On the face of it, the upturn in the economy and the emergence of exciting new industries is something to be welcomed. However, welcome as it undoubtedly is, renewed confidence brings with it cause for concern as the country seeks to tackle a shortage of skills.
Increasing numbers of industry experts are voicing such anxieties, one of them being Dominic Graham, the Professional and Technical Director for recruitment firm Kelly Services.
Dominic, who began his career as a science graduate working in laboratories then went into recruitment, eventually joining Kelly Services four years ago, is concerned that a shortage of skills will cause problems for some time to come.
His current role covers sectors including science, engineering and accountancy in the UK and Ireland and he said: “We have seen a lot of change in my 16 years in recruitment. We have seen some emerging industries, like renewables, which did not even exist and we have seen a significant growth in areas such as the Life Sciences. They are very exciting.
“In addition, we are seeing growth in many sectors after some hard, hard years, but what concerns me is that a growing economy and the emergence of new sectors highlights the problem that we have with skills shortages.
“It can be a real issue. The problem is that we have a shortfall in young people who are coming into the STEM-based commercial sectors.
“It starts at school, where they are trying to encourage more students to study STEM subjects and consider STEM-based careers but we still need to do more to stimulate young people to consider these careers, just like I did in choosing to be a scientist.
“There are also specific issues in some sectors. Take engineering as an example; you can get an ageing workforce in some companies and, as people retire, those skill-sets go out of the industry.
“The challenge is that it can take time to replace those skills. There is a real time lag and, at the moment, we are definitely seeing demand outstripping supply for those skill-sets in some sectors.
“As we wait for the time lag to catch up, there are things that we can do as a recruitment company to meet the demand for skilled people.
“One is to look abroad for them but another is to challenge clients’ expectations and what they look for in talent. Yes, they may want someone with the very best qualifications, but our job is to help them see past the “ideal” candidate and scope out what is really required of someone to do the job. It’s a wish-list versus a need-list.
“We try to understand what a client needs, their expectations and the culture and dynamics of their business and we consult on what the market can supply in terms of talent. Often, it isn’t the person with the very best qualifications who ticks all ten boxes on the wish-list. It’s the person who can tick all the boxes on the need-list.
“It is the same with people seeking jobs. They may want a certain salary but are they really going to be paid that for the job in question? Have they got the skills and experience to be able to command that salary for that job? We need to manage candidates’ expectations.
“Another thing we do is highlight to companies that skills from one industry can be transferred to the field in which they work.
“It is our job as a recruitment company to be truly consultative and point these things out, to challenge perceptions both within our clients and within the people we are trying to place.”
Another change that Dominic has witnessed as business confidence has grown in recent times is the move towards more permanent jobs rather than a reliance on project-based placements.
He said: “In some sectors, we are definitely seeing the demand for permanent jobs outstripping the demand for temporary staff.
“That is a very generic comment and every sector is different but we are seeing it happen in some of them, such as oil and gas and renewables, which are among the sectors experiencing growth.
“The challenge for us as a recruitment company is that not every worker wants a full-time job. Some contract workers have made a career out of it because it fits in with their personal circumstances. We have to manage that situation ”
Whatever the challenges, Dominic believes that the signs of growth are there and strengthening all the time in both the UK and the global economy.
He said: “I am confident about the future. It has been a hard few years through the recession but the signs are there that we are past that and are in a growth phase. There is much more buoyancy in the market.”
