A West Yorkshire recruitment company is preparing for a huge surge in job enquiries as the new Millennium dawns.

Headway Recruitment, which has offices in Bradford and Leeds, is gearing up for a large increase in permanent job registrations following the Millennium celebrations.

The company is anticipating that a significant number of people will decide over the extended Christmas holiday period to make major changes in their lives - including a new job.

Managing director David Gill said: "From talking to people it is clear that many people will choose the Millennium period to reflect on both relationships and employment with a proportion deciding to use the opportunity as a means of making a symbolic break with the past."

To handle the high level of enquiries from both permanent and temporary job hunters, the company has invested in its own domain registered website - www.headwayrecruitment.co.uk - which will help applicants browse through vacancies and register on-line.

The new service is expected to speed up the processing of paperwork and allow applicants the opportunity to examine job openings even on Christmas or New Year's day.

But Mr Gill stressed that while the new on-line registration allows access to vacancies, those registering would still have to be individually interviewed, vetted and tested before being allowed to go for an interview.

He added: "The business is anticipating a major surge in applicants leading up to and after the Millennium celebrations.

"We decided to introduce the new service to assist both our clients and applicants in order to promote vacancies and make it easier for applicants to register.

"From comments received so far, the site has been very well received and we feel confident that the new site will bring major benefits to everyone."

Support for the move has already received a welcome boost from the Federation of Small Businesses.

Regional spokesperson Diana Evans said: "The Millennium is a good opportunity to change jobs, retire or pursue a new opportunity.

"Anything that Headway can do to make access to employment information easier must be welcomed."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.