UK becoming less attractive to international talent

With just under a year to go until Brexit, 96% of HR professionals and recruiters say it’s having an impact on their hiring strategies – with 46% seeing a ‘big’ or ‘huge’ impact.

This new research comes from the first of LinkedIn’s quarterly ‘Recruiter Sentiment’ surveys, which gauge and track in-house HR departments’ and agency recruiters’ confidence in their ability to fill available roles, reflecting the trends they are seeing in the marketplace.

According to respondents, the top factors impacting hiring strategies as a result of Brexit are: the availability of talent (40%); business uncertainty (38%); reluctance of candidates to move to the UK (36%); and competition from international businesses (28%).

As negotiations continue, recruiters are seeing a negative impact on international hiring into the UK. Some are seeing a decrease in hiring from core European markets; with 37% of recruiters seeing a decrease from Italy, 35% from France, 35% from Germany, 32% from the Netherlands, 29% from Spain and 33% from other EU 27 countries over the last quarter. And it’s not just the EU: recruiters are seeing a decrease in hires from South Africa (27%), Canada (27%), Australia (26%) and the USA (25%) too.

The sectors feeling the biggest impact on hiring according to talent professionals are healthcare (13%), manufacturing (11%), construction (11%), education (11%), banking and finance (11%) and retail (10%).

Despite concerns around the impact of the Brexit vote, overall confidence among talent professionals is relatively high: 71% feel ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ confident about their ability to recruit the right talent; and 48% have seen an increase in hiring over the first quarter of 2018. However, over two-fifths (44%) have seen no change in hiring rates.

For those who have seen an increase in hiring, the main reasons behind this have been: business growth (56%); more vacancies (45%); more suitable candidates on the market (32%); and sector specific needs (28%). Sourcing and hiring candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds is a ‘major’ or ‘big’ priority for recruiters, according to 56%.

Jon Addison, head of Talent Solutions at LinkedIn UK, commented: “There are three important steps businesses can and should be taking to address the ‘access to talent’ challenges they face since the Brexit vote.

“First, ensuring that long-term hiring strategies and workforce planning are aligned with business priorities is vital. HR teams should be leveraging workforce insights and data to ensure that in combination with their recruiters’ instincts, they make informed decisions and plan to hire talent not just for skills their business needs now but will need in six to 12 months’ time too.”

“Second, make more of what you already have: think about how you could upskill your existing team to ensure that your business is well equipped to navigate the more competitive external hiring landscape. Think learning and development first.” 

“And third, elevate your brand beyond borders. Make it appealing to the talent you need now, and in the future, to ensure your access to the talent pool you need – from the UK and abroad – is maintained.”