UK Business Facing A Recruitment Time Bomb, Claims Harvey Nash

UK Business Facing A Recruitment Time Bomb, Claims Harvey Nash

London, 12th June, 2007 – Speaking today at the annual CBI Business Summit, Albert Ellis, CEO of global professional recruitment consultancy, Harvey Nash, issued a wake up call to UK business to ‘modernise or miss out’ on the next generation of recruits and risk losing its competitive edge in the global economy. He warned businesses cannot afford to be complacent, but need to act now to ensure their future relevance to a global labour market.

In his speech, Ellis claims social, demographic and economic changes and inadequate educational programmes have caused an endemic skills shortage in the UK and left businesses trailing in the wake of increased global competition. He predicts:

* By 2030, 46% of the UK population will be aged 50 or over rising from 33% in 2002
* By 2012 skilled migrants will contribute £77bn to the UK economy and will indirectly support over 650,000 UK jobs
* By 2012 an extra 19,000 skilled IT and telecommunications workers will be needed as demand rises for e-commerce and software specialists – Vietnam is already producing graduates at a rate of 4:1 compared to the UK

Speaking at the summit he pointed to the ‘Generation Y’ mentality and skilled migration as the key to future business success: “In these times of growing global competition, ageing populations and economic migration, UK companies have never depended more on the knowledge and brainpower of their employees to stay competitive.

New generation recruits are mobile, connected and aspirational – to find the right people at the right time in the right place, employers need to adapt to this new model or risk being bypassed altogether. Yet, although the demands and habits of new recruits may be changing, the next generation is not the problem, it’s the solution. It will make the difference in overcoming these challenges and it is up to businesses to evolve in order to tap into that potential.

Similarly, far from undermining the UK labour market, migration is critical to future economic stability, helping to fill in the gaps created by older and under-skilled workforces. We should not be seeking to compete in every area of expertise across the global economy – if Vietnam and China can use their IT graduates to produce high quality software at very low cost we should harness that resource, not try and compete with it.

Businesses need to embrace skilled migration, recruit from wider social groups and offer flexible and rewarding working practices to attract and keep a new generation of talent and ultimately help safeguard the long-term competitiveness of the UK in the global economy.”

ENDS

Media Relations contacts:

Helen Bloxham
Firefly Communications
harveynashteam {at} fireflycomms(.)com
+44 (0)20 7386 1566
+44 (0)7748 794 264

Andy Bookless
Harvey Nash
andy.bookless {at} harveynash(.)com
+44 (0) 20 7333 2665

About Harvey Nash
Harvey Nash, a global professional recruitment consultancy and IT outsourcing service provider, is committed to delivering the very best talent and IT solutions to a broad base of international clients. The Group is a trusted advisor to some of the world’s leading business, governments and institutions. Operating from 30 offices covering the USA, Europe and Asia, its talented professionals pursue the highest levels of integrity and quality in providing a unique portfolio of services: executive search, interim management, IT and finance recruitment and IT outsourcing.