Turns up trumps for temps
TEESSIDE is witnessing a boom in temporary vacancies as a worsening recession hits the permanent recruitment market.
The trend has emerged as cash-strapped companies look to scale back costs in the face of weakening demand.
Recent figures from the Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) point to an annual decline in manufacturing production of around 12% and an estimated 30,000 UK factory jobs being axed each month.
Meanwhile a number of local firms have had to put permanent staff on reduced hours to avoid making redundancies.
Figures published today by the Recruitment and Employment Federation showed that nationally the number of permanent vacancies on recruiters books had fallen to its lowest level in ten years.
Jo Hand Recruitment, which has offices in Middlesbrough and Darlington, has seen demand for temporary workers soar by 33% since the end of November.
Founder Jo Hand said: “Even when businesses have jobs to fill, they are not confident that the workload will still be there in three months’ time and they are simply unwilling to commit to permanent staff.”
The company, which specialises in the supply of office staff, said the busiest sectors for temporary positions were contact centres, social and care, finance, utilities, oil and gas and general engineering.
Wilton-based TechConsult UK said although it wasn’t as busy as last year it was still seeing demand on major oil, gas and offshore- related projects. Around 75% of its revenues come from temporary placements.
MD Steve Guest said: “Clients are taking longer make decisions on recruitment. We are doing a lot of longer-term contracts - usually around 6-12 months.”
The recession has also sparked a surge in the number of workers privately investing in training in case they lose their jobs.
Kevin Green, centre manager of Pitman Training in Middlesbrough, said: “Individuals are taking a lot more interest in training. They are putting themselves in the best possible position should the worst happen.”
See today’s Jobs Supplement.
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