Recruiters say more access to foreign skills is vital

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) is echoing leading British business groups who are concerned that Brexit will further exacerbate the problem of access to overseas skills.

Not enough staff to fill vacancies

Kevin Green, REC chief executive, said, “Demand for staff is growing within all sectors and all regions of the UK, but there are fewer and fewer people available to fill the vacancies.“We have the lowest unemployment rate since 2005, and people already in work are becoming more hesitant about moving jobs amid Brexit uncertainty. Meanwhile, the weakening pound and lack of clarity about future immigration rules is putting off some EU nationals from taking up roles in the UK.“As a result, candidate availability is at a 16-month low and recruiters are flagging a shortage of suitable applicants for more than 60 different roles from cleaner to accountant. Every shortage has wider implications, for example the exceptional reputation UK engineering enjoys globally is at risk because employers can’t find people with the skills they need.“One thing is for certain: if British business is to thrive then whichever party forms a government after (the general election on) 8 June, it will need to address the ever-shrinking pool of suitable candidates by investing in skills and career advice for UK jobseekers, as well as safeguarding access to the workers we need from abroad.“It is vital that the future immigration system is agile enough to reflect and adapt to evolving labour market needs.”

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Number of vacancies continues to grow

The latest Markit/REC ‘Report on Jobs’, based on a survey of 400 recruitment firms, found the sharpest drop in candidate availability for 16 months in a jobs market in April where both permanent and, particularly, part-time vacancies continued to grow.“Growth in permanent staff placements slowed to its weakest for seven months during April, but was nonetheless solid overall. In contrast, temp billings increased at a sharp and accelerated pace that was the fastest seen in 2017 so far,” said the REC.“Although growth in permanent starting salaries edged down to a four-month low in April, it remained sharp overall and stronger than the series average. Meanwhile, hourly pay rates for short-term staff increased at the sharpest pace in 2017 so far.”The report said that the Midlands saw the fastest rate of expansion in permanent placements, closely followed by Scotland. London, meanwhile, saw the slowest increase in permanent vacancies but, along with Scotland, the largest rise in temporary vacancies.“Latest data pointed to divergent sector trends,” said the REC, “with demand for staff rising sharply across the private sector, but declining across the public sector. Demand for private sector permanent and temporary staff rose sharply, despite the rates of expansion easing to four- and three-month lows, respectively.”Engineering was the most in-demand category for permanent staff in April, closely followed by IT and computing, and the nursing, medical and care sector, which also topped demand for temporary or contract staff.For related news and features, visit our Brexit section.Access hundreds of global services and suppliers in our Online Directory  Get access to our free Global Mobility Toolkit

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