Demand for talent up 24% YoY, APSCo reveals
.jpg)
Demand for professionals increased by 24% between 2017 and 2018 according to research undertaken by Vacancysoft on behalf of the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). This is in keeping with the predictions made in PwC’s CEO Report where two thirds of UK business leaders expected their headcount to grow significantly throughout 2018.
Beneath this headline figure, APSCo’s research reveals that quarter one and two 2018 saw the strongest growth with vacancies rising by 35% and 41% respectively. In contrast, demand for talent grew by just 6% in quarter four, which is perhaps unsurprising given the increasing political turmoil and uncertainty surrounding Brexit which resulted in many employers taking a ‘wait and see’ approach to hiring in the latter months of the year.
The data also shows the top growth industries throughout 2018. Technology, media and telecoms (TMT) led the way with advertised roles rising by 24%, followed by financial services. The growth within the TMT sector is in keeping with the 2018 Tech Nation Report, which revealed that the tech arena is expanding 2.6 times faster than the rest of the UK economy, worth almost £184 billion, up from £170 billion in 2016.
The figures also reveal the companies that advertised the most vacancies throughout 2018. Barclays Bank topped the list with 3902 roles, representing an increase of 16% year-on-year, followed closely by HSBC, which advertised 3497 positions, up 11% from 2017. When analysing the data more closely, both banks posted substantial numbers of technology roles throughout the year, demonstrating their commitment to digitalising the sector. In fact, Barclays CEO, Tim Throsby, said in early of 2018 that, ‘The digitalisation of the markets is a key priority for us in order to provide the best service for our clients and shareholders’, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that demand for tech talent intensified throughout the year.
In keeping with the significant growth in the tech arena, APSCo’s data reveals that the top profession by vacancy numbers in 2018 was IT with demand up 28% year-on-year. This is somewhat to be expected given the huge emphasis employers across all sectors have placed not only digitalisation, but also defending their organisation. This is a sentiment echoed by Gartner research, which reveals that spending on cybersecurity in 2018 was $114 billion, and is predicted to reach $124 billion in 2019.
APSCo’s data also looks at professional vacancies by region across England and Wales. While it is unsurprising that vacancy numbers in London were highest of all regions, other areas outperformed the Capital in terms of year-on-year growth. The North West and the East Midlands both performed well with advertised positions rising by 25% and 18% respectively. The impressive growth in the North West can, in part, be attributed to the increased ‘Northshoring’, a trend which has gained pace in recent years and is set to continue in 2019 with Channel 4 and HMRC already announcing moves.
Ann Swain, chief executive of APSCo, commented, “It is clear that the upsurge in vacancies recorded throughout the past twelve months is a real indicator of the robust nature of the professional staffing sector. The latter months of 2018 saw many companies put the brakes on hiring due to Brexit uncertainty, however our conversations with members reveal that while caution is the order of the day, most are optimistic that the professional recruitment market will remain as resilient as ever throughout 2019.”
source recruitmentinternational
Industry: Recruitment News

Latest Jobs
-
- Contact 12 month- Security Operations- Crowdstrike Falcon Insight EDR / Analyst.
- United Kingdom
- Dependent on experience
-
Security Operations engineer / Analyst with Crowdstrike Falcon Insight EDR experience for a 12 month contract. Experienced Contractor with Crowdstrike Falcon Insight: Endpoint detection and Response (EDR) experience needed - 12 month rolling project. Implementation, configuration and Analyst experience needed with Crowdstrike Falcon Insight: (EDR) Migration project- relocating capability internationally. technically implementing, configuration of that that migration and then transition to BAU role monitoring. DCL Search exclusive associate Project.
-
- SailPoint Consultant
- London
- Upto £75,000 plus benefits
-
SailPoint Consultant is needed for an expanding Financial Service business, this is an exciting time to join the Business as they are in the Process of deploying both IAM and PAM solutions and this consultant will form a key part of the IAM team Location can be flexible but would require the individual to come into the London office a couple of times a month for team meetings and face to face project reviews Duties include · Engage in the Identity & Access Management project to deliver SailPoint IdentityNow and Privileged Access Management · On-board applications and users into IAM tools and customise or configure integrations as required · Regularly review, secure and recertify privileged roles in applications, databases and operating systems · Implement least privilege, just-in-time access, password rotation and vaulting wherever possible · Migrate application authentication to Single Sign-On through the use of SAML and OAuth · Implement and enforce the use of MFA where possible, focusing on critical applications and risky sign-ins · Provide technical support to Centrify and SailPoint users Key experience required: Previous experience with SailPoint, including integrating and deploying into a business, onboarding users and applications, supporting users and performing manual administration tasks. Experience with SAML and OAuth to migrate applications to Single Sign-on. If you are interested in hearing more please reach out to me for more information
-
- Centrify Consultant
- London
- Upto £75,000 plus benefits
-
A Privileged Access Management Consultant is needed for an expanding Financial Service business, this is an exciting time to join the Business as they are in the Process of deploying a Centrify PAM solution,, this consultant will form a key part of the team Location can be flexible but would require the individual to come into the London office a couple of times a month for team meetings and face to face project reviews Duties include · On-board applications and users into PAM tools and customise or configure integrations as required · Regularly review, secure and recertify privileged roles in applications, databases and operating systems · Implement least privilege, just-in-time access, password rotation and vaulting wherever possible · Migrate application authentication to Single Sign-On through the use of SAML and OAuth · Implement and enforce the use of MFA where possible, focusing on critical applications and risky sign-ins · Provide technical support to Centrify users You would also gain expsoure with the IAM toolset as part of an Identity Access deployment. Key experience required: Previous experience with a PAM tool (Centrify would be an added bonus but not essential) including integrating and deploying into a business, onboarding users and applications, supporting users and performing manual administration tasks. Experience with SAML and OAuth to migrate applications to Single Sign-on. If you are interested in hearing more please reach out to me for more information
-
- SOC team lead- Deputy SOC manager - Managed Security Services, Bradford. Exclusive
- Bradford
- £70,000 +
-
SOC team lead- Deputy SOC Manager - Managed Cyber Security Services, Bradford. Exclusive Identifier project. Technical team lead needed to join a Managed Cyber Security Services business. The role will be a hands on lead role and technical escalation point for the team. You will also be responsible for leading, mentoring, growing and developing the team. You will be the deputy SOC manager and be involved in the strategic growth of the capability. A managed security services background is essential, specifically within a managed security operations capability. Current hands on support experience across Firewall, SIEM, Incident Response is essential.