A new report from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) and Bullhorn has shown significant increases in both permanent and contract vacancies over the past year. The latest Recruitment Trends Snapshot showed that contract vacancies increased 26 per cent between February 2021 and February 2022, while permanent vacancies increased 22 per cent over the same period.
However, despite sizeable increases over the past year, month-on-month figures for new permanent and contract vacancies showed a slight dip over more recent weeks. New permanent vacancies fell 11 per cent in the month to February 2022, while contract vacancies fell 12 per cent.
Year-on-year, there was also significant growth in placements between February 2021 and February 2022, with permanent placements rising 62 per cent and contract placements growing 15 per cent.
The figures have led APSCo to warn that the UK’s current market for skills is “not fit for purpose in the modern world” as a result of a continuing skills shortage, which it says is harming prospects for future economic growth. In response, the body’s Access to Skills and Talent Public Policy Plan asks the government to re-shape training initiatives, as well as visa routes in order to enable highly skilled international workers to support the UK labour market.
Discussing the figures, APSCo CEO Ann Swain said: “While we are now beginning to see the inevitable slowdown of the intense activity of the last few months, we are still in a situation where demand for skills is far exceeding supply in professional sectors. The professional recruitment sector has a vital part to play in unearthing the hard-to-find talent needed by organisations across the UK and indeed internationally.”
“We continue to meet with government to demonstrate the value of a globally focused recruitment sector, a globally mobile talent pool of independent contractors and the benefits of introducing a work visa for self-employed highly skilled contractors and we are lobbying hard for the expansion of the scope of highly skilled independent visa routes.”
