Meet our Founding Director Ruth Forster

Background & Experience
Ruth Forster embarked on her recruitment career in 1993, beginning as an Administrator before rapidly progressing to a Trainee Recruitment role and eventually becoming a full Recruitment Consultant.

Her early career was focused on both contract and permanent recruitment within the engineering and manufacturing sectors.

In 2010, Ruth founded Wagstaff Recruitment. Her dedication to providing high-quality, genuine recruitment consultancy quickly established the company’s reputation. Today, Wagstaff Recruitment operates with a core team of five recruitment professionals, each specialising in key aspects of our process. Ruth remains actively involved, working closely with both existing and new clients on recruitment projects, including strategic planning, and supporting individuals with career coaching.

A New Perspective Through Education
In her 40s, Ruth made the significant decision to return to education, earning an MA in Career Development and Coaching Studies from the University of Warwick. This experience has profoundly shaped her approach, enabling her and Wagstaff to view recruitment and careers through a fresh lens. Her in-depth understanding of career theory and its practical application allows her to align individual career paths with business needs, helping organisations build effective, high-performing teams.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement
Ruth is renowned for her relentless pursuit of improvement and innovation. She utilises technology, refines processes, and ensures that both our team and clients are kept informed of developments in the labour market. At Wagstaff Recruitment, standing still is never an option—we advance through curiosity, understanding, and continuous process enhancement. Ruth’s commitment to excellence ensures our mission remains at the forefront: making the recruitment process easier for both job seekers and employers.

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Specialisations
With three decades of experience in the engineering, manufacturing, and automated distribution sectors, Ruth possesses deep and practical knowledge of these industries. Her areas of specialisation include:

• Crafting Recruitment Strategies: Ruth collaborates with businesses to design and implement impactful recruitment practices, supporting everything from early career engagement programs, day to day recruitment campaigns, to succession planning.
• Providing Career Coaching: She guides individuals through career transitions, offering support during challenging times and facilitating positive shifts, including redundancy and outplacement services.
• UK & USA Ruth’s experience spans both the UK and the USA, providing her with a comprehensive understanding of the global job market and its evolving demands.
• Collaboration: Wagstaff is able to deliver large, multi disciplined projects through our trusted partnership model. We have built successful relationships with associates in the UK, USA, and Europe resulting in successful delivery of international and multidisciplined projects.

Our strapline, “Building Trusted Relationships to Create Great Opportunities,” is at the heart of everything we do with organisations, individuals, and within our own team.

Credentials

• MA in Career Development & Coaching Studies – University of Warwick
• RCDP Registered Career Development Professional – Career Development Institute (CDI)
• FREC Fellow – Recruitment & Employment Confederation
• Certified DiSC Trainer
• Divisional Director, Engineering & Manufacturing – TEAM (The Employment Agents Movement)
• Enterprise Advisor & Careers Link Governor – Cannock Chase High School
• Mentor – Aston University Professional Mentoring Scheme