More than half of all UK employers intend to hire additional staff within the next three months, according to a study released by the human resources body, the CIPD.
According to the research, 56% of the 2,000 firms that took part in the working survey planned to hire new staff within the first three months of the year, with the strongest hiring intentions coming from the healthcare, finance, insurance, education, and ICT sectors.
After a year of significant change across all industries, recent announcements signposting the easing of restrictions came as welcome news, but it doesn’t mean the end of challenges across talent acquisition.
Planning for post Pandemic Growth
While the results from the survey looks positive, the CIPD has warned that further private sector jobs may be lost due to the pandemic, should the current furlough scheme not be reviewed later in the year. As it stands, the current furlough scheme is due to end on April 30th, with around ten million people having been furloughed between the start of the scheme and December 2020.
The big question amongst most employers is how to maximise productivity as we return to normality, meaning that decisions regarding skills gaps and hiring or upskilling will be key to future growth.
A healthy talent pipeline is crucial for any business, and as other companies are beginning to ramp up their hiring across in demand roles, competition for the best talent will grow. It’s critical that employers have an established talent acquisition strategy in the coming months, to combat any lingering economic uncertainty.
While hiring for new roles will be of critical importance, attention is also focused on upskilling initiatives to further empower existing staff.
Throughout the pandemic the government support for apprenticeships has been notable, with continued incentives for employers hiring young apprentices. These current incentives which can give employers as much as £3,000 per apprentice are due to end on 31st March, though a further extension of the scheme is possible. Many employers have added Business and Data Analysts to their team in recent years (demand for Data roles has tripled over the past five years, rising 231%) , recognising the ROI of identifying these new opportunities to improve an existing offering, or to diversify into a new area.
With the rise of remote delivery across apprenticeship delivery and commercial training in the last year, access to upskilling is no longer the issue. Instead identifying the most crucial skills gaps within your organisation is the focus, alongside the best opportunities to expand into new areas.
For more technical roles, the support of a specialist recruiter will give you a head start finding the best talent. A good specialist recruiter will often have a base of candidates they’ve worked with at different stages of their career – people who they know well and will have a good understanding of their expectations and requirements for a new role. These will typically be candidates who aren’t actively job hunting, meaning you’ll be getting access to talent that can’t be found on job boards.
For expert advice on preparing your organisation for post-pandemic growth, book a callback.