The new ‘NIJobs.com Job Report’ with Ulster Bank is asking companies to be more upfront with potential employees regarding salary to help tackle wider concerns around ongoing skills shortages, talent attraction and retention.
Salary is a significant factor for candidates searching for roles but around 80% of businesses in Northern Ireland currently advertise positions without information on pay.
NIJobs.com data from the Q4 Report indicates that candidates engage more positively with recruiters who provide this valuable information. 47% of jobseekers state that salary is essential when it comes to job descriptions and 62% of jobseekers say a higher salary is a key motivator for moving roles.
Skills Shortages
Skills shortages will feature once again for the year ahead particularly in areas such as IT and technology. The pace of hiring continues to ease but remains relatively strong across most sectors. Advertised vacancies fell by 6% q/q in Q4, marking the third consecutive quarter of decline.
Seventeen of the thirty-two employment categories posted quarterly declines in listings but eleven of the thirty-two employment categories still recorded growth in job listings relative to the same quarter last year.
Sam McIlveen, General Manager of NIJobs.com comments on the data:
“Long-standing concerns around attracting, recruiting and retaining talent are likely to continue across a range of sectors here.
“Positive employer branding plays a vital role in tackling challenges and salary transparency must play its part in this. While salary clarity isn’t the only consideration for candidates, it is a significant one and can make the difference between someone deciding to engage with a job or not.
“Providing full information on the role will undoubtedly help attract the right candidates from the outset. It’s important that recruiters also stress the benefits they offer in particular healthcare, pension, holidays, duvet days, charity days, training and long-term employee development. It’s an extremely competitive job market for talent. Employers must convince a candidate to apply for their roles rather than opting for a business rival.”
From this year (2020), pay transparency is also legally required for companies with more than 250 employees, disclosing the ratio of CEO pay to staff at every level. In addition, all large companies must demonstrate how directors take employee and other stakeholder interests into account and report on corporate governance arrangements.
Sam believes that improving employer branding, as well as recent government developments, mean that Northern Ireland can evolve further as a leading place to invest in, work and live.
“The ‘New Decade, New Approach’ deal with the restored NI Assembly outlines a number of areas for investment- infrastructure, education and technology. This reinforces the potential we have to attract global brands and talent.
“Northern Ireland is also increasingly becoming a more tempting long-term option for jobseekers. Talented employees are being priced out of more expensive cities like Dublin, so companies must seize the opportunity to sell this region an attractive lifestyle option offering improved quality of life, affordable housing, excellent education system, more accessible commuting options and more disposable income. “
Recruitment Trends and Insights
The ‘NIJobs.com Job Report ‘with Ulster Bank, now in its second year provides valuable insight into the economic environment alongside recruitment trends and the types of roles jobseekers are searching for online.
Richard Ramsey, Ulster Bank’s Chief Economist provides further context: “Northern Ireland’s labour market continued to break records into the autumn months. Unemployment fell to a new low of 2.3% and employment hit a record high of almost 783k jobs in Q3. That follows 15 consecutive quarters of growth. Looking at the private sector specifically shows a winning streak that is even longer, extending to 21 quarters.
“Business conditions have deteriorated markedly in the second half of 2019 but this has yet to filter through to the official statistics in a meaningful way. However, there have been a number of firms closing at the turn of the year.
“While the overall number of listings fell to an eight-quarter low in Q4 2019, a number of employment categories also posted two-year lows (8 quarters). These included: Accountancy & Finance; Production, Manufacturing & Materials; Retailing, Wholesaling & Purchasing; and IT. Advertised positions within Science, Agriculture, Pharmaceutical & Food; and Sales occupations also hit new series lows. Meanwhile the Social, Charity and Not for Profit sector has seen listings slump to a three-year low.
“The Nursing, Healthcare & Medical category posted the most significant increase of all the employment categories in Q4. Indeed it was one of only three of the top 10 employment categories to record growth in the fourth quarter (Engineering and Construction, Architecture & Property were the other two). Skills shortages within the health service have been well documented. The forthcoming boost to NHS spending, particularly in relation to nursing, could well see a pick-up in vacancies this year.
“The IT sector recorded its fourth successive quarterly fall in the number of job listings. Nevertheless, the sector still accounts for more vacancies than any other sector. While just 1-in-50 of all NI jobs are in IT the sector still accounts for 1-in-10 of all advertised vacancies.
“Looking ahead the labour market is set to weaken in coming quarters given the marked deterioration in business conditions that have occurred at the start of 2020. The date points to a further softening in the labour market in the months ahead. While some clarity on Brexit has emerged in recent months uncertainty will continue to dampen investment plans and staffing levels for some time yet.”