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According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) Report on Jobs for December, the number of staff being recruited into permanent positions by recruitment agencies has fallen for the third successive month. A small decrease in the use of temps by UK businesses was also recorded.

Discussing the report’s findings, REC chief executive Kevin Green said: “The report highlights a third month of contraction in permanent placements and a reduction in the use of temps for the first time in more than two years. While the jobs market is tough it remains resilient and is functioning well.”

He went on to emphasise that: “Employers are still hiring and using temps in large numbers; however they are starting the year on a cautious note and are taking their time to make workforce decisions.” Engineering, IT and technology all remained positive sectors for jobseekers.

Rise in graduate employment

It seems that some university graduates may also have more reasons to smile in 2012, as a new survey has predicted that graduate recruitment will be up by a substantial 6.4% on the previous year.

According to the Graduate Market in 2012, by High Fliers research (http://www.highfliers.co.uk/download/GMReport12.pdf), “The UK’s leading employers are expecting to increase their graduate recruitment by 6.4% in 2012, following a rise of 2.8% in entry-level roles during 2011.”

The report also claimed that employers in nine of 14 key industries and employment areas expect to recruit more graduates in 2012. Particularly significant increases in graduate job availability were predicted in Engineering/ industrial sectors, IT and telecommunications, high street banking and retail.

Graduates who have already completed work experience may have the most promising 2012, with many employers opting to recruit graduates who have already worked for their company. According to the report, approximately a third of entry level positions will go to graduates who have previously completed, “industrial placements, vacation work or sponsorships – and are therefore not open to other students from the ‘class of 2012’”.

Top UK firms agree to make recruitment fairer

Finally, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has convinced a number of major banks and legal firms to sign up to his ‘business compact’, which aims to widen recruitment to give a fairer chance to those from less privileged backgrounds.

Mr Clegg commented that: “This is an important step towards a society where it’s what you know, not who you know, that counts.”

A company that is REC Audited means it has undergone a robust audit package that validates compliance with the Employment Agencies Act and Conduct Regulations 2003 and REC Code of Professional Practice. The REC team of professional auditors conducts a thorough audit of the business, going through various areas of compliance

Shane Hawkins, Managing Director of C2 Recruitment said: “We are committed to delivering the very best service to our clients and the REC audit demonstrates that commitment.

“The audit was very intense and examined a range of areas. The full audit is used as a tool to ensure that our agency is legal and compliant and also checks our practices. I am pleased to announce that C2 Recruitment passed first time, with flying colours.

The REC advises both jobseekers and companies who purchase recruitment solutions to look for the REC audited logo, the logo is confirmation that an independent assessment to the highest possible standards has been carried out.

After being in business for a number of years C2 Recruitment has gone from strength to strength and now has a new office in Birmingham for its retail recruitment arm of the business. C2 Retail Recruitment has experience in working with some of the UK’s leading retail companies. From global chains, to high street brands C2 retail boasts a wealth of recruitment experience in all areas of retail – both UK and Internationally.

The new Birmingham office is located at the prestigious “Baskerville House” near the NIA Arena.

Shane added “We are delighted to have secured our offices at Baskerville House. The facilities are simply fantastic and feedback from our national clients has been really positive”.

If you are looking to recruit new staff, or if you are looking for employment within the commercial sectors, then contact the team at C2 Recruitment. They are happy to offer any advice and assistance in recruitment.
Visit their contact page here C2 Recruitment.

A report from CBI/PwC does not paint a pretty picture for the Financial Services sector and has many recruitment agencies concerned about 2012.

The stats already show 9,000 jobs lost in the last quarter of 2011 and a further 11,000 jobs are expected to be lost in the first quarter of 2012. There are many attributing factors to this, one being that sentiment in the city has fallen further since the third quarter with the eurozone debt crisis weighing heavily on this.

Another concern by the banks was non performing loans, something that is expected to rise over the course of the year, with people unable to pay mortgages and credit cards. This also meant the availability to get credit from banks would be more problematic, whilst banks are extremely cautious about who is eligible for credit.

Whilst this all paints a very negative picture, as with most points there is another side. The actual volume of business done in the Financial Sector in fact grew at its fastest rate since 2007 and is in fact expected to rise again in the next quarter.
What does this all mean? In my opinion the Financial Sector very much mirrors sentiment in general and whilst we all thought we were coming out of this recession, it is quite clear now many countries in Europe are struggling to survive and without knowing which side of the fence the Euro will fall, i.e. intact or separate it is extremely difficult for financial institutions to have a long term commitment. I believe it is a case of lets be very cautious until we know what path this is taking.

Automotive and Manufacturing recruitment agencies would have received a welcome boost by the news that JLR are looking to expand their Halewood plant.

Sources at JLR are saying that they are looking to invest £100m in there expansion plans creating 1,500 jobs. The news is also on the back of further good news, which is that JLR are building a £355m engine plant in Wolverhampton and redeveloping its Solihull factory. The reason for much of its growth is due to JLR sales are up 30% year on year and so expected to reach record profits.

JLR has also shown plans to massively invest into future projects, investing £1 billion a year into R&D and planning to launch 40 new cars over the next 5 years with also the intention of partnering a Chinese car maker so they can start manufacturing in China.

Much of the basis of this optimism is that many car manufacturers are showing 10% growth in profits, considering the economic climate this may initially seem strange but a closer inspection will reveal this is mainly due to the demand from the emerging markets.

The Employers’ Forum in Disability (EFD) heave introduced certain protocol to its members which include recruitment agencies, to ensure that there is an understanding in removing barriers when employers recruit disabled jobseekers.

The EFD has 300 members and advises organisations that employ 20% of the UK workforce. A Study from The Clear Company found that 70% of disabled jobseekers that used recruitment agencies will have second thoughts about using one again, with comments such as they just do not cater for us being the main reason.

Susan Scott-Parker the CER of The EFD, stated that the current arrangement just does not deliver suitable candidates to the right employer and therefore introducing these protocols will now mean that recruitment agencies will have to show know-how of how to remove certain obstacles to ensure disability placements. They of course hope this initiative will have a positive effect and allow for a more equal playing field.

I for one feel that these initiatives are always positive, it seems to me that in the past recruitment agencies could be part of The EFD and then that was that, they could use this in their literature. Now there will have to be some evidence of know-how about these requirements and so agencies claiming they can accommodate will now have to deliver.

A time-out has been called by David Cameron on the NHS reforms that have been put into place. Healthcare recruitment agencies will eagerly await the actions of the coalition government on the NHS over the coming weeks, with many people not sure if we are now going to move forward with these reforms.

The Lib Dems claimed that most of their concessions have been put into place. This has of course upset many of the Tory back benches, believing this will lose Tories votes.

The main issue is the GP Consortia, a system that has abolished 2 tiers of management within the NHS and has given the power to groups of GPs that have been set up around the country. However now it is thought Hospital doctors and nurses should have more of a say within these Consortia’s and the worrying aspect is that many of these groups are unclear on what is expected of them.

David Cameron has called for an emergency meeting of all 143 Tories who joined the Commons last year; one senior MP described this meeting as a “lastminute panic meeting”

I believe we are entering into a stage of “no point of return” and as these are the kind of reforms that can make or break governments it is important that they stand united and agree this is how they want to move forward… if its is the best way, only time will tell.

Many recruitment agencies would be getting phone calls this week, with many employers requiring temps. It would be no surprise to hear that many Britons have strategically taking of 3 working days this week to ensure they get an 11 day holiday.

However although many of these holidays were planned for, the problem arises with the fact that Britain is considered to be the `Sicknote` capital of the world, with many employees calling in sick these next few days. No doubt this will cause much disruption and it is estimated that these holidays will cost the economy up to £30billion.

There is some economic good news though from all this and that is the extended holiday period has meant a huge uplift for many travel firms as many have experienced surge in sales. With Tui up 22% compared to last year and Ryanair up 10%, meaning many tourism recruitment agencies would pleased to hear this. There was also good news for retail recruitment agencies with many high street stores recording more sales over the Easter weekend compared to last year.

Recruitment agencies are concerned about the state of the economy today as uncertainty kicks in with the fall of the US markets.

S&P revised its outlook for the U.S. to `negative` after China moved to reduce its liquidity. There was also an added concern with Greece having to renegotiate the terms of its public debt, however Greek officials deny this.

The overall sentiment is that the global economy is becoming increasingly unstable and that any further surprises could have huge ramifications. Companies are therefore being more cautious and this has been shown by British companies cutting there marketing budgets in the first quarter of 2011 for the second consecutive quarter.

There is definitely an underlying current of uncertainty in the market and recruitment agencies are probably waiting in the wings to see how it affects the job market. Although at present there would not be to much change you can’t help but think of the saying `The straw that broke the Camel’s back` and hope the straw never arises…

Healthcare recruitment agencies especially nurses recruitment agencies have shown a marked improvement in their profits since the government has reduced spending in the NHS.

 Ambition 24, Team 24 and Mayday healthcare have all shown huge increases, with Ambition having profits of £10.4million compared to £733,000 in 2008, Team 24 showed £4.8m compared to £1.3m last year and Mayday Healthcare posted £6million profits in 2010.

What this shows is that the shake up within the NHS could have an opposite effect with job losses accumulating to 50,000 jobs but having to maintain their services by using these recruitment agencies.

I believe this shows that the government course of action, although understandable when looking at spend levels within the NHS, will have many teething problems that many could not predict. I only hope in the midst of these reforms services and people do not suffer as the main and only point to this is that we as a country provide a stable but good National Health Services.

Scotland financial recruitment agencies have found that there is a skills gap in finding suitable candidates for financial services.

The report provided by the Scottish Investment Operations (SIO), showed that graduates are proving not to be up to the standard required to work in this sector. Some key problem areas were communication, grammar and numeracy.

However the view of the Scottish Government was rather different stating that there is no evidence to support this report and in fact pointed to the latest international comparisons for people at school, where Scottish youngsters faired well against the rest of the UK.

Moving forward universities are looking to work more closely with finance companies, which should in turn be good for recruitment agencies, as they are introducing more courses and diplomas to bridge this gap.

I see this as a short term problem and have no doubt that this skills gap will be filled, it is just a timing issue as Scotland tries to become more influential in financial services.