Past HR Network Event
30 November 2022
Slides:
Recovering from C-19 – key challenges- Tony Wilson IES – 30 Nov 2022
Tony Wilson, Director IES
The UK Labour Market – Darren Morgan ONS Presentation – 30 Nov – 2022
Darren Morgan, Director, Economic Statistics Production and Analysis
Event summary:
This network event was hosted by ONS and focused on trying to understand what’s happening in the labour market. Darren Morgan from the ONS highlighted some of the ways in which the labour market has changed unexpectedly since Covid – notably the reduction in the number of employed people despite record vacancy numbers. Much of this can be attributed to older workers dropping out of the workforce – either for early retirement or for health reasons.
Tony Wilson from IES followed up Darren’s presentation looking in more depth about reasons for work inactivity and some of the barriers for people. He spoke of how employers can respond – by being more inclusive in recruitment, offering more flexible working options and helping offer retraining and career progression. There is also a role for more support for returning to work – Tony’s Employment Commission will look at this question and whether current employment support provision does enough for inactive workers.
In the table discussions following the presentation some of the employers attending shared strategies they are trying to address these challenges. Around recruitment, these included making recruitment processes far leaner, removing jargon / simplifying language to avoid putting up barriers for people not familiar with the sector and trying to engage with local providers. Around retention people are trying to create career paths for people, offering rotational posts particularly at junior levels, introducing optional career reviews and informally supporting people who want to progress people internally.
For more help understanding how the labour market info affects your organisation or to understand organisational data you have around recruitment and retention, do get in touch.