Key points from December survey:
Kevin Green, REC Chief Executive says: “The number of people finding jobs via recruiters is growing, even while the overall employment rate is plateauing. This suggests that more employers are turning to recruiters to help them fill vacancies as candidate availability continues to fall and recruiting good people becomes that much harder. “Nursing and medical staff remain the most in demand for temporary roles across the UK – further evidence of the strain the NHS is feeling on filling vacancies.
Recruiters are reporting a vast number of job areas that employers are finding hard to fill including, welders, van drivers and, for the first time, baristas. “Employers as a response to these candidate shortages are offering increased starting salaries to attract staff but while this has been the case for some time it isn’t translating into significant wage growth across the economy yet. “Early in the New Year, people often think about changing jobs, so employers are going to have to think carefully about how they can both retain existing capabilities and find the new hires they need as competition for people intensifies.
Bosses should consider going to wider talent pools and to be inventive about how to improve their employer brand and make themselves an even more attractive place to work.”
The skills in short supply are:
Key permanent staff skills reported in short supply:*
Accounting/Financial: Accountants, Estimators, FPA, Paraplanners. Blue Collar: Carpenters, Drivers, HGV, LGV, Welders. Construction: Construction, Quantity Surveyors, Town Planners & Architects. Engineering: CNC, Electronics, Engineers, Mechanical, Planning, Technicians, Vehicle Technicians. Executive/Professional: Business Partners, Project Managers, Scientific. Hotel/Catering: Catering, Chefs, Hospitality. IT/Computing: CAD, C#, DevOps, Digital Marketing, IT, IT Support, Oracle Fusion, PHP, Python, ScrumMasters, Software Developers. Nursing/Medical/Care: Life Sciences, Research Physicians. Other: Customer Services, Editorial, Logistics, Sales B2B, Senior Buyers, Supply Chain Manager, Technical Sales, Telesales, Waste & Environment Staff.
Key temp skills reported in short supply:*
Accounting/Financial: Accountants (Management, Statutory, Technical). Blue Collar: : Drivers, HGV, Industrial Workers, LGV, Warehouse Workers, Welders. Engineering: CNC, Rail (Civil, Communications, Planners, Signalling). Executive/Professional: Scientists. Hotel/Catering: Catering, Chefs, Hospitality. IT/Computing: Developers, Infrastructure Consultants, IT, Software Developers. Nursing/Medical/Care: Carers. Secretarial/ Clerical: Office Staff, Personal Assistants. Other: Customer Services, Editorial, Telesales.
Source: REC South of England Labour Market PDF
