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.”