OFT asks IT recruiters for their views on SME access
5 July 2013
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is asking suppliers of IT services such as recruitment into the public sector for their views on how to make it more accessible to SMEs.
Fri, 5 Jul 2013
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is asking suppliers of IT services such as recruitment into the public sector for their views on how to make it more accessible to SMEs.
Clive Maxwell, OFT chief executive officer, says in a statement: “Given the vital role that this technology plays in the delivery of public services and the cost to the taxpayer, the OFT believes it is important to explore whether there are any restrictions on competition.
“We want to hear both from industry suppliers and public sector users about how competition in this market works, any problems that they have experienced, and how it could be made to work better.”
A summary of findings from the call for information, including any next steps proposed, is due to be published in October.
Elkie Holland, director of Prospectus IT Recruitment, tells Recruiter that niche recruiters such as her own face significant challenges in accessing and competing in this sector. The public sector market “is pretty much a closed shop [exclusively] for the big suppliers”, she said.
The centralised organisation of recruitment in the public sector makes it difficult for niche recruiters like their company, she says: “They want one supplier who can handle all their requirements rather than a supplier that can just meet part of their needs.”
“You have to go through so many hoops,” including employing additional staff to deal with the administration, says Holland. As a result she “doesn’t chase public sector business at all”, and has not done so for about a decade.
Satnam Brar, sales director of IT recruiter Maximus, says that all providers in this field "have a collective responsibility to ensure a healthy level of competition", also telling Recruiter: “This is the only attitude which will ensure that the IT sector can contribute positively and significantly to a nationwide drive for economic growth.”
More information on the study, including details on how interested recruiters can submit views, can be found on the OFT website.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is asking suppliers of IT services such as recruitment into the public sector for their views on how to make it more accessible to SMEs.
Clive Maxwell, OFT chief executive officer, says in a statement: “Given the vital role that this technology plays in the delivery of public services and the cost to the taxpayer, the OFT believes it is important to explore whether there are any restrictions on competition.
“We want to hear both from industry suppliers and public sector users about how competition in this market works, any problems that they have experienced, and how it could be made to work better.”
A summary of findings from the call for information, including any next steps proposed, is due to be published in October.
Elkie Holland, director of Prospectus IT Recruitment, tells Recruiter that niche recruiters such as her own face significant challenges in accessing and competing in this sector. The public sector market “is pretty much a closed shop [exclusively] for the big suppliers”, she said.
The centralised organisation of recruitment in the public sector makes it difficult for niche recruiters like their company, she says: “They want one supplier who can handle all their requirements rather than a supplier that can just meet part of their needs.”
“You have to go through so many hoops,” including employing additional staff to deal with the administration, says Holland. As a result she “doesn’t chase public sector business at all”, and has not done so for about a decade.
Satnam Brar, sales director of IT recruiter Maximus, says that all providers in this field "have a collective responsibility to ensure a healthy level of competition", also telling Recruiter: “This is the only attitude which will ensure that the IT sector can contribute positively and significantly to a nationwide drive for economic growth.”
More information on the study, including details on how interested recruiters can submit views, can be found on the OFT website.
See also
- ‘Brook Street, Capita and Hays to form supply chains for framework’ (recruiter.co.uk, 24 Jun 2013)
- ‘GPS announces recruiters on G-Cloud framework’ (recruiter.co.uk, 5 Jun 2013)
- More on IT & telecoms recruitment news from recruiter.co.uk
