21 Feb Brexit & Recruitment

It’s drawing closer and no matter how you feel about it, Brexit will affect us in some way. Here at Kiwi Recruitment we are well aware that the Job Industry will be hit fairly hard as the uncertainty looms.

All 3.8 million EU nationals living in the UK will need to register for ‘settled status’ to continue to work and live in the UK. This has been set up to protect those already living and working here.

From 1st July 2021, EU Citizens and any family members living with them must have applied for and/or hold UK immigration status to legally work here. This means that hiring processes have to change to compensate for this new status. Recruiters will have to work long term and make sure they have the resources to work in this extra stage of the application. They will also have to tap into the existing UK-based talent pools. 

Labour Shortages are something we have to keep an eye on as well. UK Engineering Business and the Aviation industry both flagged a labour shortage that will be their biggest challenge in the next few years. 

There’s also the reality that the UK is now a less attractive option for EU citizens. LinkedIn have reported that 39% of international candidates are reluctant to move to London due to Brexit.

One of the easiest ways we can prepare is by making sure our existing talent pool is aware of the changes and of the need to apply for the settled status as soon as possible. This will save any surprises and delays further down the line.

We also need to remind the younger generations of the vast range of jobs and opportunities. Often they are bombarded with information about only a handful of industries but we as recruiters can open their eyes to more. We can do this by supporting local colleges and even schools to highlight the variety of careers open to them within UK industries. 

Some other links we think are helpful
The Week
CIPD

More news here