Surface World February 2019 SW_Feb_2019_LR | Page 14
INDUSTRY NEWS
January job market booms, but engineering
industry is still affected by skill shortages
Job vacancies and
applications rose last
month, but year-on-year
data tells a different story
The traditional January jobs boom saw
advertised vacancies in the engineering
sector soar by a staggering 61.9%
last month, according to the latest job
market statistics from CV-Library, the UK’s
leading independent job site. What’s more,
vacancies also saw an increase of 9.3%
when looking at year-on-year data.
Looking at the bigger picture, the findings
reveal that applications were actually down by
6.5% year-on-year. Yet despite this fall, the
amount of candidates in the industry registering
their CV on CV-Library was up 23.4% year-on-
year. This suggests that while professionals may
not have made their next career move yet,
many could be preparing to do so.
Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library,
comments: “Our latest job market statistics
are a bit of a mixed bag. While the figures
seem largely positive for this month,
we simply cannot ignore the fact that
candidate applications in the catering
industry are down year-on-year and it’s
looking for work. Coupled with the fact that
less EU nationals are exploring employment
opportunities in the UK, businesses are
having to work harder than ever to fill their
vacancies and plug the skills gap.”
The statistics also reveal that average salaries
for new jobs in the industry rose by 1%
year-on-year, as organisations strive to
provide the most competitive job offerings.
With these statistics in mind, CV-Library
offers practical advice to businesses in
the engineering sector who are hoping to
attract talented candidates to their roles:
Streamline your recruitment process:
Make sure it isn’t too lengthy and
communicate with candidates throughout.
Otherwise you risk them losing interest or
ghosting your company.
Offer competitive packages:
Today’s job hunters know what they want and
that means your company needs to tick all
the right boxes. Don’t just focus on salary; be
sure to offer great perks, company culture
and development opportunities.
Target passive candidates:
With less people actively looking for a job,
you’ll have to work harder to coax
professionals out of their existing roles. Try
referral schemes within your business and use
CV search to help find passive candidates.
Build your employer brand:
Another way to target both passive and
active candidates - spend some time replying
to feedback left on review sites and be sure
to make the most of your social media
accounts and company careers page.
Get your onboarding process right:
Once you’ve made a new hire, make sure
you give them the training and inductions
they need to settle into the role. Otherwise
you risk them leaving early, putting you back
to square one.
Not only this, but applications in the industry
sky-rocketed in January, increasing by 77.2%
when comparing data with December 2018
findings. While this appears to be positive
news for businesses, this comes as little
surprise, given that the start of the year is
often a busy time for recruitment after the
December slow down.
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no secret that the government’s failure to
agree an effective Brexit deal is the key
driving factor behind this.
“What’s more, unemployment is at its lowest
rate since the mid-70s and while this is good
news for the labour market and our
economy, it’s having a knock on effect on
the job market, with less candidates actively
FEBRUARY 2019
Visit: www.cv-library.co.uk
twitter: @surfaceworldmag