On 4 October 2026, Wagstaff Recruitment & Careers Coaching turns 16.

I’m a reflector (especially when I’m out walking), so milestones like this always make me stop and think about where we started, what has changed and, perhaps more importantly, what hasn’t.

When I started Wagstaff in 2010, I knew I was a pretty good recruiter. I’d already spent many years working in recruitment, all within engineering and manufacturing.

What I didn’t know was whether being a good recruiter meant I could run a good recruitment business.

Could I employ and lead people? Could I make the right decisions? Could I build something sustainable and profitable?

Well, we’ve built a fantastic team and we’re commercially strong, so I’d say that’s a win.

But it wasn’t all that was on my mind when I started.

Would I still love recruitment?

This worried me.

During my career, I’d seen people I respected become visibly tired and frustrated with recruitment and, in some cases, with running recruitment businesses.

I wondered whether that would eventually happen to me.

Would I reach my 50s and be tired of recruitment – or would recruitment be tired of me?

Thankfully, neither has happened.

I still love my job 😊

And I think a big part of that is because both recruitment and the sector we work in – engineering and manufacturing – have continued to evolve.

Engineering and manufacturing never stand still. Businesses change, technology changes, jobs change and the skills employers need continue to evolve.

I still enjoy walking into an engineering or manufacturing business, finding out what they do, understanding the challenges they face and, most importantly, getting to know the people behind it.

Wagstaff has evolved too

The business I run today is quite different from the one I started in 2010.

Recruitment remains at its heart, but over the years we’ve built something much broader around it.

Careers coaching, leadership development, research and insights have all become part of what we do.

That wasn’t a grand plan I had mapped out 16 years ago. Much of it has developed through listening to our clients, candidates and the wider engineering and manufacturing community, and recognising where we could offer more.

I’m proud of that evolution.

But perhaps the biggest thing is the people

When I look back over my career, the thing I’m probably most grateful for is the relationships.

There are people still in my world today who I first knew when I started in recruitment back in the 1990s.

There are clients who have trusted us with their businesses and candidates who have trusted us with decisions about their careers.

And there are fellow recruitment business owners who I originally met as industry peers and who, over the years, have become genuine friends.

That means a lot to me.

Our strapline at Wagstaff is:

“Building trusted relationships to create great opportunities.”

After more than 30 years in recruitment and now 16 years of Wagstaff, perhaps my biggest reflection is that those trusted relationships really have become the backbone of my career.

So, as Wagstaff turns 16, thank you.

To our team, our clients, our candidates, our associates, my recruitment peers and friends, and everyone who has trusted and supported us along the way.

I never take that for granted.

Ruth Forster
Founder & Managing Director
Wagstaff Recruitment & Careers Coaching