Kentish Express Ashford & District
MP hears of ‘buoyant’ jobs market
Staff at an Ashford recruitment consultancy met the town’s MP to discuss employment trends.
Office Angels staff welcomed MP and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Damian Green to their Ashford office to discuss the employment market.
The team discussed the current market including the shortage of skilled candidates in comparison to the amount of roles around.
With unemployment being so low locally, recruitment director Helana Barnes believes this is not surprising.
She said: “We have had such great roles in this year, both on the interim and permanent side but the candidate is king for us.
“We have had clients fighting to secure a candidate by increasing the salary and other benefits which we haven’t seen for a number of years.
“It’s great for candidates looking for a new roles as there should be more choice.
“We have seen an increase in the accounting and financial fields in 2016. I can’t see this being too different in 2017.”
Mr Green said: “It is always useful to receive up-to-date briefings on the state of the jobs market in and around Ashford, and I am really grateful to Office Angels for providing this. I was pleased to hear how buoyant the jobs market is in the area, and how good candidates can have a choice of jobs.”