We hear a lot about redundancies, companies slashing hiring initiatives, and job seeker nightmares. But what does it actually mean if you’re thinking about finding a new role?
With 27 years of talent experience under her belt, Lisa MacLaren, Redeployable’s Chief Commercial Officer, shares her two-pence about the job market.
Is it as bad as we think?
According to estimates from the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) latest Labour Force Survey (November ‘23 to January ‘24), the number of payrolled employees in the UK increased by 1.3% between January ‘23 and January ‘24. However, the rate of annual growth is decreasing, which is an indicator of a ‘stagnant’ rather than buoyant economy.
Headline stats for those aged 16-64 years old estimate:
- 75% were employed
- 3.9% are unemployed
- 21.8% are classified as economically inactive
- 1.585 million are ‘claimants’, an increase of 85,800 in the past year.
Of the 37 million UK employees on LinkedIn, 5.3 million are currently open to work (14%).
Approximately 23,500 people were made redundant in January ‘24, across 348 employers. Of these, the greatest number were in Hotels & Restaurants, Banking & Finance and Manufacturing. The highest concentration nationally were in London, West Midlands, South East and South West.
What does it mean for current and future work?
The impact of AI: There is much talk about the impact of AI on the future of work. There is no doubt AI is changing the way we work and think about work, at a pace we can barely keep up with. AI technologies are complex, bring a mix of innovation, efficiency and turmoil. The truth is, we don’t really know how AI will shape the work we do and how we do it as we’ve not yet seen its true power or potential. Take ChatGPT alone - that was not even a ‘thing’ a year ago for most of us. Now it’s everywhere, to the point where it’s becoming hard to distinguish ‘human input’ from ‘machine intelligence’.
ChatGPT tells me AI’s impact on the UK labour market can be summarised as:
- Automation of Tasks
- Shift in Job Roles
- New Job Creation
- Increased Productivity and Economic Growth
- Skills Gap and Training Needs
- Impact of Specific Sectors
- Ethical and Regulatory Considerations
We can’t dig into each of these today, but I feel a ‘part 2’ is necessary to do so.
What we can summarise is “while AI offers promising opportunities for economic growth and innovation in the UK, its impact on the labour market is complex and requires proactive strategies to mitigate potential disruptions and ensure that workers are equipped with the skills needed for the future of work.” (credit to ChatGPT!)
My take is that we should embrace AI, Augmentation and Automation. In reality, we have no choice but to as it’s here now and, like all innovations before it (Steam, Electricity, the Internet), it will evolve into something few have dreamed of.
Flexible working
I have lost count of the articles I’ve read about ‘the benefits of flexible working’, how ‘remote working’ is a ‘must have’, and how the 4-day week is the next best thing. Frankly, they are all only as good as the environment in which they operate and the support those workers are given to truly benefit from these work patterns.
Remote work is not possible for a huge % of roles and likely never will be.
Flexible working is only truly flexible if you can dictate your hours/ days and place of work, and for most organisations this is not the case. That said, the advances (long overdue) in more people-friendly schedules and working terms since Covid forced our hand and have been well received.
The benefits are clear to see:
- Those with caring responsibilities, outside work passions and living further from cities have had access to more opportunities than before.
- Employers have recognised that ‘physical presence’ in an office is not an indicator of people being ‘fully present’ at work.
- Providing increased flexibility has improved engagement and satisfaction at work.
- More people have been able to achieve better work like ‘integration’, increasing well-being and, in some cases, reducing caring costs.
On the other hand, some companies have ‘rolled-back’ these changes in the last 6 months, putting increasing pressure on workers to return to the office. Those forcing full-time return are struggling to retain their staff. Those failing to recognise the ‘human impact’ of less flexible working will struggle to hire the best talent, who have choice and in the main choose greater control over their lives.
Uncertain market conditions
The macro environment is not conducive to stability. The economic forecasts are still ‘tentatively positive’ at best. There are still millions of people seeking work. They are all navigating a recruitment landscape that has changed beyond all recognition, and is hard for professional recruiters to keep up with so I have great empathy for candidates who are caught up in the chaos. I can’t hope to ‘explain’ this here, but what I can say is that I’ve not seen anything like it in my time in the industry. We have the ‘perfect storm’ of raised unemployment, high cost of living, significant pressure on previously ‘flying’ industries, like technology, banking and manufacturing.
But all is not lost. There are some positives. Innovation is booming.
ONS recorded over 850,000 new companies were registered in 2023. An increase of 75,000 on last year. This ambition and entrepreneurial spirit is evidenced by a report from Enterprise Nation in January 2024, which found that 35 per cent of UK adults were considering starting a business in 2024. Of these, 40 % were starting their own business to supplement their full and part-time incomes. The ‘side-hustles’ and ‘squiggly careers’ are becoming more attractive, especially for those wanting more control over how they spend their time and investing (personally) in the things they care about. They are also often a necessity, as wages fail to keep up with inflation.
Our own Founder, Ben Read, is a perfect example of this. His lived experience, and those of his friends and colleagues in the military, were the catalyst to him creating Redeployable. He recognised that service leavers and veterans were often underutilised and under-rewarded, despite their incredible transferable skills. Redeployable was started to address a gap in the market and provide support to this amazing talent population.
Adaptability and resilience
Navigating the challenging and uncertain job market conditions takes immense adaptability, resilience and perseverance. Luckily, these are core competencies that Service Leavers and Veterans have in spades. You have to deploy all manner of tactics to succeed.
Opt for Quality over Quantity
Networking, leveraging trusted partners, being targeted in your job search and open to options that may not have been ‘obvious’ at first will broaden your scope and increase your chances of success.
- Focus on quality over quantity. Less is sometimes best.
- Don’t apply for all jobs that look ‘okay’. Target those that truly excite you and where you can see yourself making a difference.
- Tailor your application (where the process allows).
- Search for useful contacts and ask for introductions to people working in those companies, especially Veterans, who will be happy to share insights and put a word in for you with the recruiting or HR team.
- If you are unemployed, use your time wisely. Invest in developing your skills. Identify your skill gaps and search for courses which can help fill them.
There are plenty of ‘free’ options out there, so don’t be enticed by expensive packages that promise the earth, for a fee! Here are a few to explore:
- Coursera
- Open University
- Future Learn (best for STEM courses)
- Udacity (best for IT courses)
- Codecademy (best for Coding)
- Udemy (best for Business Courses)
Traditional recruitment is struggling to keep pace - with automation, parsing, AI screening, bots and the ‘drive’ towards minimal human interaction by many employers making the environment tricky for candidates.
You have to be purposeful about how you spend your time, careful who you engage with, and strategic in choosing partners to support you. There are some wonderful recruiters out there, who have candidates' best interests in mind. There are companies like ours who are passionate and committed to making a difference and supporting your journey.
Success stories?
There are many, and you could be the next one.
For some inspiration, have a look at some of the case studies on our website.
These people took chances, stretched themselves, leveraged their connections and tried different ways to find their next opportunity. Much to learn from them and plenty for them to be proud of.
We’d love you to be our next ‘featured candidate’, so please get in touch with on of the Redeployable team to share your story and inspire others.
