Green shoots appearing in the jobs market

Paul O’Loughlin

It is easy to be swallowed up by the whole COVID thing, and don’t get me wrong as I appreciate like everyone else the seriousness of the disease, but there are signs across the globe that economies are bouncing back with gusto. The green shoots of economic activity are appearing everywhere, and certain industries are emerging from the abyss faster than we had believed possible. There is optimism out there, and let us face it, we are already hearing the narrative that maybe there will be no cure so we will have to just live with it. It reminds me of a bit of the Nike catch-cry…” Just do it”, and maybe therein is the underlying tenet that we need to just get on with life and push ahead!

What we have seen at Ubidy from our enterprise clients can be broken into two distinct categories. Those affected, and those that have not. Several of our clients flew through the pandemic with little apparent turbulence. An example being telecommunications. This space has continued to aggressively source talent on a worldwide basis. There is one thing for sure, and that is the pandemic highlighted the need for humanity to be connected, and the isolation we have all had to endure has amplified this exponentially. The demand for people in this sector will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. The antithesis of this however has been witnessed in the mining, aviation, and tourism sectors. Demand for people stopped overnight. One of our clients who is a “significant” mining identity cancelled all hiring across their mining assets, globally. We all know that the aviation industry has been particularly hard hit. Pictures of hundreds of aircraft mothballed in the American desert, wow! What an image that is so articulate in expressing the worldwide carnage from COVID 19. And do not mention tourism, as this industry has been smashed!

I am very pleased to report however that we are seeing the “search for people” gathering pace. Already our clients have aircraft back in the sky, and our mining clients are experiencing unbridled demand for their commodities. Even the tourism industry, albeit on a domestic basis, is beginning to show some uplift. Of course, the wreckage and carnage have laid waste a vast number of businesses and the economic and social consequences will be felt for years to come, but our lust for prosperity and our desire to win, and our entrepreneurial spirit will be what drives us out of this calamity.

I believe we have reached a turning point and if Ubidy’s client base is any barometer of economic regeneration then we reached ground zero some time ago and we are making economic headway again. The demand for talent across the board will grow and sourcing talent will become more challenging as the transference of skills across boarders still posses an issue for companies wanting to relocate or import such skills. It does highlight the need to establish new and innovative ways of locating personnel and hiring it. Recruitment processes have become more sophisticated for this very reason. Pinpointing talent and securing it has become a theme-driven by Ai. Companies who rely on outdated talent acquisition solutions will be left behind as those employing innovative practices and technology will be way ahead of the pack in securing human capital.

So, in summary, I see our domestic market bouncing back and reopening the boarders will further enhance the recovery. On an international level, Asia is showing positive signs as is North America. Europe has been decimated through the mishandling of the pandemic and who knows what will happen with the UK as they still are manoeuvring their way around Brexit. The jobs market on a global level is bouncing back!

Ubidy | Global Talent on Demand