What Welsh firms and recruiters are saying about trying to recruit new staff

While the scarcity of HGV drivers has been grabbing the headlines, it isn’t the one sector struggling to recruit individuals.

A scarcity of candidates signifies that job beginning salaries are rising at report charges, in accordance to a current report by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)

Rising demand for staff to fill vacancies resulted within the sharpest wage inflation price in virtually 24 years of information assortment, in accordance to the agency’s newest jobs survey.

At the identical time, ongoing uncertainty over job safety considerations brought on a “extreme drop” in candidates, with numbers falling on the second-fastest price within the survey’s historical past.

The KMPG and REC search poits the dearth of obtainable candidates is being pushed by considerations over job safety due to the pandemic, a scarcity of European employees due to Brexit and a usually low unemployment price.

But how is that this candidate scarcity taking part in out in Wales, and how is it affecting companies trying to rent the expertise they want to survive and thrive?

We requested a collection of recruitment specialists and Welsh companies about their experiences.

Dale Williams, chief government of Recolution Group (which incorporates Yolk Recruitment, City Executive Search and Conexus)

”You would possibly assume that post-pandemic, it could be straightforward for companies to recruit the precise expertise. But we are seeing the stability of energy shift with candidates even ‘ghosting’ potential employers and not responding to agency job presents.

“We are seeing fewer candidates for every position in our finance division, and until purchasers transfer quick, they are lacking out on candidates. The candidates we work with now typically have up to 5 alternatives on the boil at anyone time, so there may be extra alternative for them.

” Candidates’ wage expectations have undoubtedly elevated, and the shopper doesn’t all the time mirror this expectation, so that they are dropping potential candidates the place they aren’t aggressive sufficient.

“Another issue pushing aside candidates is the place employers aren’t providing at the least some stage of distant working. It’s virtually an expectation now.

“There has been a particular improve in individuals desirous about listening to about alternatives within the tech market, which has all the time tended to be fairly static by way of energetic job candidates. However, the market usually feels extra “fluid” at current. We are seeing extra individuals contemplating their choices post-pandemic and usually reassessing life decisions.

In addition, the market has fully opened up due to distant work choices, which has fully shifted wage bands and pay scales, which are now not pushed by geography.

“Tech has all the time been a sector that’s job heavy, however candidate gentle. That is now being exacerbated by corporations from London, Birmingham and Manchester swooping in to decide up absolutely distant expertise in south Wales, typically providing wherever between £10,000 to £30,000 greater than native employers can provide.

“The advertising and marketing sector is experiencing explicit difficulties hiring. Specialist multi-channel digital advertising and marketing professionals with abilities comparable to search engine optimisation, ppc and eCommerce have all the time been laborious to come by, however it’s even more durable now. Candidates are conscious of the shortages on this sector, so that they are utilizing the chance to negotiate considerably larger salaries and extra flexibility in distant working.

“The market has change into rather more candidate-driven, and employers are battling the new actuality.”

Geoff Tomlinson director of FSEW International Freight Forwarders

“There is a critical scarcity of sophistication one HGV drivers in the mean time, with the UK Government reporting a scarcity of over 90,000 drivers.

“This is way from a new drawback for the haulage and logistics trade. Even within the heady days earlier than Covid or Brexit, the UK already lacked round 76,000 drivers, in accordance to Logistics UK.

“The workforce has been more and more stretched over current years, and whereas demand grew, the whole variety of drivers has remained comparatively regular at round 300,000, in accordance to the ONS.

The solely vital progress has been amongst EU drivers, whose numbers surged from 10,000 in 2010 to 45,000 in 2017. This means European drivers have lengthy been a significant a part of the sector’s workforce.

“The scenario turned an ideal storm throughout the pandemic following a mass exodus of drivers from the UK workforce. ONS knowledge exhibits complete numbers fell from round 304,000 in Q1 2020 to 235,000 in Q2 2021, representing a web lack of 69,000. Logistics UK estimates we are now roughly 90,000 drivers in need of the place we’d like to be.

“Another issue is that the haulage trade is an ageing workforce, evidenced by the common age of HGV drivers being 55 years previous. Less than 1% are underneath 25, in accordance to the Road Haulage Association. Also, fewer coaching programs had been on provide throughout the top of the pandemic – 20,000 in contrast with the same old 40,000.

“It’s straightforward to see how this complicated net of things has led to the present scarcity of drivers. At FSEW, we usually make use of round 70 drivers at anyone time, and we have now been as a lot as 14 brief. Currently, we have now a spot of eight drivers.

“As a outcome, we now have to provide considerably larger salaries to entice drivers. In addition, we proactively assist individuals by way of class two and class one coaching moderately than ready for certified candidates to come to us. What is obvious is that we’d like pressing motion throughout the sector if we are to sort out this important driver scarcity and stop additional disruption to essential grocery store provide chains.

“Whereas we might beforehand fill a emptiness in round two weeks, it now takes round six weeks at the least.”

Antony McCarthy, head of gross sales, Toshiba Tec UK Imaging Systems Ltd

“It takes rather a lot longer to recruit the precise individuals, and there are fewer high quality candidates in our market with the related expertise we’d like.

“Whereas we might beforehand fill a emptiness in round two weeks, it now takes round six weeks at the least. So we have now discovered that we now want to instruct a number of recruitment companies. In addition, we have now to work a lot more durable at selling our vacancies ourselves, whether or not that’s internally, on our web site or by way of social media.

“We are seeing candidates keen to take the primary job supplied to them as an alternative of the most effective or most engaging proposition. This detracts slightly from the engaging phrases that we take satisfaction in providing

“.We might transfer faster, maybe, though we really feel this might devalue our interview course of together with candidates’ preparation time and the extent of perception we may give them into their potential new profession.

“In a difficult and unknown interval, the place companies will nonetheless be assessing the affect of COVID, you could possibly additionally ask why somebody who’s doing properly with their present firm would change place and danger instability with so many restructures and redundancies happening.

“In an unstable job market and with many candidates expressing a transparent want for stability, doubtlessly above all else in the interim, maybe there’s no shock that it’s at the moment tough to recruit.

“Working from house has change into one thing that eight out of ten candidates are on the lookout for as a part of their subsequent transfer, which works properly for us as we provide loads of flexibility.”

Bethany Willcox, senior recruitment associate, Alcumus

“At Alcumus we are lucky to have continued hiring during the last two years.

We see that counter-offers are at an all-time excessive in our sector, so it’s a way more aggressive marketplace for good individuals with the precise abilities and expertise.

“With an unprecedented variety of stay roles available on the market within the UK in the mean time, candidates typically have a number of alternatives on the desk at one time.

“This means they are often extra demanding of potential employers and negotiate across the issues that matter to them.

“For instance, we have now seen that working from house has change into one thing that eight out of ten candidates are on the lookout for as a part of their subsequent transfer, which works properly for us as we provide loads of flexibility. The means to match work round their house life has change into extra and extra vital to candidates too.

“Candidates are within the driving seat now, and we see them take rather more curiosity within the broader image. They now not solely care about their potential position and wage.

” They need to know what the enterprise does by way of its company social accountability. They ask questions about sustainability because it relates to our enterprise. They need to know about their longer-term profession prospects too, however more and more they care about the kind of firm they work for. That’s been essentially the most vital change we have now seen.”

Tim Partridge, principal marketing consultant, workplace assist, Yolk Recruitment

“We are at the moment seeing fewer job purposes for workplace assist. Traditional job commercials are yielding subsequent to nothing, and even when candidates do apply, it’s typically unattainable to pay money for them to focus on their software.

“Targeted headhunting and utilising LinkedIn has change into rather more profitable than conventional promoting for us. Candidates are typically interviewing with a number of employers, a pattern pushed by market demand and the convenience of on-line interviews. With many candidates working from house, this implies they will attend extra interviews with out asking their employers for time without work.

“This is a double-edged sword for employers because it means candidates have extra alternative – and, in lots of instances, a number of presents to think about. Clients are usually dissatisfied and lacking out on candidates by not shifting the method alongside shortly sufficient. I usually encourage my purchasers to transfer as shortly as doable in the event that they meet a candidate they like and to get a aggressive provide in as quickly as doable.

“The market has change into more and more candidate-driven, and employers are battling the new actuality. I usually hear feedback comparable to ‘I believed individuals can be crying out for a job after this pandemic.’

Employers want to transfer with the occasions and change into aggressive in areas different than simply wage. Candidates now count on versatile working choices and holidays above the federal government minimal.

“Free fruit, psychological well being days and wellbeing packages are additionally developing as vital on applicant agendas. The employers that are recognising this and doing issues in another way are those securing the highest expertise.

“We want pressing motion throughout the sector if we are to sort out this pressing driver scarcity and stop additional disruption to essential grocery store provide chains.”