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How recruiters can help address the UK’s skills shortage

December 11, 2014  /   No Comments

Nick Martindale

As the economic recovery continues, organisations are once again looking to increase headcount. Yet for many sectors this is not an easy matter, as years of underinvestment in skills, failings in the education system and an explosion in demand for particular new roles all take their toll.

The engineering sector is one that has traditionally suffered from skills shortages, and this is now becoming acute. “Figures from the Engineering Employers’ Federation Engineering UK show sectors such as aerospace, electronics and motor industry have expanded by 3.5% in 2014, and that we need to find 87,000 new engineers each year for the next decade,” says Shaun Simmons, managing director of Cordant Technical and Engineering.

“Yet there is a lack of new talent coming through the pipeline to support this growth.” More than a quarter of vacancies in the engineering and science sector remain unfilled at any one time, he adds.

This shortage is certainly being felt in the oil and gas sector, which has suffered from a combination of a lack of new entrants and older workers leaving the industry, suggests Gavin Spencer, associate director of Europe for oil and gas recruiter Air Energi. “Project demand in oil and gas has also increased significantly over the past 20 years,” he says.

It’s a similar story in the logistics and construction sector, where electrical engineers, skilled machine operators, and welding and electrical workers are all in demand, reports Angie Took, operations manager of Greater Manchester Skills Gateway.

“Within the logistics sector, this Christmas alone will see a shortage of 60,000 drivers across the UK,” she says. “According to the Freight Transport Association, 94% of hauliers feel that the shortage is a major concern, and estimate that over 45,000 drivers will need to be recruited over the next few years.”

The IT sector is also feeling the pinch, partly as a result of the explosion in the number of technology start-ups and rising demand for mobile applications. A survey by software firm Outsystems found 94% of businesses have vacancies in their mobile app development teams, largely due to a shortage of skilled developers.

This is also the case for cyber-security experts, says Anthony Sherick, managing director of Technojobs, where demand has doubled since the end of 2013. “The cyber security sector is suffering from a problem of supply and demand,” he says. “This demand will continue to grow, especially as hacking scandals and cyber-attacks continue to hit the news.” The UK government is adding to the pressure, as it seeks to monitor and defend itself from online attacks.

The digital revolution is also creating a shortage in other areas, beyond IT. Digitally-savvy marketing professionals are very much in demand as organisations look to stand out from competitors. “The digital revolution and associated evolution of customer behaviour means that there is high demand for candidates who are able to roll out connected, multi-channel campaigns using both established and emerging media,” says Ann Swain, chief executive of The Association of Professional Staffing Companies.

There are ways in which recruiters can help address skills shortages, either directly or through conversations with clients. Swain believes in the marketing sector, it is simply a case of improving the package on offer to attract the best candidates.

“Our data reveals that, despite struggling to attract permanent marketing talent, salaries have decreased by 3%,” she says. “It is crucial that remuneration packages are competitive with other businesses in their industry and region.”

This also means clients putting forward the whole proposition an employee can expect to receive, improving this where necessary, suggests Jean Martin, executive director at global advisory company CEB. The trick here is to hone in on what potential employees want and expect from an employer in the sector in question.

“The traditional practice of branding for universal appeal with ‘we are a great place to work’ messages just results in headaches for the HR team, who have to sift through a greater volume of low-grade candidates,” she says. “Companies have to stop chasing universal popularity and adapt a ‘lure the best, deflect the rest’ mindset.”

Training is likely to be an important pull for talented individuals, as well as helping organisations improve the skills they have at their disposal. “Employers should seek to offer more opportunities for on-the-job training to nurture talent, such as using experienced members of the workforce for mentoring programmes,” suggests Spencer. In the oil and gas sector, stressing the opportunities for travel can also help to attract people, he adds.

Beyond this, recruiters need to consider alternative ways to meet clients’ needs, such as encouraging them to consider candidates from groups which they may instinctively reject or not think about.

“We are all supposed to have eliminated ‘isms’ such as racism, sexism and ageism from the workplace but have we really?” asks Simon Conington, managing director of BPS World and chairman of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s engineering and technical sector. “Most companies have a fixed view on what is right for them, such as a graduate with three years’ work experience. But a 50-year-old candidate could just as easily fit the bill.” In the engineering sector, more needs to be done across the industry to attract women, he adds.

In the shorter-term, bringing in people from overseas who have the appropriate qualifications, skills and experience can be a solution, says Simmons. “There are also the ‘hidden’ engineers to consider, such as those who lost their jobs in the recession and retrained in other sectors, such as the service sector,” he says. “You might be able to attract them back into an engineering role.”

Temporary solutions are another option. “In the near-term, we can help employers to find solutions to plug the gap like bringing skilled freelancers to the table that can work on one or two-year fixed-term contracts,” says Sinead Hasson, managing director of Hasson Associates. “It might be more expensive but this must be weighed against the potential impact of a depleted team.”

But recruiters should also be talking to clients about developing a longer-term strategy to ensure they do not get caught out further down the line, believes Conington. “There is a Chinese proverb which says ‘dig the well before you are thirsty’,” he says. “Unfortunately businesses tend to get thirsty before they build a well.”

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  • Published: 9 years ago on December 11, 2014
  • Last Modified: December 17, 2014 @ 3:33 pm
  • Filed Under: Featured Post

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