Nursing roles top the list of the most in-demand jobs in the UK, with care workers, sales roles and teaching assistant roles also prominent among the most sought-after workers.
New data from global hiring platform Indeed gleaned from analysis of employers’ CV searches has underlined the extent of the recruitment problems being faced by the NHS.
Indeed suggested that the government’s post-Brexit immigration policy, which favours high-skilled, high-earning workers, could be behind the inability of employers to fill roles in nursing, hospitality and customer services.
It also pointed to difficulties and additional costs in obtaining sponsorship and visas for staff in that nine out of 10 candidate searches were solely for UK-resident talent – companies in most sectors were reluctant to turn to foreign workers to plug gaps.
Indeed said that CV searches for specific criteria provided “unique” insights into recruitment urgency and could identify difficulties experienced by businesses. The use of CV searches, Indeed said, suggested that more passive strategies, such as simply posting a job advertisement online, had not been successful.
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Despite the fact that job postings were down 40% from their early-2022 peak in the UK, skill shortages remain and competition for talent is still above pre-pandemic levels, Indeed said.
Nursing roles accounted for a huge 6.9% of CV searches. Care work, particularly for older people and for people with a disability, featured high on the list, with support workers (2.4%) and care assistants (1.6%) also being sought out by employers.
Sales jobs accounted for 3.8% of CV searches, with chef roles just behind on 3.6%. Customer service and teaching assistant roles were also in the top ten.
The analysis found that when UK businesses did search for overseas talent they tended to focus on the US, which accounts for 7.2% of searches. Despite being physically closer, workers in the three most searched-for Eurozone countries only made up 0.9% of employer searches.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed, said: “The search terms used by UK businesses to review the millions of CVs on Indeed are indicative of the occupations where there are acute skills shortages that have been present for months, if not years. It’s no surprise that healthcare roles feature in the most in-demand roles, given the struggles the NHS continues to face in attracting and retaining staff.”
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The UK government’s policy of significantly reducing net migration through increasing salary thresholds and visa costs has seen nurse and health care visa applications fall by 75%, it was announced yesterday.
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