The last few years have changed the employment landscape. There’s no one cause for this but rather a number of things:
- Covid – The obvious one. Lockdowns and restrictions had a big impact on our normal way of life. Unemployment rose sharp in the first few months as the Hospitality sector was unable to function normally, small businesses which relied on physical premises also took a big hit as they weren’t able to access the resources needed to keep up with the new normal. Some industries were able to capitalise in the new environment though, with digitally driven and delivery services seeing an increase in use due to everyone being stuck at home.
- Brexit – The logistics sector was hit hard due to stricter border controls introduced by Brexit. EU drivers needing a Visa to work in the UK deterred a large quantity of the HGV drivers that keep businesses running. Understandably, this led to a huge jump in employment opportunities for UK citizens, with a large number of roles needing to be filled for our new independent market. Unfortunately, not anyone can walk into a HGV role though & the funding is often expensive. It makes sense that most people aren’t willing to pay around £4000 and spend 8-10 weeks to get a job & it’s safe to assume that most job searchers want a job sooner rather than later.
- Working from home – As a way to adapt to restrictions, a number of businesses offered employees the opportunity to work from home. In many instances where productivity remained and sometimes increased, employees and employers alike began to ask why this can’t be the norm. Obviously for some industries this luxury isn’t viable – delivery services for example can’t operate out of a house unless you can pull it on a towbar. This could also explain why so many positions aren’t being filled. If you have the luxury of choice and the new way of working is more appealing than the alternative, why would people want to venture outside of their comfort zone?
As a company that is involved in recruitment, we get to see the ebb and flow of what people are applying for & any trends which come along with that. Based on what we know, we would suggest that experience is king, when it comes to applying for roles. Earning a qualification alongside is an advantage which will open more doors for you – that shouldn’t be overlooked. But keep in mind these results from a survey conducted by Glassdoor:
“Glassdoor’s Employment Confidence Surveys of 2014 and 2015 (Q1) reveal that close to 70% of the employees surveyed, feel the need for specialized on-the-job trainings even with their degrees. Nearly 48% of the people said their degrees were not relevant to their current jobs.”
The reality is that neither beats the other, overall. Holding a qualification will bump you up the list when people are sorting through applicants. If you’re being hired in a position where you are expected to start and hit the ground running, however, relevant on-the-job experience will be required.
So, all this considered during a peak in national vacancies, is now the time to start gaining experience across the board? Futureproofing your job prospects is never really a fools’ errand regardless but now more than ever is proving to be the smart option. Anything which could even slightly disrupt our day-to-day lives (a global pandemic for example) has shown to impact industries hard. Even if nothing like that were to happen again, the world of employment has for the most part, shifted it’s view when it comes to people holding experience across industries. At one time it was a sign of someone being unsuccessful and unable to hold down a job. Stability was paramount and it was common that you just worked your first job all your life. Since we’ve all witnessed how fragile our “way of life” is, perspectives have shifted now. I can personally attest to both sides of this argument, being a person who has worked in multiple industries. Some have given me praise in applications while others have shunned the fact that I have bounced around in roles varying from warehousing, to construction & from retail work to marketing – even self-employment.
So maybe now is the time to take the plunge and start futureproofing your job prospects. Conveniently for you we have a number of courses which can get you qualified and sat in front of an interviewer, in multiple industries:
*NEW TO 2022* Express Logistics – Express Logistics – Back2Work Complete Training (b2wcompletetraining.com)
Construction – Construction – Back2Work Complete Training (b2wcompletetraining.com)
Call Centre – Contact Centre Courses – Back2Work Complete Training (b2wcompletetraining.com)
Warehousing – Warehousing – Back2Work Complete Training (b2wcompletetraining.com)
Customer Service – Customer Service – Back2Work Complete Training (b2wcompletetraining.com)
