With first stage of the London 2012 Olympic Games finished and all the athletes and spectators gone our City returns to relative normality. There has been such a buzz in the air and it seems the fantastic achievements by Team GB have really lifted the spirits of the nation.
In this blog we are focusing on the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs published this month as it provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.
These findings are based on the Engineering and Technical Sectors
Market Conditions
Staff appointments fall at slower pace:
Although there were further reductions in both permanent and short-term staff appointments during July, in both cases the rates of decline eased slightly since June.
Growth of vacancies eases:
The number of vacancies available to jobseekers continued to increase during July, but the latest improvement was the least marked for six months.
Further improvement in candidate availability:
Recruitment consultants indicated that the availability of staff continued to rise in July. Solid improvements in both permanent and temporary/contract staff availability were recorded.
Vacancy data showed that higher demand from private sector employers offset a further decrease in public sector demand. By category, one of the strongest rise for permanent staff was signalled in the Engineering sector.
Institution responds to 22 per cent rise in UK car manufacturing:
Philippa Oldham, Head of Manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said in response to the 22% rise in UK car manufacturing:
“The rise in UK car manufacturing figures is very welcome and shows that the UK can still be a manufacturing powerhouse. But while some industries like car and aerospace manufacturing are bucking the trend and seeing strong growth, recent figures show that UK manufacturing as a whole is still shrinking.
“The success of UK car manufacturing should motivate Government to take urgent action to support manufacturing so that we can see other industries become UK success stories.
“Government needs to work with industry and other political parties to develop a detailed manufacturing and industrial strategy with cross-party support. Industry needs this certainty and also needs greater access to capital investment in order to invest in new production plants, machinery and training.”
More students must study STEM courses at A-level:
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) says that an extra 200,000 engineering professionals will be needed by 2020. Currently, the UK is only producing 25 to 50 per cent of the engineering graduates that the economy needs.
Stephanie Fernandes, IET Principal Policy Advisor for Education and Skills said: “Whilst entries for STEM subjects have risen, it is important that young people continue their studies into higher education; the country needs more people studying science and engineering subjects at university and taking up jobs in this sector.
“We are at risk of stifling economic growth if we do not encourage more students to study STEM subjects which are crucial to increase the output of UK plc.”
There is huge demand for engineers. The IET’s skills survey for 2012 shows that over the next year, 58 per cent of companies are planning to recruit compared to just 36 per cent in 2011.
