With Brexit on hold as a result of the general election scheduled for this week, we take a moment to look at how it could affect the recruitment industry.
Lowered interest from Europe
Since the referendum result in 2017, overseas talent has displayed a diminished interest in working in the UK. As the negotiations have gone on, recruiters have reported less interest from international candidates seeking jobs in the UK. Recruiters surveyed by LinkedIn said they are seeing a decrease of 37% from Italy, 35% from France, 35% from Germany, 32% from the Netherlands, 29% from Spain and 33% from other countries in the EU 27 during Q1 2018.
Upskilling UK employees
While Britain’s’ time in the EU has resulted in talent coming to us from across the EU, the loss of these workers could increase internal training opportunities. To tackle the potential skills’ gap, almost half of British companies surveyed said they would train and upskill existing employees to fill gaps in their workforce. This would see salaries of these employees increasing and ultimately improve their job security for the future.
Future workers’ rights
It is understood that existing EU legislation relating to workers’ rights will be converted into British law to ensure the legislation remains the same after Britain leaves the EU. It is however expected overtime that these rights will be altered but to what extent depends on many factors, not least which party is in power. In the short-term it is unlikely any party would want to alter the rights of workers by repealing any of the more popular EU directives.
Post Brexit optimism
While the Brexit deal and ultimately if Brexit will even happen remains uncertain, Optimal PBS Recruitment has seen no shortage of new jobs and many companies looking to expand their workforce since the vote to leave. At this point it is fair to say the outlook can change radically from day to day, the recruitment industry’s overall view remains positive with 71% of talent professionals feeling ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ confident about their ability to recruit the right talent at this time.
To discuss how Brexit could affect your business, contact Optimal PBS Recruitment today by calling 01422 897 673 or emailing recruitment@optimal-hr.co.uk
