Last week saw welcome news from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), revealing that UK unemployment has fallen to 7.1% and by 167,000 to 2.32 million in the three months to November, representing the biggest quarterly drop in joblessness since 1997.
With a total of 280,000 jobs created in the period and 30.15 million people estimated by the ONS to now be in work, the domestic job landscape looks to finally be on track and heading towards a full recovery to pre-recession levels.
This will not be a shock to many recruitment specialists, who will have noticed an increase in vacancies arising and candidate activity. From our perspective, there have been three key drivers behind this and the most recent positive figures:
Government Action
The coalition government has been implementing a great many policies and legislative changes designed to give the economy a jump start, and the effect seems to be undeniable. Vince Cable’s stance on Zero-Hours contracts and his refusal to outlaw them has given confidence to employers relying on a flexible workforce. Meanwhile, a shift in attitude towards benefits has led the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance last month to fall by 24,000.
Apprenticeships
We have recently been discussing the importance of apprenticeships and how to recruit the best of them, and the market has undoubtedly responded positively to their increasing importance. With the National Apprenticeship Service recording 129,000 apprenticeship vacancies posted and 1.4 million online applications made last year, there is clearly a strong appetite for this alternative entry into the UK job market among both employers and school leavers, with the potential for the route to grow exponentially.
Talent Demand at its Peak
STEM shortages show no sign of easing, with a latest report from the REC revealing that a shortage of skilled workers in some industries is a "looming problem". As industries including manufacturing, engineering and construction have strengthened, more vacancies requiring specific experience have been created. These factors have led to the job market shifting to a candidate-driven space, with the best talent able to pick and choose their roles. Recruitment specialists have been instrumental in sourcing and attracting these sought-after candidates and, while shortages are a pressing problem, internal mobility and the securing offshore talent further show signs of a buoyant market.
As the UK continues to emerge strongly from the recession, we should expect to see these factors remain an influence on the job market and the capability of organisations to recruit. We anticipate that apprenticeships in particular will play a big part in plugging the STEM gap and fuelling the growth created by the government’s various initiatives. This is why recruitment teams will need to maintain their agility by incorporating the new specialism of apprenticeship recruitment, and treat it as equally important to other talent streams.
