My article for this week's Herald and Post looks at how employers can think outside the box when looking to recruit staff...
In last week’s column I wrote about the growth over the last few years in the number of people known as ‘economically inactive’. This is not the same thing as unemployment – being out of work and actively seeking it – which is at historically low levels, and even lower in East Hants.
Economic inactivity is when you are of working age but not in a job, and not currently looking for one.
Locally, the 2021 census shows that, since the previous census in 2011, our employment rate in East Hampshire fell proportionately faster than either the national or South East averages (but remains above both).
Of course some people are not in work or seeking it through their own choice, for example because they’re raising a young family or they have decided to retire early.
But according to the Office for National Statistics, at the last count, there were 1.75m who are inactive but would like to be in work.
It is really important for those people that we do what we can to support them, but it’s also important for our economy. Finding staff to fill vacancies is the top issue I hear about from local businesses.
At the recent Business East Hampshire event on recruiting and retaining staff, I talked about different ‘pools’ of people employers can look towards.
One such is ex-offenders. Indeed there has been dramatic growth over the last two years in the proportion of prison-leavers who are in work six months later, as more and more firms look at this group. Surveys also show that, once in place, ex-offenders often have higher rates of retention.
A much bigger group is older people. Sometimes people are not in employment because they ‘fell out’ of work at some point – it may have been an illness, or looking after a family member, or simply that they moved house – and just never got back in.
When I was minister for employment, we worked on a strategy called ‘Fuller Working Lives’ (it has since changed its name to '50 Plus: Choices'). It was prompted by the discovery that, despite dramatic growth in longevity, on average men were actually leaving the labour market at a slightly younger age than in 1950.
Working with leading employers, we drew out a simple model for firms – Retain, Retrain, Recruit; and for individuals – Rethink, Refresh, Reinvent.
Retention comes first. Often people are looking for flexible work options, either for work-life balance, or perhaps to fit with a grandparental caring role. So it is better to identify this before they leave. A ‘mid-career MOT’ can help encourage the employee to look at their retirement aspirations, and go through options. Investment in occupational health support can also make a big difference.
Sometimes once people have retired, they discover it isn’t quite as they imagined. Writing out to people a few months after leaving can yield a surprising number interested in returning part-time.
At the other end of the age scale, more and more employers are focusing strongly on career-starters. Reformed Apprenticeships are a very popular route, and EHDC offers extra support to employers locally. Alternatively, the extensive industrial placement in new T Levels also acts as a great way to get an early look at the talent pipeline, as well as developing youngsters’ workplace and ‘soft’ skills.
There have been big government announcements lately on both support for people out of work through sickness or disability, and on childcare.
The biggest observation I made in my time at the DWP was that the principal currency in the labour market is confidence. Not only the business confidence of the employer who wants to expand, but the confidence of would-be employees to put themselves forward.
The longer someone has been away from the labour market, the more significant loss of confidence can become. It can be truly daunting, for practical as well as emotional reasons, to enter a new workplace after a long stretch. The furthest-thinking employers go to great lengths to help people see what they CAN do, which is good for them both, and us all.
