Benham Publishing Businesss Magazines December 2013 | Page 11

UPFront

Economy to suffer as firms
struggle to find engineers
If the UK is to remain able to build world-class facilities
like the Olympic Park, or equivalent international projects,
more engineers and technicians are urgently needed.

New research shows that this year more
companies are finding it difficult to recruit
engineers than in 2011. If this persists, the UK
economy is more likely to continue shrinking.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s
(IET) annual skills survey shows that there is
demand for new recruits but that employers are
struggling to find staff.
Over the next year, 58 per cent of companies
are planning to recruit, compared to just 36 per
cent in 2011, and compared to a high of 63
per cent in 2008 before the recession.
Stephanie Fernandes, IET Principal Policy Advisor
for Education and Skills said: “The engineering
sector has enjoyed a renaissance recently,
playing such a central role in enabling a
successful Olympics Games.
“The sector is of huge importance to the
economy, typically accounting for a quarter of
all turnover in the UK. This new research clearly
shows a desire by employers to recruit new staff,
but that they are struggling to find the right people.

“The planned recruitment is clearly good
news, suggesting increased confidence in
the economic outlook, but if firms are
unable to fill their vacancies the economy
will continue to shrink.”
Plans to specifically recruit engineering, IT
and technical staff have also increased
with 39 per cent of companies planning to
hire new staff within the next 12 months,
compared to 24 per cent in 2011.
The IET’s seventh ‘Engineering and
Technology Skills and Demand in Industry’
report also shows that 77 per cent of
companies are recruiting new staff as a
result of business expansion.
Stephanie Fernandes added: “It is more
important than ever that the education
system consistently delivers the engineers
and technicians that industry desperately
needs. This reinforces the recent House of
Lords Science and Technology Committee
report which called for urgent action by the
government to boost student numbers in
the STEM subjects.”

The skills survey can be downloaded at: www.theiet.org/factfiles/education/skills2012-page.cfm

Picking the right people
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Legal Issues –
Debt Recovery
Focusing on your sales team
There are many things that a business can do
to help improve its debt recovery. Businesses
often don’t think about credit control until an
invoice becomes overdue. Businesses should
focus on credit control throughout the sales
process. This means that your sales force needs
to understand their role in credit control.
• Ensure that your sales force is trained in debt
recovery – do they understand their role in
the payment recovery process?
• Ensure that your sales team clarifies the legal
status of the customer at the outset and the
customer’s full business name. Is the
customer a Limited Company / Partnership or
Sole Trader? This information will become
important, should you need to issue a claim
against the customer for non-payment.
• Ensure your sales team asks for details of
where and to whom, invoices should be sent.
If invoices are sent directly to the correct
person, this will speed up the payment process.
• Ensure your sales team understands the
importance of sending the customer a copy
of your terms and conditions BEFORE the first
order is placed. Failure to send terms and
conditions before the first order, can cause
difficulties when it becomes necessary to
evidence what terms were agreed.
• Encourage your sales team to look out for
signs of a customer’s financial difficulties and
report back to the finance director if they
suspect that a customer may be in financial
difficulties. Then your business can take a
view regarding the credit to be extended to
the customer. Should you limit the credit or
stop offering credit to this customer in order to
limit your exposure?

and presented us with 3 candidates
offering the exact skills we required.”

• Where difficult to secure new customers, your
sales team may be inclined to relax procedures
e.g by offering extended credit facilities or
undertaking less stringent checks on new
customers. Make sure sales staff understand
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