Global industry health-check: Day two at the Ciett Conference
16 May 2013
Yesterday’s opening session at the Ciett World Employment Conference looked at the latest threats and opportunities driving the work of national recruitment federations.
Thu, 16 May 2013 | By Tom Hadley, director of policy, Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC)Yesterday’s opening session at the Ciett World Employment Conference looked at the latest threats and opportunities driving the work of national recruitment federations.
We also swapped notes on how the market is performing across different continents and countries. It’s a mixed bag, but the overall outlook for the sector remains encouraging.
Richard Wahlquist, chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association (ASA), pointed to “13 months of continued growth in the US”. Neil Smith, president of ACSESS, the Canadian body hosting the event, highlighted robust growth in most sectors, including the public sector where “agency work continues to provide a key outlet for government bodies and other employers”. The ongoing benefits of flexible staffing within a streamlined public sector is also a key industry message in the UK.
The market in many European countries (eg. Holland* and France) is more downbeat, although the picture is much brighter in markets such as Switzerland and Ireland. The industry in Russia has successfully pushed back on trade union calls for a complete ban on temporary work, although barriers still exist.
Further afield, activities are being ramped up in Latin America to boost industry growth and lift regulatory barriers. The World Cup and Olympic Games in Brazil will provide a key driver.
There are also huge growth opportunities in the Asian market, with positive developments flagged in China, Japan and India. The new government in Japan is driving a de-regulation agenda to help lift barriers for agencies. There are around 10,000 agencies in India and the sector is growing 20% a year. It is estimated that by 2025, 10% of the overall workforce in India could be working in a flexible capacity through agencies. That’s a lot of workers! The priority for the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) is to continue promoting the positive role of agency work – in particular as a means of tackling a burgeoning black economy.
Discussions with the Chinese Federation have been equally enlightening. Get this: there are apparently 50,000 agencies operating in China – and we thought the UK was a diverse and ‘unconsolidated’ market! Again, this highlights the crucial role of the national federation in raising standards and enabling compliant businesses to differentiate themselves in a crowded market.
As well as the global industry ‘health-check’, discussions have also touched on a number of specific areas that are of direct relevance to the UK industry. In fact, one of the benefits of taking part in this type of international events is the realisation that ‘hey, we are not alone!’ From pressure on temp-to-perm fees in the US, to procurement issues in Canada and the proactive compliance drive in India, a number of the priority areas covered at the conference will resonate with UK recruiters.
*See p19 of the May edition of Recruiter, out this week, for more on how, while the Dutch market may be downbeat, opportunities are there for the taking.
Tom Hadley will be providing daily dispatches from the Ciett World Employment Conference in Toronto. For live updates follow Tom on Twitter @HadleysComment and click for yesterday's blog.
We also swapped notes on how the market is performing across different continents and countries. It’s a mixed bag, but the overall outlook for the sector remains encouraging.
Richard Wahlquist, chief executive officer of the American Staffing Association (ASA), pointed to “13 months of continued growth in the US”. Neil Smith, president of ACSESS, the Canadian body hosting the event, highlighted robust growth in most sectors, including the public sector where “agency work continues to provide a key outlet for government bodies and other employers”. The ongoing benefits of flexible staffing within a streamlined public sector is also a key industry message in the UK.
The market in many European countries (eg. Holland* and France) is more downbeat, although the picture is much brighter in markets such as Switzerland and Ireland. The industry in Russia has successfully pushed back on trade union calls for a complete ban on temporary work, although barriers still exist.
Further afield, activities are being ramped up in Latin America to boost industry growth and lift regulatory barriers. The World Cup and Olympic Games in Brazil will provide a key driver.
There are also huge growth opportunities in the Asian market, with positive developments flagged in China, Japan and India. The new government in Japan is driving a de-regulation agenda to help lift barriers for agencies. There are around 10,000 agencies in India and the sector is growing 20% a year. It is estimated that by 2025, 10% of the overall workforce in India could be working in a flexible capacity through agencies. That’s a lot of workers! The priority for the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) is to continue promoting the positive role of agency work – in particular as a means of tackling a burgeoning black economy.
Discussions with the Chinese Federation have been equally enlightening. Get this: there are apparently 50,000 agencies operating in China – and we thought the UK was a diverse and ‘unconsolidated’ market! Again, this highlights the crucial role of the national federation in raising standards and enabling compliant businesses to differentiate themselves in a crowded market.
As well as the global industry ‘health-check’, discussions have also touched on a number of specific areas that are of direct relevance to the UK industry. In fact, one of the benefits of taking part in this type of international events is the realisation that ‘hey, we are not alone!’ From pressure on temp-to-perm fees in the US, to procurement issues in Canada and the proactive compliance drive in India, a number of the priority areas covered at the conference will resonate with UK recruiters.
*See p19 of the May edition of Recruiter, out this week, for more on how, while the Dutch market may be downbeat, opportunities are there for the taking.
Tom Hadley will be providing daily dispatches from the Ciett World Employment Conference in Toronto. For live updates follow Tom on Twitter @HadleysComment and click for yesterday's blog.
