we have been so pleased with the results in the past.”

The new Equality Act is set to become law from October 2010, replacing nine existing laws with a single Act of Parliament. The aim of the new Act is to make it easier for staff to understand their rights and employers to understand their obligations.

Covering issues from gender pay gaps to pre-employment health screening, the Act is far ranging and it is your obligation to ensure you comply. For more information visit www.equalities.gov.uk

Do you remember the geeky guy at college whom you always made fun of? Well he’s now the CEO of the company that you are desperately trying to get a job with. Think it will affect your chances?

It may sound flippant but the reality is that everyone you have ever interacted with may have an impact on you achieving your professional goals.

Taking some time to forge a positive contacts network can pay huge dividends in the future and it needn’t take a lot of effort.

Firstly, always treat other people with respect because you are always making an impression on others and you never know when they might have an influence on your future.

Secondly, look for opportunities to build relationships, particularly in areas that interest you. Try to attend relevant events, discussion groups, etc. and make an effort to talk to people you don’t currently know. Then follow up these new contacts after the events to start to build relationships. Remember, it takes time to build good relationships but it takes only seconds to destroy your reputation!

After five days of negotiations (and what feels like months of campaigning) we finally have a new government. So, as David Cameron settles behind his new desk at No. 10 Downing Street, what will the next five years bring for the land based industries?

Looking at the Conservative’s manifesto, their policy focuses on “creating a more effective system of environmental stewardship” to protect the countryside whilst promoting the sustainable production of food.

They have committed to reducing on-farm inspections, abolishing the Agricultural Wages Board and reforming the Common Agricultural Policy.

Perhaps more controversially, Cameron’s party has also suggested a more proactive means of badger control in areas with high levels of bovine TB, perhaps pointing to a badger cull in the future.

But we must not forget that the Lib-Dems also feature in our new government and so their policies will form part of the new government’s plans. Promisingly, their manifesto promises to protect the natural environment while ensuring that farmers get a fairer deal.

Like the Tories, the Lib-Dems are committed to reforming the Common Agricultural Policy but they also have a focus on supporting hill farmers and providing funding for anaerobic digesters.

Unlikely the Tories, they are committed to increasing rights of access in the countryside.

Of course at this stage it is too early to tell how the new coalition government will agree it’s countryside policies, only time will tell…