Wake Up Britain - The Recruitment Challenge is Upon Us
Wed, Mar 19th, 2008
"Wake up Britain. The labour market has gone global. Companies can perfectly well recruit from outside the UK and don't have to base themselves in the UK" was the message given to the Recruitment Society on a presentation given by Carl Gilleard at their March meeting held at Times and Sunday Times.
The key drivers for change are :
* Globalisation * Technology * Demography * The Environment * Global Economies * Expectations
Organisations used to recruit graduates with no expectations of them. Now graduates are expected to contribute almost from Day 1 having already been trained to do their work. The supply of graduates is expected to peak in about 2010-11. However, with demographic changes, the supply of graduates will then decline by 12% by 2020. Add to this the fact that graduate vacancies are anticipated to grow by 16% alone in 2008, then the scale of the potential problem can be recognised.
Expectations from all sides have escalated beyond anything imaginable ten years ago. Companies now expect "Oven Ready" Graduates, who themselves have much higher expectations of the organisations they work for, including salaries, terms and conditions and engagement.
The position has been excellently summarised by Richard Lambert, Director-General of the CBI:
The labour market has changed beyond recognition in the last decade; in a word it has gone global. If businesses can't find the skills or work attitudes that they need in the national workplace, they can perfectly well recruit elsewhere. They don't have to hire people from the UK education system. And they don't have to locate their activities in the UK
In other words, there is an increasing mismatch between the demand for graduates with the right skills and the supply from Higher Education, and if the skills can't be found, then organisations will go overseas to find them. In fact 1 in 4 employers now actively market their vacancies overseas. According to AGR, in 2007, 43% of their members reported unfilled vacancies, and 67% admitted to considerable recruitment challenges.
What is the reason for such a shortfall? • Graduate perception of certain employers (poor image) 55% • Employers' concern that graduates do not have enough "soft" generic skills 55% • Employers' concern that there are insufficient applicants with the right qualifications • Geographic location. Over 50% of vacancies are in London and South East. With the high cost of housing, more students are living at home (20% - up from 10% in 1998) and are looking for local employment
An analysis of the UK Nuclear Industry, demonstrates the mismatch. It showed that it employs 100,000 people. However, there is currently no dedicated engineering honours degree (one will start in 2008): 6% are under the age of 24 and 31% are over the age of 45.
David Frost, Director-General of the British Chambers of Commerce, argues that in order to be attractive to graduates, employers need to inspire them, which means engaging more closely with them. In this way they can become more aspirational in attitude.
A Skills Briefing by the Institute of Directors, revealed that : * Only 25% of young people thought that they were prepared for employment * 90% thought that it was the role of education to prepare them for work * 68% of employers were satisfied with the technical skills of graduate employees * only 55% of employers were satisfied with wider employability skills * 64% considered that employability skills were more important than technical skills
The problem is not just confined to the UK. The US has even greater problems, according to Ralph Brigham, president of NACE, exacerbated by needless and draconian restrictions on employment of foreign graduates.
Could the answer to the problem be accommodation of Generation Y? These are young people who: • have a commitment only to themselves • prefer active to passive involvement, i.e. openness, honesty, transparency and feedback • want to be treated as individuals • want full involvement and want responsibility for their own problem solving • have salary expectations in excess of what employers are willing to pay • want early promotion • feel that Work/Life balance is very important
So what can be done?
Schools should:
* Better educational and careers guidance * More balanced curriculum * Fewer examinations and tests * Better preparation for HE * Allow students to take risks * Allow students to fail
Universities should: * Embed employability skills into the curriculum * More emphasis on reflective learning * Create more of a work place environment * Embrace the proposed changes to measuring and recording student achievement * Reach out more into the workplace - work based learning
Employers should: * More engagement with HE * More quality work experience opportunities * Less emphasis on the 2:1 cut off criteria * Fish in other parts of the talent pool * Meet Gen Y on their terms; recruit them on yours * Tell it how it is!
Students/Graduates * Learn how to take control of your own life/learning/career * Less focus on the 2:1: engage in developing interests and more generic skills * Develop a sense of realism * Understand recruitment is competitive * Sell yourself!
Parents should * Get a life of your own! * Let go the apron strings * Support, encourage but don't lead or take control
Government should * Invest more in guidance services * Drop the 50% HE targets * Encourage more education interface * Stop experimenting with the educational system * ‘Incentivise' employers to train
