Barker Ross chief executive Paul Ross and managing director, Antony Rowe led a team of twelve up Snowdon on Saturday 18th May to raise money for CHILDREN with CANCER.

Multi-recruiter, Barker Ross has pledged to raise £25,000 for the charity, CHILDREN with CANCER UK as it celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2013. The Snowdon walk is one of the many events staff are involved in to raise money for the charity.

CHILDREN with CANCER UK, which is also celebrating its 25th anniversary, is the leading national charity dedicated to the fight against childhood cancer through research and remains both focused and determined to eradicate all childhood cancers.

The team took six hours to reach the summit and raised £1650 for the charity.

Next Saturday 25th May, Paul Ross with be doing a sponsored abseil and on Sunday, Barker Ross are holding a family fun day in Milton Keynes.

Commenting on employment figures released today by the Office for National Statistics which show employment levels have dropped and that here has been a rise in the number of unemployed people, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s Head of Policy Kate Shoesmith said:

“Despite the numbers today, recruiters are telling us that they are seeing employer confidence returning, illustrated for instance by the hiring process starting to speed up and decisions about taking people on being made more quickly. We remain optimistic that there will be growth in the jobs market in 2013.

“Mark Hoban is right to acknowledge the growing number of vacancies out there. The emerging challenge that we have is that those people who are out of work, especially the long-term unemployed, don’t have the skills and experience necessary to take advantage of the jobs that are available.”

Today’s Queen’s Speech lived up to earlier expectations that it might be fairly ‘lightweight’– as much of the coalition government’s legislative programme had already been announced and the most important goal remains to reduce the deficit.

In many ways, this can be seen as good news for business as what our economy needs more than ever at this time is stability, rather than more legislation and potential bureaucracy.

One of the measures announced today was particularly pertinent to this agenda – the Deregulation Bill aims to reduce excessive bureaucracy and regulations placed upon businesses. We hope this will be good news for employers and we will work with government to ensure that, as they move forward with deregulation and the red tape challenge, they do not unwittingly cut the important safeguards and assurances that protect our industry. This is why we have argued so strongly against proposals to abolish the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI) during the recent consultation on the Conduct Regulations.

Another area that could be of real interest to recruiters, their clients and candidates is the announcement of a National Insurance Contributions Bill, which promises to help more small businesses and create jobs through a new Employment Allowance. It also intends to curb tax avoidance through an extension of General Anti-Abuse Rule to cover National Insurance Contributions. As the Treasury moves forward with these plans, we will seek to represent the views of our industry to ensure clarity and consistency surrounding the introduction of any new measures.

Not unexpectedly, the Immigration Bill has grabbed most of the headlines. This refreshed earlier announcements around a renewed focus on enforcement and prosecution and a limit to the benefits available to migrants. At the REC, we continue to be champions for an immigration policy which reflects the needs of our labour market, recognises the importance of an international and mobile workforce and ensures that the world sees Britain is open for business. At the same time we support effective enforcement in areas such as illegal working and will continue to promote the positive role that REC members play by ensuring that the right checks are taking place.

The proposed investment in infrastructure projects announced today, like High Speed 2 rail, energy and water could increase this requirement for skilled workers which is good news for specialist recruits. One of the challenges ahead is the shortage of skilled staff in key areas which is presents a potential barrier the growth and will be discussed in detail at our Skills Summit on June 26th. Equally, proposals around capping payments for Social Care and better support for working parents through improved Childcare are great in principle but miss the point about how we attract new people into these important industries.

One of the best ways to develop our skilled workforce is to start as early as possible – and education was also a feature of today’s Queen’s Speech. More rigorous assessment at GCSE level and an improved national curriculum continue to be the direction of travel for this government, plus there will be moves to ensure every young person goes into a traineeship, apprenticeship or onto university in the future. This again sounds good in principle but will only work if young people are prepared for the world of work through careers advice and guidance at school. This is why campaigns like our own Youth Employment Charter remain so important.

Finally, the Pensions Bill will see the introduction of a single-tier pension of £144 a week to replace the basic state pension and the retirement age raised to 67 by 2026. The REC will continue to support members through the changes created by auto-enrolment and these new measures, and members can learn more at one of our regional pension workshops.

REC chief executive Kevin Green said: “Speculation about a possible triple dip recession has not dissuaded employers from their plans to hire. Our latest data shows that most businesses intend to take on more permanent staff and continue to use temporary workers. Only a very small number said that they expect to reduce headcounts over the next few months.”

April’s JobsOutlook survey of employers reports that:

• 60 per cent plan to increase their permanent workforce over the next three months, 36 per cent will maintain current levels of staffing and only 4 per cent plan a reduction.
• 54 per cent plan to increase their permanent headcount over the next 4-12 months, 44 per cent will keep numbers the same and only 2 per cent plan a reduction.
• 39 per cent plan to increase the use of agency workers in the next three months, a further 50 per cent intend to maintain current temp numbers and only 11 per cent plan a reduction.
• 36 per cent plan to increase the use of agency workers in the next 4-12 months, an additional 55 per cent will maintain current levels and just 9 per cent plan a reduction.

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Summary:
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs – published today – provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.

To view the full article: Click here

REC director of policy Tom Hadley said: “Our latest data shows the majority of employers are planning to increase or maintain their permanent headcount over the next quarter which suggests that the jobs market will continue to outperform the rest of the economy in the short term. Although the ONS reported a rise in unemployment last week, it is important to emphasise that the employment figures were also up.

To view the full article: Click here

Summary:
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG Report on Jobs – published today – provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.

To view the full article: Click here

The REC’s JobsOutlook report indicates that the UK jobs market is likely to continue to grow over the next year, bringing positive news for people looking for temporary or permanent work. In fact, the report found that more than half of employers are planning to hire additional permanent workers in the next three months.

To view the full article: Click here

Traineeships are ultimately designed to help young people ages 16-24 to develop the skills required to secure a position in either an apprenticeship scheme or a job. The new programme is scheduled to begin in September 2013 and will include elements of intensive work skills training, English and Maths and high quality work placements.

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1) Have a Relevant CV
The biggest mistake to make is to include too much information in your CV. It is important to clear the clutter – remove the irrelevant information from your CV that is unspecific to the position you are applying for. You should instead, adjust your CV to the job you’re applying for each time to show that you have relevant experience. A couple pages and 12 years of relevant experience is more than enough to sell yourself to an employer.

2) Use Your Age to Your Advantage
Age can often be a useful tool when applying for jobs because it implies experience – with age comes dependability, wisdom, fortitude, a strong work ethic, dedication, promptness, a wealth of knowledge and skills, resilience, organisational and communication skills. You may also have good customer service skills and the ability to advise and train younger staff. For the employer your past behaviour is the best indicator of your future performance so think about key accomplishments throughout your career and use them to promote yourself.

3) Using Contacts
Often contacts and networking are invaluable to getting a job and it’s perfectly acceptable to contact former co-workers, employers, school friends and other colleagues you haven’t been in touch with for quite some time. (The use of sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn has made finding them a much easier task). Even if it doesn’t immediately lead to a job, broadening your contacts is always a positive step on your career ladder and you never know whom you’ll be put in contact with.
4) Being Unprepared for the Interview
Practice is key – if you haven’t interviewed in a while, it’s important to practice and review your interview skills. It would be useful to find a relatively young professional (recruitment consultants fit this bracket well) and ask them to interview you and give you feedback. It is important to listen and learn, as your interviewer will have more relative interview experience in recent years than you will.

5) Don’t Have an Attitude
Although it may at times be tempting, one of the most damaging things to do in an interview is acting as if you are too good to be interviewed by an interviewer who’s younger than you or showing up with your own personal grudge or grievance. It’s easy to think –“I’ve done it all before” and “it should be done a different way” but if you really want the job these thoughts need to be left at home and you need to be fully focussed on getting the job.

6) Don’t be Afraid to Embrace the Internet
Computer skills and the ability to utilise the internet in order to get a job is becoming increasingly important and it is crucial to take advantage of social media websites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) – these social media platforms show that regardless of your age you are up to date with the latest technology. This will aid you no end for convincing interviewers that you have the ability to work and interact with younger co-workers and excel in today’s constantly changing workplace.

7) Feelings of Being Overqualified
Often when employers see candidates applying for a position that is below their experience level, questions immediately arise. It is therefore important that if you’re going for a position with a lower wage or responsibility than you’ve experienced in previous jobs, it’s your job to explain in your cover letter and the interview why this is. For example: “What is most important to me in at this stage of my life is having the ability to work in a company where there is outstanding opportunity and where I believe that my relevant skills and experience will make a real impact.”
However if being overqualified for a position is really a pill that you can’t swallow, there are alternatives such as, targeting non-profit organisations where your experience will make a significant impact, or applying to small companies that are looking to expand and could use your expertise in order to do so. The public sector also uses application forms that ensure equality – so older candidates have an equal chance of getting their foot in the door as any other candidate.
As a multi-sector recruiter, looking for both temporary and permanent candidates, we are always looking for people of all ages to fill vacancies, as because we have excellent long term relationships with many of our clients, we can quickly assess which businesses might get the best out of you.
My last thought is not to dismiss temporary work whilst you are looking for a permanent position. Many of our temporary workers have found permanent positions, by starting off working for a company as a temp. It gives a company the chance to get to know you and you can demonstrate all the advantages your experience can bring to them.