42 under 42: The unemployment debate
Simon Swan from Hiring-Hub.com gives his views on why there is discord and discontent in the jobs market.
Why, when official figures show unemployment at its highest rate since 1996, do I have the same conversation with employers every day? “I cannot find staff. I thought there were loads of people looking for work but we can’t find anybody with the relevant experience. I don’t think we’re asking for too much.”
It’s a regular theme at the meetings I attend, so while the media publish unemployment figures for Jeremy Paxman to discuss on Newsnight, here in the real world there is a very different issue facing businesses, and it’s one that’s not being addressed.
I believe the unemployment figures mask the real problem: the UK lacks specialist skills and technical knowledge across a number of sectors, while at the lower end of the scale a whole generation believe they are entitled to a job – because they were born here in the UK, they somehow deserve a position with an above average salary, an Audi A4, 30 days holiday, a decent pension and private healthcare.
At Hiring-Hub.com we process thousands of CVs each week and that sense of entitlement is evident. On many, zero effort has been made to tailor a submission for a specific role, or even run a spell check. There seems to be an over-prevailing assumption that they don’t need to bother; that an employer will leap at the chance to employ them simply because they have a degree in Business Studies.
We have a decent grasp of what’s happening at the other end of the market, too, looking at technical and executive roles. Here the number of people leaving their jobs has fallen dramatically – according to official statistics only 2.4 per cent of the nation’s workforce left their jobs in April to June 2011; the equivalent of 674,000. Of those that did, 43 per cent were made redundant.
So, only 1.4 per cent of UK workers actually wanted to leave their jobs, which shows that job security is a key consideration for employees. Those with a ‘safe’ job within an established company are less likely to switch employers for fear of less secure future.
With economic turmoil at the forefront of news bulletins each day I don’t think we’ll see a rapid return to the fluidity we saw in the job market during the late 1990s. That said there is still a strong demand from employers for experienced and skilled workers. It is this that is driving growth in the recruitment industry, particularly in resilient sectors like finance and IT.
Simon Swan was named in the 42 under 42 class of 2011. For more information visit our dedicated 42 under 42 page online.
