Warning sign or time for a big rethink?

The number of job opportunities being created by the elusive Private sector is failing to keep up with expectations if the findings of a recent Reed Employment Agency study are to be believed.

Reed’s own index of vacancies fell 2% in comparison to March which was itself down against the figures supplied for February.

I’ve long been a fan of the Government’s plan to reduce the wage bill on the Public sector, however, I do feel that they need to do a lot more to stimulate the Private sector.

Visiting the Reed.co.uk website to view its homepage will itself highlight the extent of our ‘Private Sector’. We are so dependent upon  such a small number of firms to engage our Public sector workers that I fail to see how the two will marry in the middle.

I know that jobsites are not the greatest way of judging employment trends, but I think that Reed in particular showcase the problem brilliantly.

Their sponsored home page clients include:

Lloyds TSB

Churchill Insurance

Santander

Tesco

Direct Line

Nationwide Building Society

Now, I don’t think you have to be an employment trend expert to realize the problem with our ‘Private Sector’ it’s basically all linked to big, big companies who wish to grow their businesses even further. We’re talking the Big Supermarkets, the Big Banks, the Big Utility firms (Water Companies, Electricity, Gas)

Where are the great firms that we were promised would be born out of the recession? Where are the next big names coming from? Where are the firms that in five years time will be employing and creating opportunity for 5,000+ people? If we are to remain completely dependent upon Tesco and the ilk picking up our public sector fall out then surely we have to review the system?

The ex-Public Sector workforce present big problems for potential employers, in many cases the public sector workforce don’t get the Private sector, they don’t understand how it works and when you consider many people are going to be in their 40s and onwards its going to be a difficult lesson to learn.  They need to showcase commercial acumen, and embrace the values and the brand of their potential new employer.

I hope that Reed’s findings are only relevant because of the obscure nature of Easter and the Royal Wedding and we return to some normality, but I really home that we begin to see Leading Employers of the future, soon. Very soon.