Finding your perfect match today is harder than ever and in the workplace, it's not as simple as swiping right when you find a candidate you like.
The skills shortage in the UK has been growing for the last few years, and the ramifications for the UK labour market are starting to become apparent. The latest Report on Jobs survey from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) which surveys 400 recruitment agencies across the UK, revealed that the rate of increase of starting salaries has risen last month to a 20-month record. Many agencies also mentioned the fact that employers are beginning to offer higher salaries in order to attract and secure skilled candidates.
In a market where skilled candidates are in high demand, higher salaries are being harnessed to attract the best and brightest talent away from their current roles. In fact, a recent survey of LinkedIn found that 90% of members were open to new opportunities, leaving businesses open to losing some of their most vital and difficult to replace talent.
With official figures showing UK employment levels at unprecedented highs, the prospect of recruiting new staff at the moment is a daunting one for employers.
Kevin Green, chief executive of the REC commented:
"The jobs market continues to confound expectations with both permanent and temporary placements growing at the fastest rate for over two years. Starting salaries are also still rising, so for workers who want to boost their earnings now is a good time to consider moving job."
It's clear that employers are having to work even harder to fill jobs as vacancies rise and candidate availability shrinks. Employers are not just struggling to hire the brightest and the best but also people to fill roles such as chefs, drivers and warehouse workers.
Not only does this mean that employers are having to worry about filling their skills gap vacancies; but they should also be concerned with retaining their current staff as their competitors look to head-hunt.
Together with employment at an all time high and rising salaries, there's also the issue of candidate availability. With a rising number of vacancies to be filled, the REC reported a sharp reduction in permanent staff availability paired with a fall in available temporary workers.
The strategy for overcoming the skills gap needs to look beyond the current workforce status and into the future. The emergence of innovation and technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 are reshaping the way industries operate, and by 2021 it is predicted that over a third of current important roles will have changed. Roles are transforming and companies need to keep ahead of these changes if they do not want to miss out on attracting and retaining the skills and passion that are a necessity for future business.
To find out more about the skills shortage and how you can still hire the best talent, download our whitepaper, Managing a Modern Day Workforce or to assess salaries in your organisation, download your complimentary copy of our 2017 Salary Guide.
