Job market expected to improve next year

Cautious optimism seems
to be the order of the day
in the job market, with
the recruitment industry
predicting a better 2013 than
2012, which seems to have
had its ups and downs.
“There have been mixed
reports in 2012,” said Kim
Botti, director at Lee Botti
& Associates. “Generally,
this year has been extremely
trying for many of our
clients as the effects of
Europe, the strikes and a
tough economy have forced
them to work harder and
smarter.”
According to Botti,
they have continued to see
retrenchments, along with
attrition.
“Some clients have
said that the traditional
year-end volumes have
not been at the levels they
have seen previously,
and there is uncertainty
as to whether bonuses
will be awarded in many
organisations. However,
as a national recruitment
agency, we have seen a 31%
increase in the number of
positions we were working
on this time last year.”
Terri Smith, managing
director of Tiger
Recruitment, said her
agency saw a lot of
movement at executive level
during 2012, which often
causes uncertainty amongst
employees, which, in turn,
has a ripple effect on the
service levels of a company.
“The job market improved
in 2012, but there is still
a lot of uncertainty due to
the instability of the market
and the course it will take
in the future. As a result
companies are hesitant with
their recruitment strategy.”
According to Smith, they
also saw more vacancies
in 2012 than what was
expected. “People seem to
generally become more ‘fedup’
in their current work
situations – be it due to low
salaries or no recognition.
What we are seeing is that
courage levels have been
built allowing them to take
the step and resign and find
something better.”
Both she and Botti agree
that the biggest challenge at
present and in 2013 will be
in finding sales staff.
“Sales executives are in
high demand,” said Smith.
“There are very few with
a proven sales track record
and a stable work history.”
Botti said experienced
and successful sales
people to boost business
opportunities were
becoming increasingly
difficult to find.
“There is often a shortage
of skilled candidates. Since
the start of the recession
we have seen training
programmes falling away
within many organisations.”