The Report on Jobs published last week (8th September 2010) by the REC and KPMG headlined with “Permanent placements rose at weakest rate for ten months in August”.

The overall picture painted was one of a general slowdown in the UK job market with the economy continuing to exhibit the dual track (split across Public / Private sector) which we have now been seeing for the last couple of years. The Public sector is generally tightening down in advance of further budget cuts whilst there are some signs that the Private sector is creating new roles.

Whilst this report gathers its data from a broad spectrum of recruitment agencies some of this months data has a direct correlation to what Arras People are seeing in the Programme and Project Management sector.

“Growth of staff appointments weakens further..” A sweeping top level analysis which we believe is also being impacted by the changes that many organisations are making to the way they recruit. During the downturn we have encountered many clients who have taken recruitment in-house in order to reduce the cost of employing new starters. This change of approach may hide some of the actual hiring patterns as it is naturally having an impact on those organisations in the recruitment market. Channels increasing used are direct advertising, referal schemes, LinkedIn and other social media tools.

“Further decline in availability of permanent candidates” The report indicated that despite the slowdown in new appointments there is growing evidence of a growing skill shortage. Interestingly the areas identified included Project Management and Business Analysis. The availability of permanent staff declined at the sharpest level since 2007. Whilst this may be impacted by seasonal events as many candidates withdraw from the market during the summer months it continues the general concern about the availability of talent in the UK market. This is further compounded by the lack of “movers” in the market as professionals sit tight waiting for the economy to settle and employers tighten packages on offer as they believe it must be a buyers market.

Pay pressures “Permanent Salaries” – the knock on effect from the lack of talent discussed above may well be the trigger for this move, as companies are finding themselves having to make their packages more attractive or at least competitive to entice good candidates. All the way through the current downturn we have found that on the whole the best programme and project management practitioners have managed to stay in employment. Time is of the essence when recruiting if employers are looking to secure both permanent workers and contractors with the best skill sets.

Arras People – Moving with the Market

Many of the movers and shakers in the recruitment and HR market are predicting that many of the short term changes that we have seen, will become embedded as business as usual for many organisations as we move forward. Key changes such as recruitment moving in house and management of employer brand will become more of a focus; triggering a move away from big and informal to niche and focussed. A position that we believe Arras People is already occupying.

As such our new web site has allowed us to offer two new channels to market for clients who are being impacted by the changes or looking to operate in a new way. We have solutions that allow clients to come and fish in our talent pool when looking for new candidates.

  • Featured Employer – A cost effective way of ensuring your brand and your recruitment campaign can be seen by project management professionals. Whether looking for immediate hires to fill your talent pipeline this offering will attract both active and inactive job seekers. Read more >
  • Branded Advertisements – For the cost conscious in-house recruitment team we have our branded project management job advertisements. From £350 the advertisements are a brilliant way to get some bang for your advertising buck as they hit your target audience! Read more >

Overview of the Report on Jobs >>

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