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UK graduate labour market update: 27 June

June 2022

Charlie Ball takes a look at reports examining careers provision for young people interested in 'green careers' and the barriers to an inclusive workforce

The latest rapid indicators of economic and social change are now available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS):

  • The total volume of online job adverts decreased by 5% and was 123% of its February 2020 pre-coronavirus average level on 17 June 2022.
  • Of the 28 categories, 22 saw a decrease in the number of online job adverts on Friday 17 June 2022 when compared with the previous week. The largest decrease was in 'IT, computing and software' (14%), followed by 'wholesale and retail' (13%). The largest increases compared with the previous week were in 'travel and tourism' and 'transport, logistics and warehouse', both rising by 3%.
  • Online job adverts decreased in all English regions and UK countries from the previous week. The largest decrease occurred in London where they fell by 6%. Despite the weekly decreases, all English regions and UK countries remain above their February 2020 average level.

The Quarterly Agents Summary of Business Conditions from the Bank of England is out:

  • Supply disruption has increased in recent months, following a modest decline at the beginning of the year. In May, firms estimated that 17% of their non-labour inputs had been disrupted, the highest level since November 2021. Disruption over the past three months has been particularly acute in the manufacturing, construction, and accommodation and food sectors, with over 20% of non-labour inputs being disrupted, on average. There is a strong positive relationship between supply disruption and both realised and expected unit cost growth, suggesting that this disruption is one important factor driving up firms' costs.
  • In addition to supply disruption, recruitment difficulties have also increased further from already elevated levels. In May, 63% of businesses reported finding it 'much harder' than normal to recruit new employees. These difficulties are widespread, with over 45% of firms in every sector finding recruitment being 'much harder' than normal in the last three months

Most young people surveyed feel inspired to pursue a career that can help the UK to reach net-zero and are strongly motivated by a desire to combat climate change.

The Learning and Work Institute, with WorldSkills UK, examines careers provision for young people considering a green career:

  • Most employers surveyed currently require green skills or expect to in the future.
  • For employers that require green skills or expect to, they are needed in a wide range of business areas and at all career levels, but most have had difficulty in hiring suitable candidates. One third of all employers who currently require or expect to require employees with green skills (33%) state that they need this for all levels of seniority. Small organisations (20%) were significantly more likely than the average (15%) to say that they require green skills in entry level roles. Large employers (28%), however, are more likely than average (21%) to say they require green skills in mid-level roles.
  • Green skills gaps are having a negative impact on employers' ability to meet their net zero targets and their ability to manage rising energy costs.
  • Most young people surveyed feel inspired to pursue a career that can help the UK to reach net-zero and are strongly motivated by a desire to combat climate change. 80% said it was very (28%) or quite (51%) important that they work for an organisation that is committed to tackling climate change. Nearly two thirds of young people (61%) also wanted to work in a role committed to tackling climate change.
  • Young people, particularly young women, lack awareness on green jobs and careers available, the skills employers require, and the relevant education and training pathways.
  • Young people lack awareness and understanding of 'green skills' and 'green jobs', despite their strong commitment to sustainability.
  • Young people and employers agree that the skills for net-zero will be important for future careers, but employers are unsure if the education system is equipping young people with them.

The Chartered Management Institute have published The Everyone Economy, looking at the barriers to an inclusive workforce. The CMI surveyed 2,066 UK employees (who were not in managerial roles):

  • 41% said they had witnessed colleagues being negatively affected by their background at work.
  • 41% said they had themselves been negatively affected by their identity.
  • Over half (52%) said they had at some point in their career been overlooked for a workplace opportunity because of their identity.
  • Nearly half (45%) say they have had to change something about themselves to get on in the workplace.
  • For all of these statistics, the percentages were higher for minority groups and particularly high for those from Black backgrounds, and those identifying as LGBTQ+.
  • 80% of respondents said their organisation either did not capture the socio-economic background data of applicants during the recruitment process, or they did not know if their organisation collected this data.
  • 67% of respondents said they did not know, or that their organisation has taken no action, in relation to Ethnicity Pay Gap (EPG) reporting and action plans which include data collection.
  • 39% of respondents said either their organisation does not collect data on disability in its workforce, or they did not know if their organisation collects this data.
  • Of those who thought disabled people were under-represented in their organisation, only 22% reported that their organisation was planning to take any steps to increase representation at any level in their organisation.
  • 26% of respondents said their organisation was taking active steps to increase the proportion of employees from a lower socio-economic background through its recruitment practices.
  • Of those who thought women were under-represented in their organisation, only 44% reported their organisation had an action plan to address the imbalance.
  • Of those who thought older workers were under-represented in their organisation, only 5% said the organisation was proactively trying to recruit older workers to diversify their workforce.
  • Less than half of respondents (47%) said their organisation was taking active steps to increase the proportion of employees from diverse ethnic groups through its recruitment practices.
  • Only 26% of respondents reported that training for managers on LGBTQ+ inclusion is provided by their organisation.

The UK's largest graduate recruiting cities are Glasgow up 64.5%, Birmingham up 58.7%, and Edinburgh up 46.6%.

NHS Employers have examined how current labour market trends might affect the NHS workforce:

  • After an initial sharp fall in employment during the first wave of the pandemic, there was a rapid recovery in employment figures in the latter half of 2021 when restrictions eased. However, that recovery appears to have levelled off and the number of those not looking for work and/or not available for work continues to rise.
  • At the start of the pandemic, rising inactivity was driven by young workers, and by older workers, where the rise in not looking for work was related to COVID-19 restrictions and increasingly, long-term ill-health. Since restrictions eased in the second half of 2021, younger people have increasingly come out of inactivity, but older workers continue to leave the labour market.
  • Signs are that job turnover remains well above pre-pandemic levels and may even be rising. This is likely to be fuelling record numbers of vacancies and labour shortages as organisations struggle to backfill posts from the (lessening) numbers of who are out of work, looking for and ready to work.

The National Foundation for Educational Research have looked at teacher supply in Wales:

  • The COVID-19 recession has led to an increase in the number of applicants to initial teacher education (ITE) courses in Wales. The number of ITE applications with accepted offers increased by more than 30% for primary courses and over 60% for secondary courses between 2019/20 and 2020/21.
  • Fewer teachers left teaching in 2020 as a result of uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

Indeed have another analysis of job ads in the UK and Ireland.

  • On 17 June, UK job postings were 39% above their pre-pandemic average, and Irish postings were 57% up.
  • The UK's eight largest graduate recruiting cities stand as follows: Glasgow up 64.5%, Birmingham up 58.7%, Edinburgh up 46.6%, Cardiff up 43.8%, Leeds up 35.2%, Manchester up 29.4%, London up 28.7%, and Belfast up 21%.
  • In Ireland, therapy postings are more than triple pre-pandemic levels, while social science, personal care & home health and veterinary are among the strongest performers. Job postings in the real estate and architecture categories stand below pre-pandemic levels.

And here is the current data on the labour market on the Isle of Man. The Manx sectors with the most vacancies at the moment are:

  • Health (197)
  • Catering and entertainment (152)
  • Retail distribution (100)
  • Tourist Accommodation (84)
  • E-gaming (65)
  • Law and accountancy (50)

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