Skills shortages intensify as job market recovers

Increased recruitment activity is expected to result in rising skills shortages, with recruitment difficulties for sales and IT functions particularly pronounced, new research reveals.

These are among the latest findings of the quarterly Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI) survey from Cranfield School of Management and the Daily Telegraph, in association with Personnel Today. Almost half of the 1,115 respondents (48%) expect overall recruitment activity to increase over the next six months, four times the proportion anticipating a decrease (12%).

Employers expect higher levels of recruitment activity to exacerbate skills shortages across the majority of job functions. The hardest to fill vacancies are expected to be sales positions, with 50% of employers expecting recruitment difficulties, up from 40% in the previous quarter. This is followed by IT specialists, with corresponding figures of 45% and 34%.

  • Skills gap widens as job market recovers    Mike Berry looks at the survey's key findings. From personneltoday.com.

  • Recruitment Confidence Index   Visit the official RCI website.

    Also

    Skills shortages   HR & Compliance Centre's key economic indicators service includes latest statistical data on skills shortages from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and the CIPD.