Our commercial manager James is back on ToneFm’s Job Show tonight to discuss the recruitment outlook for 2019. 

Brexit remains a dominant and unstable force to be reckoned with, and the closer Article 50 deadline day comes without a clear sense of direction, the harder it is for companies and employers to say with conviction that their recruitment practices will remain the same. 

As it stands however (and seemingly against the odds), record levels of employment have continued unabated, with new records hit seemingly every quarter in regards to employment numbers and vacant jobs left unfilled, with demand, for now, only rising. 

Will the bubble burst? Will flatlining productivity levels across some industry (especially within manufacturing and STEM) render the U.K. business landscape desolate? Or are our fears unfounded? 

Without concrete predictions, James has urged enthusiasm, but caution, for the job seeker, and stressed urgency for the employer, and preparing for every eventuality is a must. Being a fairweather employer will not give your clients, and your candidates, the service the need and deserve if the market turns sour.

We’ve concluded that speed of service, seeking feedback, running constructive consultancies and maintaining an honest recruitment practice is vital for firms to draw and retain the best talent. We think that, in the age of social media monopolies, agile automation and where multiple job sites, boards, ads and networks pull the job seeker in a thousand directions, this is the most effective way of running your recruitment department.

James also focused on the variety of work available, and said that, based on the Recruitment and Employment Federation 2019 Outlook Report released this month, candidates should be confident in their chances of securing permanent employment, but should be mindful of the opportunity temporary work can give them.

The opportunities to work in multiple environments and training in new fields as a temporary worker should never be over looked – and as opportunities for the active job seeker may decline this year,  it’s worth remembering agencies are represented by every temp they put forward for roles – remember that recruitment agencies should never be in it for the numbers: they have a vested interest in offering flexible, fair, and challenging work to the flexible job seeker as it offers their client multiple effective ways of operating their business to their specific needs, whatever the industry. 

2019 will be a defining year for the Recruitment industry, and with Europe’s largest infrastructural project on our doorstep at Hinckley Point, and increasing numbers of workers relocating from cities to our fair county, Somerset could break the mould in keeping, if not bettering, levels of employment. 

Tune into ToneFM tonight from 6pm to hear James in full.