Job candidates ‘need to be flexible’

Unemployed Britons hoping to sign up with recruitment agencies or find work on their own need to be flexible when they are hunting for jobs, one sector commentator has asserted.

Steve Huxham, chairman of the Recruitment Society, said there may currently be a lack of flexible job opportunities but as the market is competitive and difficult, it is the candidate’s, rather than the employer’s, duty to be adaptable.

However, he added the biggest barrier to employment may come from employers.

“I think it is employer confidence. People have to feel confident about their businesses and about their future prospects to want to recruit,” he explained.

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Mr Huxham stated convincing managers to start filling the employment gap was unlikely to be helped by the forthcoming National Insurance increase or the Agency Workers Directive and that such legislation should be out on the backburner.

His comments come after Keep Britain Working revealed that around 44 per cent of people said that the lack of flexible job opportunities presented difficulties for them.