As we wrote in our previous blog on how to identify your workplace skills gaps, much of the skills shortage crisis is related to the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit which some reports suggest has diminished the number of qualified job seekers. In this respect, it makes sense that instead of looking to recruit externally, nearly half of Welsh organisations are increasing their training budgets to improve the skills and retention of existing employees.
But we have mixed feelings about the redistribution of funds.
On the one hand, we are hugely in favour of identifying and upskilling ‘untapped’ potential internally and commend their investment. One of our first steps when working with a new client – alongside understanding the role – is helping them to assess their in-house talent. It may seem counter-intuitive for a recruitment agency to do this but, in our experience, it is far more beneficial when it comes to building a long-standing recruitment partnership.
On the other hand, we would urge employers to be mindful of the time and effort required to upskill their staff and ask themselves whether the means justify the ends. It depends on the role of course, but external candidates can often bring a ready-made and more diverse range of skills and industry experience with them which can have a real, positive impact on the organisation’s profitability. This is particularly true when it comes to managerial positions, which the survey identified as having the shortest supply of candidates.
With the skills shortage expected to worsen after Brexit, our concern is that by restricting their recruitment techniques, Welsh organisations could severely limit their pool of candidates and take a financial hit as a result; the OU’s report found that skills shortages cost Welsh organisations an average of £13,740 over the year. In our view, this figure would be much better spent on a more comprehensive recruitment process to find a professional with the right skills, not just to undertake their role, but to get the best out of other existing employees too.
Our deep-dive approach to recruitment is designed to support organisations to achieve the best outcome to support their growth. If you see the value in expanding your recruitment externally, we can work with you to find out whether you have anyone suitably qualified in-house before we begin a more extensive, targeted search and if you do, we’ll be more than happy to support you the next time you need help.
Ita took the time to ask about our business, our culture, the role and really understood what we were looking for. This resulted in a really straightforward recruitment process. All of the candidates put forward were of exceptional quality and I would definitely recommend Sitka to my colleagues and network.
The process was thorough and very individual – time was spent finding out about the culture and style of the organisation and the exec team. Sitka worked with the candidates well to find the best fit for both employer and candidate. There was a sense of strong relationship building to ensure that this happened.
The candidates we met very high quality and came to interview knowing lots about Drive and the vacancies on offer. I would recommend Sitka.
Having now worked with Sitka for a number of years, they have a real understanding of the type of people we employ and that the ‘fit’ is as important as having the right skills for the role. Sitka provide an excellent service and make you feel you are their only customer. They are quite unique and such a pleasure to work with.
Sitka was honest all the way through and went above and beyond to make me feel prepared and ready for the interview. Everything went really smoothly and I had regular communication from Ita who made sure I knew everything I needed to along the way. I felt equally as important to the agency as the client and knew I could trust Sitka to represent me as a candidate.
I just want to say a big thank you to Ita for believing in me and being so supportive from the first LinkedIn message until I started my first week!
The recruitment process was thorough and straight forward, and the quality of candidate provided was very good to say the least. The best thing about the recruitment process was, apart from explaining the job role and what we were looking for, I had little to do but to interview!