Business confidence continues to blossom in the engineering sector

Despite June marking another year since the Brexit vote, businesses across the engineering sector have remained confident in their hiring efforts over the past 12 months, with job vacancies rising by 7.5% in Q2 2018.

That’s according to the latest job market data from CV-Library, the UK job site.

The report, which compared data from Q2 2018 with that of the same period in 2017, found that businesses in the automotive sector have remained resilient in the past year, despite ongoing economic uncertainty.



Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, comments: “Another year has passed and there’s still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding Brexit and what this will mean for many businesses across the engineering sector. Especially as the industry was predicted to be one of the hardest hit by the decision to leave the EU.

“What’s more the resignation of both the Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State, will inevitably delay Brexit negotiations. Yet despite this, employers across the industry appear to be showing resilience, as they’ve continued to drive their recruitment efforts in the last 12 months.”

Furthermore, a number of key industries also witnessed above-average hikes in pay, with the engineering sector coming first on the list for the top industries for salary growth in Q2, as advertised salaries rose by an impressive 2.3% year-on-year.

Biggins continues:“According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), the last quarter saw starting salaries rising at the fastest pace in three years and this rise in pay is reflected in our own data. It’s clear that businesses across the engineering sector are pulling out all the stops, offering competitive salaries in a bid to attract talented new recruits to their vacancies.”

However, candidates were feeling less confident last quarter, with application rates decreasing across the industry. These findings suggest that engineering professionals are feeling uncertain about looking for a new position.

Biggins concludes:“It’s not surprising that candidates in the engineering sector are feeling cautious, with ongoing economic uncertainty causing many to seek stability in their existing role.

“Businesses in the industry are taking positive steps to encourage candidates to begin moving in the job market, and as we continue moving towards our exit from the EU, we hope to see candidates confidence pick back up.”