With growth comes skills shortages

Anna Scott

The growth that the recruitment sector and the jobs market are predicted to experience this year is now a given. A raft of research published over the last six months from agencies and industry associations has pointed to the buoyant market expected in 2014.

Despite conflicting views about just how much underemployment is propping up the government’s employment figures, and concerns that increased self-employment is a result of a shortage of permanent positions, agencies are posting positive results, and the recruitment sector is expected to expand by 25% in the next three years.

The latest figures from reed.co.uk show that new permanent jobs are growing faster than temporary or contract vacancies as confidence continues to grow among UK employers.

Growth does bring its own challenges for agencies however, and these have been highlighted by Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC, at the Recruitment Leaders debating forum earlier this week.

Skills shortages look set to be the biggest crisis for recruiters which, according to Green, is an issue clouded by immigration and attitudes to work.

But it’s not just skills shortages across specific sectors that may be a problem. Agencies are not doing enough to attract and retain talent for their own operations, according to Green’s fellow speaker, James Osborne of Elite Recruitment Network. The skills shortage is likely to affect recruiters’ internal workforces too.

When recruiting, agencies should prioritise character over skills and recognise that achievement is typically a bigger driver than money for their employees, Osborne argues.

After years of tight budgets and competition for jobs, a market characterised by growth is an enormous relief for recruiters. But to compete for the best skilled jobseekers and biggest clients, recruitment agencies must ensure they have their own houses in order to deal with the challenges of a candidate-driven market with a range of skills shortages.