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30 April 2024

APSCo launches manifesto to beat the skills crisis

The launch of the document took place at an invitation-only event at the House of Commons last week, with government ministers and a cross-party group of members of parliament and peers in attendance.

The trade body for professional recruitment has urged policy makers across the major parties to ensure they adopt its recommendations which are designed to tackle the country’s professional skills crisis, raise collective productivity and drive economic growth.

According to APSCo, the four key opportunities that need to be capitalised on include:

  • Creating the right workforce regulatory environment: through regulatory reforms which protect individual workers, drive economic growth and maximise productivity. This includes excluding highly paid contractors from the Agency Worker Regulations 2010 and reviews of Off Payroll IR35 and the employment status of the professional self-employed.
  • Supporting workforce skills growth, training and talent development: through access to more flexible modular training under the Apprenticeship Levy and a greater focus on financial support for regional hubs. Access to international skills also needs to be extended through flexible short-term ‘project’ visas for highly skilled workers and a greater focus on skilled immigration in trade deals.
  • Introducing policies that drive fairness and inclusion in the new world of work: to ensure legislation matches the pace of change in hiring and working practices. That includes legislating to boost ‘skills-first hiring’ practices and encourage people to rejoin the workforce through tax incentives on occupational health, mental health and health screening budgets.
  • Harnessing technology for the skills revolution: to drive economic growth, which includes building on the existing ‘AI in recruitment’ guidance to deliver recognised and auditable standards. Any such regulation should be in alignment with global directives and needs to hold AI developers and technology providers accountable for transparency and fairness in their products.

Tania Bowers, global public policy director at APSCo, said: “Research from our members, trusted partners and global strategic partners such as LinkedIn are all pointing to the same issue in the UK: a severe shortage of professional skills that is only growing. Businesses are facing a critical lack of workers, with IT, digital, engineering and healthcare some of the hardest hit remits. 

“For the country to remain competitive, our labour market needs to be world-leading, fair and flexible. Our manifesto outlines exactly how that can be achieved. In what is already proving to be a highly contentious general election year, it is crucial that the major parties have a plan in place to beat the skills crisis that’s prevailed for far too long in the UK.

“We’ve already started engaging with key policy makers across the core political parties – many of whom were in attendance at the launch event itself – and it’s encouraging to note that these recommendations are aligned to the thinking of many MPs and policy influencers. Politicians of all parties recognised that the recruitment and outsourcing sectors play a crucial role in the strength of the labour market and the UK economy. We are pleased to hear that APSCo’s manifesto aligns with the core ideas of the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democratic and all parties that are looking to retain seats in Westminster,

Ann Swain, global CEO at APSCo, added: “I’m delighted at the responses to our manifesto launch. Thanks to our hosts Mark Pawsey MP and Peter Dowd MP, and Kevin Hollinrake MP, the minister for enterprise, markets and small business at the Department for Business and Trade who gave some valuable insights. I’m delighted that they all found our manifesto to be appropriately early and there was a huge amount of interest in our recommendations, particularly around Apprenticeship Levy reform and skills.”

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Newby, who is responsible for putting together the Party’s Manifesto, said “he was keen to hear more about our thoughts on talent, whilst Baroness Verma, a Conservative Peer with a keen interest in diversity, inclusion and women in business spoke with myself, keen to know more about our members’ activities in this area. 

“As (Kevin) Hollinrake, the minister said, private enterprise is the strong horse that pulls the cart of the economy and SMEs are critical to its success.

“Recruitment and staffing outsourcing are UK success stories – delivering innovation, expertise, opportunity and growth to the UK’s workforce. Working closely with companies and workers alike, APSCo UK and OutSource members are central to the growth and productivity of the UK’s key economic sectors. 

“But the UK economy and its staffing sector face significant challenges. Technology is changing the nature of the skills we need across the economy; AI and innovation is disrupting resourcing, with new jobs emerging requiring new skills from the labour market. 

“Equally, there are some long-standing challenges that make staffing the UK’s professional economy more difficult, from a limited supply of highly qualified talent to the complex and outdated workplace regulatory environment. Our Tackling the Professional Skills Crisis manifesto outlines how these challenges can be faced head on.”

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L-r: Ann Swain, CEO, APSCo and Kevin Hollinrake, minister for enterprise, markets and small business at the Department for Business and Trade ©APSCo

25 April 2024
Life sciences, IT/Telecoms

NEW TO THE MARKET: 22-26 APRIL 2024

• Manchester-based tech start-up Flowlio has launched its project management SaaS solution and project management fundamentals training course. It is designed to empower organisations to deliver project outcomes. The cloud solution introduces a new approach that provides business assurance while its fundamentals training provides essential skills and tools which support people to collaboratively deliver effective change projects.

• Hays, a leading provider of workforce solutions and recruitment services, is rolling out the Sonder early intervention platform to enhance support for its employees in the UK and Ireland. This initiative aims to streamline access to 24/7 integrated medical, mental health and personal safety assistance. Just eight weeks after its implementation, 34% of Hays employees across the UK and Ireland have activated the service, marking a six-fold increase compared to Hays’ previous wellbeing offerings.

The Sonder app offers immediate access to a dedicated team of safety, medical and mental health professionals through chat messaging or phone calls, ensuring timely assistance for individual employees and their immediate family members at the touch of a button.

• Global talent solutions provider The IN Group has opened new offices in Miami, Florida and Denver, Colorado as part of a major US expansion drive for talent brands Investigo and BioTalent. The new offices will be led by medical communications expert Elizabeth Bevan in Miami, and Jessica Petersen and Trey Hanley in Denver, increasing the company’s US headcount to 53. These offices will help The IN Group better serve customers in these regions alongside other locations in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and San Diego.
 

19 April 2024
IT/Telecoms

Two US locations offer a new Scene for tech recruiter

According to a company statement, the new office locations will support Scene’s strategic expansion into the US and enable the company to better serve its US-based clients, as well as other clients hoping to enter the US market.

Three experienced employees have relocated to the US, including Pete Miller, Scene’s founder. The team brings with them a combined 30 years’ experience in talent, and a track record in advising early-stage companies on how to build high-performing teams.

Spearheading the US launch from New York, Miller says: “I’m excited to be driving our US expansion at this important time… I’m looking forward to growing the team to build on this success and establish Scene as a leading talent and growth partner to fast-growing technology companies in North America.”

In tandem with the New York office launch, Sandra Arezina will lead Scene’s go-to-market team in the US in Los Angeles. And joining her in the Los Angeles office is Ellie Shaxon, head of product, US.

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17 April 2024
Transport & logistics, Engineering

British Airways Speedbird Pilot Academy programme opens for new applications

This follows an unprecedented response to its first year intake, which saw more than 20,000 applications for just 100 places.

The Speedbird Pilot Academy initiative, part of the airline’s £7bn investment across the business, is aimed at levelling the playing field and making a career as a commercial airline pilot a realistic option for all, removing the previously prohibitive cost barrier of individuals having to pay for their training themselves.

Simon Cheadle, British Airways’ director of flight operations, said: “We know from the overwhelming response and high standard of applications we had in the first year of Speedbird Pilot Academy, that there are a lot of talented people who just need a little bit of help to achieve their dream of becoming a commercial airline pilot – and we are pleased to give them that opportunity.

“We want to continue to attract the very best flying talent and our investment in this programme will help to ensure our future generation of pilots for years to come.”

Candidates will be able to apply for up to 100 places on the programme – that will see the approximate £100k cost of their training covered entirely by the airline – through the British Airways careers site.

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18 March 2024
Creative/Digital/Media, Engineering, Industrial/Manufacturing, IT/Telecoms, HR, Graduates/Apprentices/School leavers, Apprentices/Grads/School leavers

NEW TO THE MARKET: 18-22 MARCH 2024

• The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has introduced an online Learning Hub designed to assist recruitment firms in managing staff training while empowering employees to take charge of their own development. The new platform provides a “smoother” experience for delegates, offering access to all training documents, activities and latest course information in one place, allowing individuals greater autonomy over their career development. The Learning Hub also enables managers to monitor and review current training programmes to ensure team members are on track with development targets.

• Babcock International Group (Babcock), a defence company, has created more than 1,000 new jobs at its advanced manufacturing and shipbuilding facility in Rosyth to support the delivery of programmes and development of its workforce capabilities. The new job opportunities include 400 apprenticeships, 350 production support operatives, skilled engineers, tradespeople and graduates. The roles will support programmes like the Type 31 frigate design and build programme.

• Professional services firm Cognizant has partnered with digital skills training provider QA to develop an MSc level apprenticeship programme aimed at increasing the number of women in leadership positions within tech companies. The new programme has been designed to develop wide-ranging technical excellence as well as executive leadership skills through a work-based learning program organised by QA.

• Jobmatch Sweden has entered into a new partnership agreement with Broadwing Recruitment, a staffing organisation based in Malta. This collaboration allows the utilisation of Jobmatch’s DNV-certified work psychological tests in Malta and Luxembourg. As a result, Jobmatch has extended its presence to a total of eight countries.

4 March 2024
Transport & logistics, Banking/Financial services, Executive search, IT/Telecoms, HR, Hospitality/Leisure, Accounting/Finance

NEW TO THE MARKET: 4-8 MARCH 2024

• Recruitment agency Connect Appointments has relocated its Edinburgh branch as part of its continued growth and expansion. The branch was initially located within the company’s Livingston office, but due to an increase in business the decision was made to relocate to the South Gyle area of Edinburgh. The team of experienced recruiters specialise in a range of industries including production and manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, and food and drink.

• Lancaster-based Eventus Recruitment Group has launched a financial services recruitment division. Duncan McIlroy, who has over 20 years’ experience in financial services recruitment, will head up the new division. He will connect professionals with financial services businesses across the North-West. McIlroy will cover all recruitment and jobs within pensions and retirement, financial planning, investments, mortgages, personal protection and employee benefits.

• Global executive search firm Granger Reis has opened a new office in Manchester with the launch of its Digital Infrastructure Practice. The new Granger Reis office is in the Globe & Simpson Building on Quay Street, and the eight-strong team is headed up by digital infrastructure (DI) leadership expert Steve Dargan. Dargan brings 17 years’ experience in the technology sector and moved to Granger Reis following a five-and-a-half-year tenure with executive search firm Korn Ferry.

• Global mobility leader Localyze has partnered with StackOne to launch integrations to help HR teams save resources on staff relocations, offsites and workations. The new integrations aim to simplify processes for global HR teams and employees, reducing data errors and enhancing productivity.

• The Intersection Network has launched a new online diagnostic tool to help organisations assess the maturity of their talent acquisition diversity & inclusion efforts. Designed for talent acquisition, HR and diversity professionals, the ‘Diversity and Inclusion Talent Acquisition Maturity Assessment’ provides a benchmark for measuring progress on diversity & inclusion initiatives.

28 February 2024
HR

Government committee says HMRC ‘is apparently struggling to cope’

Describing its customer services as “at an all-time low”, continuing a five-year decline, the report goes on to say that “HMRC is apparently struggling to cope”, citing a dual rise in the taxpayer population and the complexity of people’s tax affairs.

As many in the contracting and recruitment sectors would expect, the organisation’s handling of IR35 off-payroll rules issues came under significant fire in the report, which stemmed from a Public Accounts hearing in December 2023 to scrutinise HMRC’s performance. The PAC said it was “concerned” that HMRC’s approach to tackling the IR35 off-payroll rules was “deterring legitimate economic activity, and that a lack of confidence in how to apply the rules, together with HMRC’s tough approach when taxpayers make mistakes, is unnecessarily putting companies off using contractors”.

The PAC has recommended that HMRC provides the Committee with the number of active litigation cases for IR35 and the amount of tax at risk and assess the impact of HMRC's approach to administering IR35 reforms on the use of contractors in different sectors.

Commenting on the IR35-related segment of the report, Dave Chaplin, CEO of Contractor Shield, said: “We currently have a ‘bad policing’ problem with IR35, where the IR35 tax police are writing their own rule book, and not following the law, leaving taxpayers with the only option of appealing to an expensive and costly tax tribunal, which many cannot afford. 

“IR35 tax cases are notoriously complex, demonstrated by the fact that in the last 24 IR35 tax tribunal hearings, HMRC has fielded barristers in all cases, except two.” He noted that this fact contradicted a claim by Jim Harra, permanent secretary and CEO, HMRC, in oral evidence to the PAC that in most hearings HMRC do not use legal counsel.

Key highlights of the PAC report include:

  • In 2022-23, 62.7% of callers waited more than 10 minutes to speak to an adviser, up from 46.3% in 2021-22.
  • At £814bn in 2022-23, tax revenues are at “a record high”, but HMRC still fell £2bn short of its £36bn target for compliance yield.
  • The number of criminal prosecutions by HMRC fell to 240 in 2022-23 from 691 in 2019-20.

The PAC also voiced its concern that HMRC needed “sufficient checks to protect taxpayers from being pursued too forcefully”. 

The committee further rounded on HMRC for “not taking seriously enough the distress caused to innocent citizens” when, for instance, companies use the wrong address to register their business. One particular case involved a taxpayer receiving more than 10,000 letters due to an agent registering companies for VAT at the taxpayer’s address rather than a serviced office that shared the same postcode. 

The committee said it had “repeatedly” raised this particular case but HMRC had been unable to prevent further letters being sent out to the wrong address, “including demands for payments”. 

“Even now, HMRC cannot guarantee further letters will not be sent,” the PAC said.

Further, the committee said: “We are not convinced that customers have an easily accessible and responsive route via which they can raise concerns about HMRC’s debt collection activities,” the committee said. Among its recommendations was that HMRC establish “a clear, easily accessible route” for taxpayers to report issues they face when dealing with debt collection agencies working on behalf of HMRC. Also, the committee said, HMRC must report back to them with a summary of “any issues raised and how HMRC has dealt with them”. 

Despite its strong criticism of HMRC, the report was described as “disappointing” for the contracting sector by Crawford Temple, CEO of Professional Passport, an assessor of payment intermediary compliance. 

“Whilst the report does reference HMRC taking action against promoting [tax avoidance] schemes, it has failed to recognise the importance of the use of data that HMRC already holds to identify these schemes quickly,” he said. “It also fails the contractors duped into these arrangements by not holding HMRC firmly to account on action against promoters rather than contractors.

“PAC exists to hold government departments to account so it is frustrating to see such a lack and depth of understanding that once again allows HMRC off the hook, rather than being challenged on its actions and performance.”

The full report can be accessed here.

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27 February 2024
Life sciences, Creative/Digital/Media, IT/Telecoms, Apprentices/Grads/School leavers

NEW TO THE MARKET: 26 FEBRUARY-1 MARCH 2024

• Workforce solutions and recruitment specialist Hays has partnered with tech firm Multiverse to co-create an apprenticeship academy. Hays is working with Multiverse to co-deliver the ‘Data Analysis and Business Transformation Academy’, which empowers undiscovered talent with skills such as data analytics, communication, machine learning and project management, through level 4 apprenticeships. Those who successfully join the academy are paid during the initial training period, which is front-loaded into a 10–12-week intensive bootcamp at the start of the apprenticeship.

After completing the bootcamp, individuals will work at Hays’ partner organisations for the remainder of their apprenticeship, gaining accelerated experience within a variety of different markets whilst delivering impact and transformation for the organisations they are deployed with. Each apprentice taking part in the academy will also have the opportunity to go on to gain further qualifications and secure a £10k bonus upon successfully completing the 2-year programme.

• Workforce solutions specialist SRG, powered by Impellam Group, has launched SRG Ireland. SRG Ireland will operate via expert in-country teams based in Dublin and Cork, and offer an agile workforce and specialist life sciences recruitment solutions. This expansion of the specialist recruiter for life science candidates in the UK, Europe and North America is designed to support local talent and global customers.

• Wave has relaunched its brand for candidate attraction solutions business. The firm says the relaunch helps to showcase its commitment to help recruitment agencies attract “top-tier candidates quickly and effortlessly”.

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