JOBS START
GOOD news for skilled job seekers. A new survey, by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), found that employers were increasingly upping their pay offers to new recruits in order to secure the best talent.
The study, which looked at 600 firms, found that in the face of a tightening labour market, more and more companies were being forced to splash the cash. In fact, more than two in five employers who had difficulty recruiting said they’d increased the salary on offer.
CANDIDATE SHORTAGE
It comes as half (51 per cent) of employers anticipate a shortage of candidates to fill permanent jobs, according to REC.
Employers with more than 250 staff are particularly concerned about the lack of talent available, with 63 per cent expecting a shortage.
One in five hirers (22 per cent) plan to take on more permanent staff in the medium term (four to 12 months), with only one per cent planning to decrease their headcount. And demand for staff is higher in London – where 28 per cent of employers intend to increase their permanent workforce in the medium term.
Employers expect the shortage of candidates to be particularly acute in engineering and tech, health and social care, and construction.
The REC’s latest JobsOutlook survey also revealed that six in 10 (59 per cent) have increased their headcount in the last year. A third (34 per cent) believe that UK economic conditions are improving, while 29 per cent think they are getting worse.
A further eight in 10 (78 per cent) are operating with ‘none’ or ‘a little’ spare capacity, and would need to take on staff to meet an increase in demand.
REC chief executive, Kevin Green, said: “The official figures show record levels of employment, and our data indicates that this could rise even higher in the coming months. “The candidate shortage is an ongoing dilemma. This is not a new problem, but the fall-out from Brexit has created fresh challenges. We’re already hearing that EU workers are leaving the UK or turning down opportunities to work here. In sectors such as healthcare, construction and hospitality, where the reliance upon EU nationals is especially high, employers are worried. “The government’s U-turn on the budget reveals a failure to appreciate the consequences of policy. Their approach to immigration must show more clarity. Safeguarding the status of EU workers in the UK in the upcoming Brexit negotiations would help to allay anxieties among employers.”
On the subject of increasing pay offers, Green added: “Throwing money at the problem isn’t a longterm solution for employers, as they compete with each other for the available talent.
“We need to train people up by embedding employability skills in schools, providing effective careers guidance and promoting apprenticeships. Employers should take responsibility for investing in training – it will help them retain staff and grow their own talent.”
The candidate shortage is an ongoing dilemma. This is not a new problem, but the fall-out from Brexit has created fresh challenges REC chief executive Kevin Green