It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Paul Brammer from recruitment and talent solutions firm Nicholas Associates Group.
Even though unemployment is forecast to rise this year, recruiting talent with the right skills and experience will remain a challenge for some sectors. This will cause further cost pressures for businesses who are having to pay inflated salaries to attract people. However there are some employers who are beginning to say they will not pay these inflated salaries and are developing other ways to fill the void such as through automation. So this wage pressure may settle down depending on how the economy fares.
The search for talent is also exacerbated by the fact that candidates are very cautious about changing jobs and those with the right skills and experience are not being tempted to move employer. Instead they are placing long term job security over financial gain.
Whilst hybrid working will continue to be a popular request from employees, we will continue to see a growing trend from employers who want to see their people back in the office working together, socialising and building relationships. Hence companies will place more emphasis on digital transformation and being able to offer workplaces that people want to visit.
