Private Sector more optimistic about creating jobs
Here at Wellingtone, it was a positive April, and we continue to be cautiously optimistic for an equally successful May and June. According to the CIPD , job prospects in general are improving as the UK emerges from recession, the public sector in undoubtedly bracing itself for “widespread” cuts, but the good news is that recruitment in private companies is expected to “surge in the second half of 2010″.
At Wellingtone, we are seeing a marked improvement for project management recruitment prospects in many sectors, but the conditions for job seekers are likely to remain difficult for the immediate future, with strong interest in good candidates balanced by relatively few positive hiring decisions and significant numbers of delayed or postponed ( as opposed to cancelled ) hires. We continue to see a steady but noticeable growth in the number and variety of vacancies coming across our desks, but there is no doubt there is a marked difference in the number of new vacancies in London and Southern England, as opposed to the rest of the UK.
The private sector is more optimistic about creating jobs in the coming months, but those in the public sector are understandably much more pessimistic, and this is fuelling a move away from the public sector for many employees into a project management career in the public sector, and in the longer term this will present huge challenges to public sector managers in their attempt to keep their key employees and retain their project management capabilities. Naturally, this trend further increases the already fierce competition in the private sector where it seems that while the majority no longer face the threat of potential overwhelming unemployment, pay freezes and lack of promotion are still real issues for many. Indeed many of those people we are successfully placing in the next roles are making a choice based on the role content and career development prospects, rather than salaries and rates and I would caution against unrealistic rate expectations from both contractors and permanent at this time.
PM professionals have been through a lot this past year, many falling victim to large-scale redundancies for the first time, and for those still in jobs so it’s not surprising many are still feeling unsettled. The majority of project management professionals have not received a salary increase for over a year, and more worryingly many still do not expecting a salary increase this year. This is reflected in an ongoing squeeze on contractor rates, and this downward pressure is further driven by a trend towards a realignment of personal expectations from those who have been seeking a role for six months or more, and indeed one of the most distressing features of the current market is the number of excellent PM professionals who are still facing fierce competition an uphill battle for the next role.
So in brief, the volume of opportunities is increasing, but if anything the competition is more fierce than ever and rates are still coming under severe pressure, both by competition for roles from the longer term unemployed and from the employers demanding more for less. Those now finding success in the job market are often having to be more realistic with their short term expectations, often making a choice based on financial reward versus role content and opportunity, while continuing to apply a targeted and selective approach to the way they present their CVs, and the types of roles they apply for.
Tags: Project Management Recruitment, Project Recruitment
