May 28th, 2014
The proportion of employers that believe they need more staff to meet increased demand has risen to over a third, according to the most recent findings from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)’s Jobs Outlook survey.
The survey reports the responses of employers from the public, private and non-profit sector, from a range of industries and sizes of organisations.
Out of the 600 employers surveyed, half of them plan to use temporary workers more in the next three months and more than four out of ten employers plan to in the next four to twelve months.
REC CEO Kevin Green said: “The economic recovery is having a real impact on the jobs market, as these are the best results we have seen since this survey began in 2009.” Green also indicated that the current position is in favour of contractors and directs employers to make certain they are concise when employing, “The labour market is becoming more candidate led and it is vital that businesses look at their hiring processes to ensure they are fit for purpose and will attract the candidates they are looking to hire.”
Furthermore there is also a need for contractors with particular expertise. The survey revealed concerns over skills shortages in the market. The hardest skills to find were from the technical, computing and engineering sector. One fifth of businesses foresee a difficulty finding workers from those fields in the following three months, whilst one fourth predict worrying shortages in the next year. Green believes this is not only problematic for businesses but could also have a detrimental impact on the economy too, “Skills and talent shortages could jeopardise the recovery. Employers, recruiters and the government need to do more as this issue is intensifying every month and spreading to new sectors.”
The types of businesses using contractors are on the increase as well. At present the majority of services by contractors are used by large organisations, but the survey reveals that there is an intention for smaller businesses to take advantage of these temporary workers. One in four microbusinesses aim to employ at least one contractor in the following three months.
The report states, “The demands of high volume and incidental users will create an interesting counterbalance, adding competitive dynamics to both pay and agency margins.”
Although unlikely for small companies to compete with large in price, contractors ought to contemplate the small to medium sized enterprise (SME) market for potential opportunities for contracts in the future.
Article By: Ratchelle Deary, Marketing Executive at Contractor Mortgages Made Easy
Media Contact: Raman Kaur, Public Relations Manager
Tel: 01489 555 080
Email: media@contractormortgagesuk.com