The opening up of the public sector presents an opportunity to recruiters, according to Dean Shoesmith, executive head of HR at the London Boroughs of Sutton and Merton.

However, whether the sector has retained the necessary talent to deliver best value remains unclear, he asserts.

Yesterday the government published its ‘Open Public Services White Paper’, which sets out the government’s approach to public services. One of the paper’s key principles was that: “Public services should be open to a range of providers competing to offer a better service.”

Shoesmith told Recruiter: “Whoever the provider is, whether it is the private sector or a social enterprise, you have got to improve services. So you have to improve outcomes and you will only be paid by results. Recruiters would have to demonstrate some service improvement, whether that is time to hire or cost per hire. You have to put some measurements in place to specify what you mean by service improvement.

“The public sector is in the middle of the recession and in my view that is set to last for at least another three years until 2014 because of the scale of the £81bn that needs to be cut due to last year’s comprehensive spending review.

Shoesmith argues that it will be a real challenge to attract people into the public sector because of the brand and the fact that the jobs market is so dead.

He concludes: “It looks like the private sector is beginning to get some job stimulus. If you’re a recruiter, you’re more likely to go where you have a chance of making some profit and getting some business, rather than a sector that looks pretty flat at the moment.”

Adrian Marlowe, chairman of the Association of Recruitment Consultancies (ARC), adds: “Recruitment consultancies have a key role to play as they offer the potential of both short- and longer-term facilities for locating staff and skillsets on terms that do not necessarily involve rigid obligation.

“There is a vast range of niche consultancies within the recruitment sector providing key expertise able to help find the right people for the jobs that count. Opening up the business, especially to SME providers who historically have been overlooked in considering public sector planning, is helpful and offers a welcome prospect for all.”

For more from Dean Shoesmith, see the new issue of Recruiter, out tomorrow (13 July).