Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsEconomics, government & businessRecruitment & retentionSkills shortages

Association for Consultancy and Engineering slams recruitment agencies’ poor service

by Greg Pitcher 23 Oct 2007
by Greg Pitcher 23 Oct 2007

Engineering employers have hit out at recruitment agencies – blaming them for poaching staff and not helping to solve the sector’s critical skills shortages.

A report by the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), which represents many large employers in the sector, found that more than four out of five firms believed recruitment agencies offered an ‘average’ or ‘poor’ service.

The association believes agencies could do more to help fill the estimated 20,000 engineering and consultancy jobs that exist in the UK and, that by not doing so, they are putting key construction projects at risk.

More than six in 10 employers said that agencies poached staff, and the same proportion thought they charged excessive fees.

An ACE spokesman told Personnel Today: “With key construction projects such as Crossrail and the 2012 Olympic Games coming up, for the UK not to be able to fill these vacancies is unacceptable. There is a risk of the industry not being able to carry out tasks that need to be carried out.”

The ACE said that while agencies were not to blame for skills shortages, they were not always helping com­panies solve them.

“A high percentage of firms look to recruitment agencies to fill vacancies, and there are frustrations with the behaviour of some agencies,” said the spokesman.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation, which represents agencies, said the survey was more likely to be completed by employers with grievances than those who were happy with their recruitment agency.

But its head of public policy, Anne Fairweather, added: “We are working on a code of practice specific to agencies in the engineering industry, and will listen to the concerns of the ACE.”

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

What engineering thinks of recruitment agencies

  • “Agencies will lie about candidates receiving better offers to ratchet up their salaries and their own potential fees.”
  • “There is a lack of customer service, lack of professionalism and lack of focus on filling more difficult posts.”
  • “They need to meet our needs and listen to what we want, but they don’t. They phone constantly and can get quite rude with staff when we won’t take their calls.”

Source: ACE report

Greg Pitcher

previous post
Trade secrets: outsourcing – after the deal
next post
Heyday case against UK mandatory retirement age is not damaged by European Court of Justice ruling on Spain

You may also like

House of Lords to resume scrutiny of Employment...

30 May 2025

Indefinite leave to remain proposal could place workers...

30 May 2025

Overseas workers bring key benefits to IT and...

30 May 2025

Trade uncertainty means 7 million fewer jobs globally

30 May 2025

Personnel Today Awards 2025: Two weeks left to...

30 May 2025

Pension reforms could put savings at risk, group...

30 May 2025

Black workers face greatest risk from workplace surveillance

30 May 2025

Capita and PizzaExpress named for minimum wage underpayments

29 May 2025

Charlie Mayfield: HR needs more proactive approach to...

29 May 2025

Warning issued over loss of ‘frictionless’ business travel...

29 May 2025

  • Preparing for a new era of workforce planning (webinar) WEBINAR | Employers now face...Read more
  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+