Skills shortages in 2012:

Employers identified a umber of key sectors where skills shortages were likely to be encountered over the coming year.  On the permanent side, shortages were expected in professional and managerial roles; nursing, medical and healthcare; and education and training.  For temporary staff, skills shortages were likely to occur in driving and distribution (21 per cent), catering and accommodation (21 per cent) and accounting/financial (16 per cent).

Demand for temporary staffing remains firm:

Despite the first 12 week qualifying period for agency workers to receive equal treatment having been reached in December, expectations over short term demand for agency staff have remained stable.

27 per cent of employers plan to increase their use of agency workers during this period, with another 57 per cent saying theirs would remain at the same level – a total of 84 per cent.  The long term forecast is for most employers – 65 per cent – to keep their usage at existing levels while 22 per cent said they planned an increase.

Commenting on the latest statistice, Roger Tweedy, the REC’s Director of Research said:

“Last Novembers figures showed that many employers were hoping to slightly increase their permanent workforce’s early in the New Year.  However, there has been a significant dip in employer optimism that is likely to be linked to continuing economic concerns over the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone.

Most employers have retrenched to a much more cautious wait and see approach, which is starting to be reflected in the REC’s Employer Confidence Barometer index which fell back one point from the month before.  However it is important to note that this confidence index is still five points above its lowest mark last September and that a significant number of businesses still plan to take on new staff during the course of the year, despite the slight change in mood.

The outlook for temporary staff remains encouraging despite the Agency Worker Regulations now being in force.  Since October, 65 per cent of employers have not made any changes to their use of agency workers following the AWR implementations.  This suggests that the impact of the Regulations is mainly being felt in certain specific sectors.  The data also shows that the vast majority of businesses plan to maintain or increase their use of temporary staff which indicates that flexible working options will continue to provide an important outlet for employers and job-seekers”.

Research by the “High Fliers” company, based on a survey of the Times top 100 Graduate Employers, found IT and telecoms firms intend to provide 32 pert cent more graduate entry jobs than in 2011, whilst engineering and industrial companies will hire 22 per cent more.

Those large companies will place a high premium on skilled, experienced graduates.  Demand for new talent to work in finance functions is the highest, with 62 per cent of companies, of all types, planning to hire these skills.  Second highest is IT: although relatively few IT companies may be looking for graduates, 57 per cent of all companies surveyed need graduates to work in IT functions.

Companies surveyed placed particular emphasis on graduates having already gained some direct experience in their field.  More than half of companies reported that it was very unlikely they would hire a graduate, regardless of their academic results, if they had not already had a work experience placement or internship in the field.

Andrew Tomlinson, REC Policy Advisor for the Technology sector said:

“Despite the lack of confidence across the economy as a whole, this research again lays bare that demand remains healthy for workers with specialist skills and workplace experience.  Despite testing economic conditions, there are still opportunities for recruiters across these sectors.”

Commenting on the latest figures, Kevin Green, the  REC’s Chief Executive, said:

“The UK jobs market is struggling to cope with austerity measures but will bounce back in the medium term.  Whilst the public sector has lost 67,000 jobs in the last quarter, the private sector has continued to create new jobs, although not in sufficient numbers at present to compensate.

However, we are continuing to see encouraging signs in terms of employers future hiring intentions and sectors such as IT, engineering and office professionals are already showing strong demand.  Across all sectors, recruitment agencies fill on average 40,000 permanent jobs per month which shows that opportunities do exist.

Looking ahead, things will get worse before they get better but we expect unemployment figures to stabilise in the second part of the year.”

On the latest youth unemployment figures, Keven Green says:

“The Governments Youth Contract needs to make an impact as quickly as possible to avoid young people being isolated in unemployment.  One area that has not been adequately addressed is the need for a modern careers guidance network that helps young people make informed choices and compete in a difficult jobs market.”

Steve Bellemy, MD of Findlay Cameron and member of the REC Accounting & Financial Services executive said:

“Whilst December was slower than we might have hoped, we are already seeing a umber of clients releasing vacancies on their return from holidays and have more still who are talking positively for this quarter.  In particular we are seeing demand from employers in manufacturing, engineering and professional services where there remains a lack of quality candidates for accounting roles.  The REC is already working closely with the Financial Skills Partnership to improve candidate generation in this area but more must be done as demand continues to grow.”

Chris Croucher, MD of AMC Insurance Appointments and a fellow executive member continued:

“The insurance market has held up well throughout December and into the new year, with permanent placements particularly steady despite what these figures say.  Much of the drop-off seems to be coming from the City, but even here there is cause for cautious optimism with recent CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey reporting growth in volumes and income in the final quarter of 2011, with that trend expected to continue through Q1 2012

Recruiters should work closely with clients to identify key skills shortages that might be holding back further growth – find the right candidate and a portion of those growing incomes will surely be diverted to the recruitment budget.”

The Report of Jobs returned more positive figures in a number of other sectors.  Demand for temporary and contract staff in the Healthcare sector increased significantly whilst the Secretarial/Clerical, Engineering/Construction and   IT sectors all continued to see steady growth demand in both the temporary and permanent markets.

Although overall awareness has increased, a number of employers still have limited understanding of what the regulations mean in practice.  This underlines the need to continue raising awareness.  A number of agencies have confirmed that discussions with other clients have focused more on the commercial rather then legal implications which reinforce the need to have robust contracts in place.

One major challenge is the percentage amongst some employers that the AWR negates the value of using agency staff, an assumption the REC continues to counter through ongoing dialogue with employers and business organisations.

Tom Hadley, Director of POlicy and Professional Services says:

“The response from some of the client organisations – luckily, a small minority – is that with AWR now in place, why should we still use temporary staff?  The question in most sectors should actually be with AWR in place, is there any reason why we shouldnt be using temporary staff?

The regulations have created significant administration and implementation challenges for agencies.  However, they do not fundamentally impact on the benefits that flexible staffing provides.  Even in sectors where there is a direct impact on costs for end-users, this is a cost worth bearing if it ensures that the right staff are in place at the right time.

Over the last 18 months, we have spoken to over 2000 employers at client events and HR seminars, dealing with significant misconceptions about the regulations.  These have been driven by a general perception that the impact will be dramatic in all sectors but after employers look at the detail of the regulations, many of these fears have often proved unfounded.

However, employer perceptions can become reality which is why we need to remain on the front foot in actively promoting the benefits of flexible staffing through the ongoing client agenda as well as through robust data and the work of the forthcoming Flexible Work Commission.”

Providing a recruitment industry perspective on the jobs outlook, Kevin Green, the REC’s Cheif Executive says:

“The labour market will remain fragile for the first part of 2012.  However, it is important that we do not systematically talk the jobs market down, especially as employer confidence is the priciple driver for job creation.  The engine room for new jobs will be small businesses.  Most of these fo not have HR or personnel departments and are prehaps not reflected in the CIPD’s assessment.  Our own data shows that, although employers are curretnly cautious about permanent hiring, a significant number will consider bringing in new staff over the coming year.  One priority in 2012 must be to address the current skills mismatch which means that many employers and recruiters are actually reporting a shortage of suitable candidates.”

Green continued:

“In addition, the UK’s temporary and contract work market remains strong and continues to provide a crucial outlet for business and for workers.  The REC/KPMG Report on Jobs shows that a monthly temp billings have continued to increase over the last year and the forward-looking REC Jobs-Outlook shows that over 80 per cent of employers are planning to increase or maintain their temporary staffing levels over the next 12months.  Our own forecast is the unemployment will peak at around 2.75 million and that there will continue to be a significant demand for staff, especially at the higher end of the jobs market.  By the end of 2012 the private sector should be in a good position to absorb ongoing public sector cuts.  An early and effective end to the sovereign debt crisis in Europe would restore much needed confidence, encourage banks to  lend and businesses to invest.  This in turn would help to kick-start the UK’s job creation machine and ensure a brighter year for our jobs market.”

The first 12 weeks qualifying period was reached on December 24th.  There has been significant interest in how this milestone might impact on recruiters and their clients.

Commenting on developments over the Christmas period, Lewina Farrell, REC Solicitor and Head of Professional Services say:

“As predicted, the world did not suddenly come to an end on December 24th.  we will monitor the situation closely over the next few weeks and continue to ensure that recruiters are properly briefed in terms of handling any queries or claims from workers.  Relatively few calls came into the emergency legal helpline over the Christmas period which is a good sign.  However, the feedback from members confirms that some clients remain reluctant to share relevant information for equal treatment purposes with their recruitment partners.  An immediate priority is to continue reinforcing the message that the AWR is an issue for both agencies and clients.  Clients who do not provide the relevant information to their agencies will be held liable by the employment tribunal for any breaches of the ASWR which result from their unwillingness to co-operate.  Therefore it is everyone’s interests to develop effective communication channels and imperative that clients pass the appropriate information to their recruitment partners in a timely fashion.”

What to do

• Use bullet points or sentences that are easy to scan – not an essay
• Use standard typefaces
• Check and re check your spelling – do not rely on spell checker
• Start with your current or most recent employment and work backwards
• Explain any gaps in your employment
• Keep your CV honest and try to keep to 3 pages
• Follow up all claims with proven examples, be quantitative as well as qualitative
• Include awards or recognition received for work well done, together with professional memberships and relevant training
• Include figures i.e. number of staff managed or budget size
• Keep it professional – no silly emails

What NOT to do

• Date your CV
• Mention salaries
• Include irrelevant or negative information
• Add photos - especially party photos
• Lie
• Put education first if it is 10 years out of date
• List every employer you have worked for since the seventies
• Allocate the same space to all positions – or copy and paste each position
• Quote unsubstantial superlatives i.e. I am the greatest sales person
• Modify your CV for every application

And finally, Don’t give up!

The fact is that you will not be offered every job however perfect you think you may be for it. Maybe it’s because the interviewer was completely blind to the talent that stood before them but maybe another candidate with the same level of skills and ability spent a bit more time prior to the interview, preparing for it!

Feedback from interviews where you have been turned down can be invaluable for improving future results. Ask politely if they can give you any feedback for the future – there’s a job out there for you somewhere.

Best of luck!!!

To discuss any available positions or any general queries please call
us 9.30am – 5.00pm, Monday to Friday on 020 7718 0245