Thursday, 09 February 2012

Recruiter
Christopher Goodfellow Editorial

Christopher started with Recruiter in April 2008, after spending a year freelancing in Canada for several newspapers and magazines. He writes the Sector Focus, Business Intelligence, People Moves and Opening Time columns and regular contributes to news, features and analysis both online and in print.

  • Bending with the market conditions

    4 May 2011

    A flexible approach to temporary workers in the job market is essential, especially in the current climate, reports Christopher Goodfellow, but do its pros outweigh its cons?

  • Number of recruiter administrations falls

    Mon, 7 Feb 2011

    A downward trend in the number of recruitment agencies being placed into the hands of administrators continued through the second half of 2010.

  • Big drop in administrations in Q3

    13 October 2010

    Fewer recruitment business failures is certainly good news but cashflow still needs to be kept in check. Christopher Goodfellow reports

  • Recruiter administrations rise

    Wed, 14 Apr 2010

    The number of recruitment agencies entering administration in the first three months of 2010 increased by  21% on the previous quarter, with 23 businesses failing.

  • Still no room for complacency

    14 April 2010

    The number of recruitment agencies that have gone into administration so far this year is up on Q4 last year. Christopher Goodfellow reports

  • Industry holds breath as AWD becomes law

    17 March 2010

    The legislation that will bring into effect the Agency Workers Directive and the biggest shake-up of temporary workforce regulation in years was expected to pass this week.

  • Recruiter administrations on rise

    Wed, 20 Jan 2010

    The number of recruitment agencies going into administration increased for the third consecutive six-month period at the end of 2009.

  • Administration tide still not gone out

    20-January-2010

    The number of recruiters going into administration in the last six months increased 27% on the same period in 2008. Christopher Goodfellow reports

  • HR must link more with business needs

    25-November-2009

    Human resources professionals must address businesses’ failure to manage human capital risk and ensure workforce capacity and capability.

  • HR crucial to recovery

    Mon, 23 Nov 2009

    Business success in the upturn will be defined by companies’ human resources functions, with top performing companies making long-term plans now, delegates at the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) conference were told.

  • Hunting down the rogue gangmasters

    24-June 2009

    Chairman of the GLA, Paul Whitehouse, spoke to Christopher Goodfellow about the authority’s approach

  • Bristol to 'bounce back briskly'

    24-June 2009

    Bristol-based recruiters believe theirs will be one of the fastest cities to recover economically.

  • Candidates caught in short-term trap

    24-June 2009

    Candidates are falling foul of the benefits trap, preventing recruiters from making placements because they are unable to take on temporary work.

  • Job creation will take time to improve, despite growth

    24-June 2009

    The economic upturn will come slowly for recruiters, with employment rates lagging long behind GDP growth.

  • Bending backwards for flexibility

    10-June-2009

    Flexibility has turned to expendability on the work front for many temporary workers and contractors in the current economic climate. Chris Goodfellow investigates the complex situation for temporary staff and contractors

  • ChapmanBlack tenders for result-based trainers

    10-June-2009

    Recruitment trainers are being asked to “put their money where their mouth is” in a new scheme which aims to pit providers against each other to see which can have the greatest impact on performance.

  • Flexible arguments at REC Summit

    10-June-2009

    The consultation over the Agency Workers Directive (AWD) will “decide whether we keep our flexible labour force”, according to the trade body the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

  • A fresh approach to incentives

    27-May-2009

    Top billers are key to a firm’s performance and keeping them motivated is essential. Christopher Goodfellow reports

  • Get fell in for Army outsourcing

    27-May-2009

  • Renewable jobs go as UK is blown out as viable hub

    27-May-2009

  • Morgan Hunt gets the gold standard

    13-May-2009

    Winner of three Recruiter awards, Helen Stokes and her team spoke to Christopher Goodfellow about the firm’s achievements

  • Firms build on the benefits of training

    13-May-2009

    Investing in long-term candidate training programmes is essential to out performing your peers, according to the winners of the Best Construction and Engineering Recruitment Firm awards.

  • In the spirit of co-opetition

    13-May-2009

    Co-operating with your competitors may not necessarily be such a bad practice in these tough economic times. Christopher Goodfellow investigates the rise in the number of joint bid arrangements and shows how it is benefiting recruiters in many areas

  • A Budget for recruitment?

    29-April 2009

    Just hours after daunting unemployment figures were released, the Chancellor Alistair Darling had to unveil a raft of measures to halt the industry’s decline and stimulate employment. Christopher Goodfellow and Colin Cottell investigate its impact on the staffing sector

  • IT & TELECOMS

    29-April 2009

    With clients deciding to change their hiring habits, recruiters in the sector have had to target the highly skilled niche areas to avoid undercutting their services

  • Optimism drives buyers to seek out bargain deals

    29-April 2009

    Market confidence is causing an increase in the number of companies looking for acquisitions

  • Recruiters relish rise in over-skilled candidates

    29-April 2009

    As the number of candidates prepared to take jobs below their skill sets rises, businesses are capitalising on the available labour.

  • Gilchrist seizes the moment

    15-April-2009

    Interaction’s MD spoke to Christopher Goodfellow about his aims for Kelly Interaction

  • Beating the boards?

    15-April-2009

    Recruiters are extending contract lengths and adapting the way they advertise online to dramatically reduce job board exposure. Christopher Goodfellow investigates

  • Decline in vacancies still happening but not as fast

    15-April-2009

    The rate of decline in the UK labour market is slowing, as both temporary billings and permanent placements fell at the slowest speed for months.

  • Oil & Gas

    15-April-2009

    Many recruiters remain excited at the future prospects for hiring in the sector, especially internationally, regardless of falling oil prices or the depressed state of the economy

  • Capita cuts rates but maintains fees

    01-Apr-2009

    Outsourcing company Capita is renegotiating contractor rates in response to labour market woes, but intends to maintain its recruiters’ margins.

  • IT recruiters look overseas to buoy up their business

    01-Apr-2009

    IT recruiters are looking overseas for growth as the UK market for their services diminishes.

  • Lack of funding affecting construction recruitment

    01-Apr-2009

    Recruiters worry that the government’s aim to put construction workers back on site through ambitious civil projects has not led to job creation.

  • New recruits offered £1k to leave sooner than later

    01-Apr-2009

    Ward: create quite a buzz

  • Divisions launched as energy sector heats up

    18-Mar-2009

    Blowing in the wind: focus is even more on renewables

  • Positivity in staffing shares

    18-Mar-2009

    IT recruiter SThree broke back into the FTSE 250 last week, after its year-end results for 2008 showed a 20.8% revenue increase last month (recruiter.co.uk, 2 February).“We have just got back into the FTSE 250. Our performance of late has been more buoyant than a number of our competitors,” Steve Hornbuckle, company secretary SThree, told Recruiter. Despite this its share price dropped by 7.7% over the past two weeks.Michael Page announced a 5% drop ...

  • Recession sets the scene for increase in M&A activity

    18-Mar-2009

    The recession has devalued listed recruiters while boosting the amount of cash on their books, setting the scene for mergers and acquisition activity.According to research from corporate advisors John East & Partners, a decrease in the number of temporary and contract staff has reduced the need for working capital, building up balance sheets across the sector.The research found the total net debt of the 30 listed recruitment companies has dropped from £358m ...

  • Aston Taylor manages agencies

    04-Mar-2009

    A rec-to-rec recruiter is introducing a managed agency service for its clients. Vic Chuntz, chief executive officer of Aston Taylor, told Recruiter the company launched the scheme — meaning any other rec-torec agencies wishing to work with the clients will apply through Aston Taylor — to capitalise on its business development experience as the market shifts focus from candidate to client.

  • Buying up after going under

    04-Mar-2009

    Despite a depressing rise in the number of recruitment agencies going into administration, Recruiter has found that many are still trading, having been bought back by their original owners. Christopher Goodfellow investigates the practice of pre-pack administrations

  • Fresh Approach for Afghan construction

    04-Mar-2009

    Fresh Approach Solution (FAS) has found a unique way to build a skilled talent pipeline for construction projects in Afghanistan.

  • Recruiters step in to find work for Mini's ex-staff

    04-Mar-2009

    Recruiters are scrambling to place candidates affected by large-scale redundancies in the automotive manufacturing sector.

  • Recruitment-To-Recruitment

    04-Mar-2009

    Like many other sectors trying to deal with dwindling placements, rec-to-rec is very much client-led now, which raises problems for both candidates and recruiters alike

  • Consolidation hits construction

    18-Feb-2009

    As companies have been pushed into buyouts and mergers, the construction sector has begun to squeeze recruiters’ margins and — worse still — put even more pressure on agencies by reducing preferred supplier lists. Christopher Goodfellowreviews the situation

  • Construction dreams fades in Dubai

    18-Feb-2009

    Building bust: redundancies in construction are on the up

  • Demand for interims increase and day rates reach highs

    18-Feb-2009

    Changing business environments means a change in management focus and a change in the focus of interim management recruiters.

  • Overseas Opportunities: Try before you buy

    18-Feb-2009

    There’s no universal guide to opening up in a new country, but there are steps you can take to ensure the process is as seamless as possible. Christopher Goodfellowreports

  • TAWD's costs to be limited

    18-Feb-2009

    Negotiations are underway to limit the administrative and cost burden of the Temporary [Agency] Workers Directive (TAWD).

  • Cash in on added value

    04-Feb-2009

    Despite many businesses imposing a hiring freeze, enterprising recruiters are finding outplacement is a rich source of income,Christopher Goodfellow discovers

  • ENGINEERING

    04-Feb-2009

    In the past year, demand in the sector has significantly declined in some subsectors, risen in others and fluctuated in some areas.And all the while, skill gaps remain

  • HMRC pays out recruiter £50k for ‘procedural error’

    04-Feb-2009

    Begg: campaigned for Fowler

  • Meridian’s mission is possible

    04-Feb-2009

    Reacting to a hostile market is Mark Mitchell’s mission with Meridian. Christopher Goodfellowreports

  • APSCo talks tactics at launch event

    21-Jan-2009

    Swain: APSCo will provide measurable economic benefit

  • National responses to a global crisis

    21-Jan-2009

    The credit crunch is a global phenomenon — nowhere is a country’s economy unaffected. So what is happening globally with recruitment andhow are staffing firms adjusting to the enforced economic order?

  • Office support and secretarial

    21-Jan-2009

    Company restructuring, to cope with the effects of the downturn, has made conditions interesting for the sector, as recruiters also adapt to the situation

  • Recruiters are quids in

    21-Jan-2009

    The falling pound may spell doom and gloom for tourists, but as Christopher Goodfellow discovered, it has proved to be excellent news for those recruiting overseas

  • Slowdown in online recruitment but rise in some sectors

    21-Jan-2009

    Online recruitment slowed dramatically at the end of 2008, with only the education and skilled agriculture sectors showing positive growth inDecember.The Monster Employment Index, which tracks online advertising, found the number of jobs advertised in December fell 19%, almost doubling November’s 10% decline.However, year-on-year recruitment trends show positive increases in a number of industries. The highest performers were the healthcare and social work ...

  • Top advice from Fast 50 Mentor

    21-Jan-2009

    Mentor International was the fastest growing firm in the inaugural Fast 50 list. The CEO spoke with Recruiter’s Christopher Goodfellow

  • Getting on track for Crossrail

    14-Jan-2009

    As demolition begins on London’s Tottenham Court Road underground station, heralding the start of the massive Crossrail civil engineering project, Christopher Goodfellow investigates the impact on recruiters of this and other planned developments for the UK rail network.

  • Marketing

    14-Jan-2009

    Candidates with digital skills are being sought after as financial pressure on clients increases. There is also a greater shift towards temporary and contract work

  • Oz firms freeze jobs but remain resilient

    14-Jan-2009

    Loveridge: more optimistic about Australian market

  • Rec-to-rec recruiters lose fees to new points-based immigration

    Mon, 22 Dec 2008

    Rec-to-rec recruiters have missed out on fees because agencies are not licensed under the recently launched points-based immigration system. Tier two for skilled workers was launched on the 27 November and requires companies to have a sponsorship licence to employ immigrants from outside the EU.

  • SpenglerFox expands UK presence

    Mon, 22 Dec 2008

    International executive recruiter SpenglerFox is expanding its UK presence with new offices, divisions and appointments.

  • IT contractors want a greater cut of repeat assignments

    Mon, 22 Dec 2008

    IT contractors want greater flexibility from fee structures in on-going assignments. Members of the Professional Contractors Group told Recruiter a percentage of agency fees should be transferred to them when contracts are renewed.

  • Training: Faststream, 4Leisure lambast funding pledge

    Fri, 19 Dec 2008

    Recruiter’s are skeptical about the prime minister’s pledge to provide an additional £79m to train the unemployed. Speaking from Iraq Gordon Brown told reporters the money would help give people the skills they needed to get back to work.

  • Skills gaps in the IT sector set to increase

    Thu, 18 Dec 2008

    There has been a mixed response to a survey of IT professionals which expected skills gaps in the sector to widen.

  • Circle Recruitment promotes Dirania

    Fri, 12 Dec 2008

    IT recruiter Circle Recruitment has promoted Tariq Dirania to the position of director. Dirania will be responsible for eight consultants recruiting across the IT sector, including roles in digital media and IT security.

  • Construction recruiter goes into administration

    Fri, 12 Dec 2008

    Construction and commercial recruiter Taurus Recruitment has gone into administration, transferring clients and staff to its sister company, Sagittarius Recruitment, Recruiter has learnt.

  • Demand for junior personnel disappears

    Fri, 12 Dec 2008

    Demand for junior recruitment consultants has disappeared, according to rec-to-rec recruiters.

  • REC IT and communications group confident in downturn

    Fri, 12 Dec 2008

    IT and telecoms recruiters remain optimistic in spite of the downturn, according to a poll by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

  • Recruitment for ITIL contractors remains high

    Fri, 12 Dec 2008

    Recruiters are reporting an increase in demand for the IT Infrastructure Library qualification which ensures best practice in IT service management and delivery, as clients attempt to cut costs.

  • World's second biggest wind farm development could provide massive recruitment contracts

    Fri, 12 Dec 2008

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s decision to grant permission for the the world’s second biggest wind farm off the coast of Wales would create a mass of jobs in the utlities, energy and enginering recruitment market.

  • Bank financing hits recruiters

    10-Dec-2008

    Recruiters who rely on financing to run their businesses face changing credit terms and loan withdrawals as banks tighten their belts.

  • Candidates flood market as placements hit 11-year low

    10-Dec-2008

    Candidates are swamping the market as permanent and temporary placements contract at their fastest rate in the last 11 years, according to the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and KPMG ‘Report on Jobs’.

  • Filling nuclear shortfalls

    10-Dec-2008

  • Manufacturing

    10-Dec-2008

    With job losses in the sector announced on a seemingly daily basis, recruiters are obviously feeling the fallout. Yet there are still skill shortages in certain areas

  • Responding to demand

    10-Dec-2008

    The slowdown in jobs has conversely led to recruiters taking on extra staff to deal with the hike in candidates approaching agencies. Christopher Goodfellow reports