In our 2022 vs 2023 recruitment trends report we considered what the hiring landscape may look like in the coming year. Morson Market Analyst, Dr Gareth Owen examines recruitment trends spanning January – April 23 across four key industries; construction, technology, rail, and aerospace, to provide an accurate picture of what’s happening in the industry right now.
Foreword
by Dr Gareth Owen, Morson Market Analyst Across most sectors, there is an uncertain economic outlook due to geopolitical tensions, Brexit obstacles and the ongoing shadow of the pandemic that has led to rising interest rates, rising costs for businesses & consumers, talent shortages and supply chain challenges.
While a bleak economic outlook, cost of living crisis, and political turmoil have been grabbing the headlines around the world, fundamental changes have continued to take place, shaping the world of work in new ways, bringing new challenges and, critically, new solutions.
The trends I’ve identified in these reports, drawn from a rich database of Morson candidate data, expert conversations and insight from global sources, highlight key micro and macro socio-economic factors affecting the current state of the workplace and what it means for the labour market of tomorrow.
Many of these trends will persist beyond the near-term fluctuations in the business cycle, the goal of these reports is to support employers as they navigate a turbulent talent landscape.
> Momentum builds in construction
The UK construction industry is building momentum, as the S&P Global/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index rose for 2 months in a row. The best-performing area was commercial construction whilst residential building work has fallen for the third consecutive month.
The number of UK construction sector job adverts has hit a 14-month high according to the REC Labour Market Tracker. However, there are some obstacles to taking advantage of the growth in demand. The CITB/Build UK report indicates that the construction industry needs an additional 45,000 workers a year to meet growing demand.
There are calls for the government to bring in overseas workers to replace those lost due to the Brexit exodus of foreign workers by adding 5 construction roles to the UK Government Shortage Occupation List.
> A frenzy of talent shortages, skills gaps & lay-offs in tech
Over the last 6 months, many tech companies have announced large-scale redundancies. Caused by over-optimistic and rapid hiring during the pandemic and a later drop in earnings.
A flow of candidates from the major tech layoffs may help to alleviate the tech talent shortage stemming from economic and workforce inactivity.
The government has ended their contract with Tech Nation after a decade of transforming UK tech. Some of their activity will be transferred to Barclays, but the Global Talent Visa programme has not found a new home. This political shortsightedness is casting doubt on the future of those applying in the digital technology field.
The rail industry is getting back on track, as post-pandemic passenger demand has improved, leading to an increase in orders. However, political challenges are impacting a return to growth, evidenced by delays in the HS2 project to reduce costs. Experts are noting that project delays increase costs in the long term.
The Transport Secretary set out plans in Feb 2023 to reform the railways in the UK. Describing them as ‘not fit for purpose’ and ‘financially unsustainable’. The plans include increasing the role played by the private sector to help restore financial sustainability post Covid.
There is also increased pressure from ongoing industrial disputes in the rail sector. The need to find 120,000 additional people by 2030, is reported by City & Guilds and NSAR.
> A renewed sense of optimism in aerospace & defence
There is a renewed sense of optimism about the aerospace and defence industry after a challenging 3 years caused by Covid 19, Brexit and the war in Ukraine.
Global aircraft orders in 2022 were the highest in 7 years. Deliveries are approaching pre-pandemic levels fed by an upsurge in travel demand.
The chancellor announced an additional £11bn in the Spring Budget for the UK defence budget. This will bring UK military spending to 2.25% of GDP by 2025.
The turning point in industry fortunes is reflected in a positive outlook from major industry players. Airbus reported solid financials and a ramp-up in production, while the Ukraine war fuelled record orders at BAE Systems.
While there is cause for concern, businesses across all sectors should be hopeful about the future.
The UK economy narrowly avoided a recession in 2022 but this will be of little comfort to people suffering from a continuing cost of living crisis and the country remains at risk of a recession in 2023 according to the OBR and The Treasury, despite a slight improvement noted by the chancellor in his spring budget.
There has been a succession of disappointing news on diversity, most notably a rise in the average gender pay gap over the last 5 years. The UK Government has not offered a beacon of support on gender equality either, rejecting five of the recommendations from the Women and Equalities Committee report on menopause. Progress has also stalled on the representation of people from Black Caribbean backgrounds and women in STEM, according to MP’s, through the Parker Review announced new targets for the ethnic diversity of the management team at FTSE 350 companies.
The UK Labour Market is on shaky ground as employers continue to struggle with filling open vacancies, particularly for permanent roles but there is optimism about growing employee numbers. Candidate attraction issues and the cost of living crisis are feeding through into strong growth in rates of starting pay for both permanent and temporary roles.
Whatever future recruitment trends may hold Morson is here to support you to attract, retain and develop the best talent.
Our solutions are for organisations seeking to enhance their capability, who need flexible, adaptable solutions to help scale, brand-led strategies to inspire, screening solutions to comply, ED&I insight to transform, training to develop or technology to streamline and accelerate.
“When we went to see the careers lady, we literally were given a handful of potential careers that we could consider. None of those were what were deemed as male orientated careers. They were all focused around becoming a nurse, becoming a teacher. The options of becoming a mechanic, becoming an engineer, and getting into something a bit more industrial just, just weren’t there for us.”
Becky Veal is Associate Director for Engineering Delivery at Morson Projects. Despite aspiring to be a teacher, Becky initially felt the call of computer science, but when that avenue was closed to her she found herself working within engineering recruitment, starting a successful, if unexpected, career in the industry. As part of our PathFinders series, spoke to Becky about her career journey.
Watch her video interview below:
What did you want to be when you were younger and what did you study at school?
When I was younger, I really wanted to be a teacher. I used to really enjoy bossing my brother around! I did my GCSEs, and I did my A-levels in English literature, computer science and history. I was fortunate enough to be one of the first people that got enrolled on computer science, and I thought, this is fantastic. I’m going to be able to have a fantastic career learning all about computers. And this is my career path for being a computer programmer. Unfortunately for me, the lady that taught the A-level broke her leg and we were left without a teacher. And so the grades that I anticipated to get, unfortunately, didn’t happen for me. And the job offer that I had lined up post my A-level results as a result of that to become a trainee programmer didn’t happen either. The opportunities in engineering weren’t really promoted when I was younger. It was a career which really wasn’t identified. I can remember going to my careers advice day through school and being told one of my options that would really suit me would be becoming a nurse. So engineering wasn’t really a factor for a career for me.
So how did you actually get into engineering?
I started my career in engineering as a technical administrator, working for a recruitment and engineering consultancy company based in Bath. They were an organisation that were heavily involved in the aerospace and defence industry, and I looked at design consultancy work and technical publications supporting clients like Leonardo Helicopters and GKN Aerospace. I was quickly propelled into the engineering industry. I went from being a technical administrator straight into a recruitment manager. Within the period of three months and quickly found myself traveling across to the Isle of Wight to go and visit GKN Aerospace to deliver a design and technical review meeting, which was a massive learning curve for me, but it gave me a great exposure to the engineering industry and decided that I really wanted to take the challenge and further my career within this industry.
I worked for an organization whereby we recruited for offload packages of work in our offices and quickly grew that team to over 200 people. As a result of that, I became a programmes director to support the packages of work and quickly evolved that around supporting a lot of client reviews, developing new business then decided that it was really time for a new challenge.
Talk to us about that next challenge, setting up your own company
I made the decision that I was going to collaborate with some other professionals in the industry, and we decided that we were going to start up our own recruitment and consultancy business. That was a fantastic experience for me, gave me experience in terms of setting up a new business from scratch, looking at how we were going to market our business into the aerospace and defence industry and building up new clients from scratch. We grew that business successfully and fortunately Morson Projects decided that we would make a fantastic acquisition and I joined them in 2015 as a business unit manager supporting the aerospace and defence sector.
What does your role at Morson Projects entail?
I’m currently working with Leonardo Helicopters, supporting their engineering division and also the product support division as well. We currently have over 150 contractors and permanent members of staff working on that activity. I have been working with Leonardo for over 20 years now, so it’s a really well-established client relationship that has been cherished and developed over the years. We have collaborative teams across the whole of Morson Projects that supports both engineering, design and stress activity. We are about to enter into a massive phase of becoming a prime supplier at Leonardo Helicopters within the engineering division.
Who would you say has been your biggest mentor along the way?
I had a fantastic mentor, a gentleman called Richard Moore, who was a fantastic guy. He worked on Concorde in terms of doing all the loft designs, was very well respected within the engineering industry, and he was an inspiration to me, a fantastic mentor. He coached me through how to deliver to the client, how to communicate with the client, and how how to ensure that the chain of communication were well established to deliver successful packages of work. He was a fantastic mentor and somebody that I will always be thankful to for supporting me throughout my career.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
I think if I could revisit and tell my younger self, be confident in your decision-making processes, be passionate and don’t be frightened to go for it. it’s okay to press the reset button and start again.
If you feel that this is a path that you’re not happy with. Revisit your thoughts and your career aspirations and find out what you’re really passionate about and just go for it.
Another Morson Group engineer who has taken an unconventional path into the industry is James Baillie. He started off as a professional footballer, before leaning on his creative flair at school with design software to become a CAD technician with Waldeck. Hear his story here
Professional boxer Natasha Jonas has conquered everything the sport has thrown at her throughout her successful career. From humble beginnings in Toxteth, just outside of Liverpool, to becoming the first-ever female BBBoC Boxer of the Year in 2022, Tash Jonas navigated the challenges of an amateur career, enjoyed Olympic success, overcome a disappointing loss to Katie Taylor and managed it all while excelling at her most important job – being a mother.
Our in-depth interview with her comes at a time when she is riding high. Currently unified WBC, IBF and WBO female light-middleweight champion of the world, she also sits on a government boxing board and enjoys being a role model for women in sport.
She talks openly about many topics, from boxing and training to life on the quieter side of the ropes with her daughter, Mela. She discusses the many challenges she has faced along the way, from struggling to balance work with her Team GB career to managing her busy schedule. She also talks about overcoming self-doubt, what boxing has taught her about herself and much more.
In the early days of her amateur career, Tash had to balance a day job with the rigours of training camps and, eventually, international trips representing her country with Team GB. With the intense pressure of needing to deliver on the world stage, Tash needed to find work with an organisation that offered her the flexibility she needed:
“I was just working on the phones, mainly for banks and for internet companies, for Vodafone. And then I got on the England team. Now when you make it there, sometimes you need we’d be going away to Europe, the European championships or even the world championships. And we used to have a training camp the week before, so I’d be going to the gym before I started work, going after work and then it if comes to the big competitions we’d probably have a ten-day training camp, so then I’d need ten days off, plus the week of the tournament. And as anyone knows, it’s hard to get 20 days off work at a time for 2 to 3 tournaments a year. You’ve only got so many holidays and I’m like, well, you need to give me the holidays or I’ll have to leave. And they were like, well, you’re going to have to leave. So, I was in and out of jobs for a long time in England. And then the council did an initiative where if you were, an athlete heading towards that like Olympic star program, this was Liverpool City Council, they would sponsor you a job.
So then I got a job working in the call centre in Liverpool Direct and any time that I needed off for training I was allowed off. It wouldn’t always be paid, but you’d still be allowed the time off and you could return to your job. So that helped a helped massively because then I always knew I was coming back to a job. And then I got onto GB and then you’re a funded athlete, so that Monday to Thursday or Monday to Friday, sometimes you’re just living in Sheffield, you come home at the weekend and then go back there on the Monday.”
“Sport, and especially boxing, it’s just a skill that I’ve learned to be good at. But the life lessons that you learn from it, that I’m resilient, I’m hardworking, I’m determined, I’m motivated, I can speak to people on different levels, work along or as part of a group… if you ask a business leader what they would want their employee to be, they’d probably say those things! There are life skills that I’ve learned along the way, and sometimes they were skills that school couldn’t teach me.“
When you have a career like Natasha Jonas has, coupled with parenthood, you’re bound to be taught a lot of lessons. When asked if she thinks this has changed her, she said:
“I think everyone changes at different stages in life, like a metamorphosis into something else and certain things will bring out the best or the worse than people, but they’ll make you change and evolve into something else. And I think being a mom and the contract troubles that I had and just the ups and downs of general boxing in life always make you evolve into a different person. I think one of the biggest things about motherhood, you’re so focused on the results as an amateur in that Team GB set up because you were expected to get medals. A medal was your bare minimum and if I had a bad spar it would wreck my week. I’d go to a tournament and if I didn’t get a medal, I’d be panicking that I was going to get kicked off, thinking I need to do better. It would be pressure to the next tournament. As a mother, as soon as the door shuts to the gym and the door opens to the house, I’m just mum. That switch off really hopes mentally more than anything. My daughter doesn’t understand or care if I’ve had a bad spar, she just wants dinner to be done! She just needs you to be mum. Also, appreciating the moment more, the living in the now instead of beign axious about what’s coming or upset about what’s been. Living in the present.“
We speak to Ian Blease about his story; from aspiring footballer to part-time rugby league player at Salford in the pre-professional era, juggling a day job in construction with the intense physical and mental fitness required to compete at the highest levels of sport.
Ian Blease is the Director of Rugby and Operations at Salford Red Devils. Already a club legend from his playing days with the Salford rugby league outfit in the 1980s and 1990s, Ian returned to the club in 2016 to take up a senior role in the boardroom. During his tenure, he has helped transform the fortunes of the Super League side, with successes including a 3rd place finish in the league, a trip to the Grand Final, and a Challenge Cup final.
Ian discussed his route into rugby league:
“When I was young I was actually a football-mad, like a lot of people in the city of Salford and surrounding areas. I supported Manchester United and still do to this day. I was never quite good enough to make it as a youngster coming through. I left school and a friend of mine, Mike Holliday who has sadly passed away, was really into his rugby. I think his brother Les Holliday was playing for Swinton at the time, so I went down to the local team. I told my dad I just fancied giving it a go. And it was bizarre, within I think about eight months scouts were coming down.We had a good team at the time. I think of the team, 12 ended up signing professional terms. I went to Salford, nearly went to Wigan, nearly went to Leigh. Salford was where I really wanted to go really, because I thought at the time it was an up-and-coming club. John Wilkinson had just taken over as chairman and manager, and I made my debut within the first season. I stayed there for ten years, maybe more, got a testimonial, played in some great teams, played in some average teams shall we say, but forged a really good career doing that alongside my work at the time because it was semiprofessional.”
He discussed what it was like as a local lad making his debut for the club:
“There’s a mixture of really nervous obviously, but excitement. And you’re proud because your parents and your family are there watching and you’re gracing the pitch that legends have trodden and played there before. So it was massive for me being a local lad.It was really significant in my life but you don’t realise the impact until later on and you think, oh yeah, that was good and I enjoyed that. And as you as your career progresses, you learn to manage your nerves. You turn them into energy more than nerves.”
Playing in the largely semi-professional game of rugby league at the time, Ian Blease also had to juggle his sporting career with a job in construction. This balance has instilled in him the desire to ensure that modern players, who themselves have to seek a career after their playing career finishes, look after themselves:
“ I had an apprenticeship at the start, so I knew I was going to have a career in construction and asset management, which is what I ended up doing. It was challenging to manage between work and training. We used to train Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, playing at weekends all the time. We used obviously work all day and then go to train at night, which was pretty difficult. You’d get 4 to 5 weeks off in a year pre-season and then you’d be back at it again. And I did that for ten, 12 years at Salford, which in the end probably tells on your mental as well as physically
You drove in from work, and within 20 minutes you’d be on the training pitch. It was really tough. But there are player welfare coaches in the game now and I actually sit on the player welfare board for the RFL. But there was nothing like that back in the day. That’s what rugby was.”
Since his rugby career ended as a player, Ian Blease has found education key, something else he tries to instil in the current Salford players
“ I fell into it, one of my managers said to me after I’d finished playing, I really like what you’re doing in the business side, I’d like you to do some studying. I didn’t take to school very well as I was apprehensive about it. But the tutor said to me, you get out what you put in. And I really enjoyed it, I spent 5 years doing my first master’s and then over the last couple of years did my sporting directorship degree at Media City.”
“The educational side was really the lift that I needed. I realised I could go into leadership and management, which led to me eventually coming back into rugby years later as a players agent. We have a great relationship with the University of Salford at the moment. We get four master’s degrees every year to give to our staff and players.”
Throughout our PathFinders interview with Ian Blease, we discuss his career in detail, and the many physical and mental challenges along the way. We look at his life after sport and the successes he has achieved returning to the club in the boardroom.
Attracting and retaining top talent is critical to the success of any organisation. However, the recruitment process can be complex, time-consuming, and expensive, often leaving organisations struggling to find the right candidates. Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) might be the solution to your talent strategy woes and could revolutionise your talent strategy. In this blog, we will explore the advantages of an outsourced recruitment process.
Learn how RPO can help you find and retain the best talent, improve your recruitment efficiency, and enhance your employer brand.
What is RPO and how does it work?
RPO is a recruitment outsourcing service where an external provider takes on some or all of an organisation’s recruitment activities. The RPO provider acts as an extension of the organisation’s HR or recruitment team. They manage the entire recruitment process, from candidate sourcing to onboarding.
RPO providers can offer a range of services, including talent engagement, marketing, employer branding, applicant tracking system (ATS) management, interview scheduling, and hiring analytics. By leveraging their expertise, technology, and resources, RPO providers help organisations be more efficient, reduce costs, and enhance the quality of their hires.
An RPO provider often begins by working to understand your recruitment challenges and goals. They then design a solution tailored to your specific requirements. The RPO provider then takes on the recruitment activities, often using a combination of technology, data analytics, and human expertise to streamline the process and improve recruitment outcomes.
RPO services offer a flexible and scalable solution for organisations looking to improve their recruitment outcomes while reducing costs and saving time. By leveraging the expertise and resources of an external provider, you can enhance your recruitment efficiency, quality of hires, and employer brand.
RPO vs traditional in-house recruitment
There are so many benefits of using RPO services compared to traditional in-house recruitment. Here are just a few:
Enhanced efficiency: RPO providers have the latest technology and recruitment tools, which can help streamline the recruitment process. This can include applicant tracking systems, marketing software, and data analytics tools. These can help identify the best candidates for the job.
Cost savings: RPO can help organisations reduce the cost of recruitment by eliminating the need for in-house recruitment teams. Therefore reducing the need for advertising, job boards, and other recruitment-related expenses.
Scalability: RPO providers can quickly scale up or down recruitment services based on the organisation’s hiring needs. This can be particularly beneficial for organisations that experience seasonal or unpredictable recruitment demands.
Access to talent: RPO providers have access to a wider pool of talent through their recruitment networks and databases. In turn, this can help organisations find better-qualified and more diverse candidates for the job.
Expertise and knowledge: RPO providers typically have a team of recruitment professionals with specialized expertise in different industries and functions. This can help organisations improve their recruitment outcomes by leveraging the provider’s knowledge and experience.
Improved employer branding: RPO providers can help organisations enhance your employer brand by creating a positive candidate experience. This can help organisations attract and retain top talent.
Outsourcing your recruitment needs to an expert can increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve candidate experiences.
Recruitment outsourcing misconceptions.
People often misunderstand or underestimate the potential benefits of RPO. They assume that it’s a one-size-fits-all solution, only suitable for high-volume recruitment or will result in a loss of control for the business. But, the best outsource solutions are a strategic partnership between the provider and the client. They can help with all types of recruitment, from temporary to executive-level candidates, and from high-volume recruitment to niche hires.
Equally, RPO is not a quick fix or overnight solution to your talent challenges. It takes time for an RPO provider to understand your organisation’s specific goals, challenges and culture so that they can tailor their service to best support your business.
RP01
Our RPO offer is brought to you by our standalone brand, RP01. Through RP01 we deliver more than a talent solution, we optimise your entire recruitment process.
We understand that so many of your strategic goals are linked to talent. RP01 enables organisations of all scales to reach true talent potential. We take care of peaks and flows in demand, reduce costs, identify niche talent, build talent brands to attract the best people, manage HR requirements and use data to inform hiring decisions with services that flex with your specific needs.
Our talent and optimisation teams seamlessly impart our expertise into organisations. They help recruit niche skills, create diverse, engaged candidate pipelines, control supply chain quality and reduce costs, remove the burden of HR, source niche skills and manage processes with intelligence and data.
RP01 gets to know your business and your people, integrating with your internal talent strategies, to manage and support your end-to-end recruitment processes and care for and elevate your brand.
If you would like to find out more about how an RPO can help your organisation transform through talent, get in touch or visit rpo-one.com.
