‘45% of public sector organisations have no spare workforce capacity’

45% of public sector organisations have no spare workforce capacity amid rising skills shortages, according to new data from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC).

REC’s latest quarterly report show demand for permanent staff has increased in the last quarter, but confidence among employers remains low and more than half expressed concern about finding suitable candidates, with Health & Social Care skills being the area with most concerns about filling vacancies.  Some 45% of public sector employers have no spare workforce capacity at all.

The report finds more employers seem to be trying to transfer their best temps into permanent roles as candidate shortages continue to impact many sectors.

Tom Hadley, Director of Policy & Campaigns at REC, said: “These skills shortages are especially acute in sectors like health and social care. With over 100,000 vacancies in the NHS and staff already working at full capacity, the government’s recent announcement on ending freedom of movement has come at the worst possible time. EU workers are an integral part of our health and social care system and the UK workforce as a whole. It is essential that the government has in place a sensible transition towards an evidence-based immigration policy to help reassure employers and EU citizens.”

The report also showed an increase in demand for temporary agency workers, with demand much higher among SMEs than large organisations. Almost eight in ten (77 per cent) employers highlighted that they have little or no surplus capacity in their workforce this quarter.

The proportion of employers of temporary workers transferring at least half of them into permanent posts each year increased from 15 per cent in May-July 2018 to 23 per cent in the same time period this year.

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