The universal challenge of recruitment

Everyone knows how hard it is to find reliable, skilled staff currently, whether that be maintenance and service engineers, manufacturing, quality or sales professionals. Everyone is in the same boat. 

Employment figures for January showed Job vacancies are at 1,161,000 in the period from October - December 2022, still 365,000 above pre Covid levels (2019) and this is just the published vacancies. What about all the organisations that could or would like to recruit but done nothing about it yet or just fear that that they do not have a chance in the current climate?

The online hiring platform Indeed in its Hiring and Workplace Trends Report 2023 predicts that a large and widening post-pandemic participation gap amid rising economic inactivity rates including long-term sickness will continue to constrain the supply of labour well into next year. In the longer term, an ageing population means the size of the UK workforce will shrink particularly impacting Engineering and Manufacturing sectors.

This double ended squeeze on the job market of high demand and restricted supply is obviously having a marked and frustrating effect on the ability to recruit, but it is not impossible. It requires a disciplined and professional approach. By disciplined I mean you must be prepared to work at it and prioritise it, set time aside, dedicate the right resources and be prepared to move fast. The best candidates will usually have more than one or two options available to them, and an employer able to be decisive, move quicker and prove their enthusiasm will always be at an advantage. 

Professional means finding the right recruitment partner. A recruiter who shares your determination and energy to fill the role and has the skills, resources, and experience to deliver. At Hunter Selection 86% of our placements last year were with repeat customers. Actions speak louder than words and the confidence of some of the UK leading engineering employers to keep coming back to us is testament to our ability to deliver. Established 19 years, with a comprehensive database, an advertising and social media budget geared to access every new engineer who comes on to the job market every day and some of the most experienced and skilled consultants in the industry, we have all the resources in place and back ourselves to be the most professional partner you can have.

So do not despair. ‘Yes’, it is a tough market to recruit in. ‘Yes’, everyone will have to work that bit harder to get the result we all want. ‘Yes’, we might have to look beyond the obvious methods to identify and attract applicants but ‘No’, it’s certainly won’t be impossible to recruit great staff in 2023. Hunter Selection could be your advantage.

hunterselection.co.uk