What Recruiters Need to Know About Growing and Emerging Industries in 2023
Employers across multiple sectors and verticals in the UK — and across Europe — are facing a perfect storm when it comes to recruitment as they continue to compete for an ever-dwindling pool of talent. Unemployment remains low while vacancies climb.
The crisis can be attributed to a variety of factors: persistent economic uncertainty, the Great Resignation, and fundamental shifts in both candidate preferences and available positions. Recruiters working in high-growth or emerging industries where the shortage of qualified candidates is most acutely apparent need to stay on top of trends as they evolve — and embrace new strategies and tools to attract job-seekers.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll examine some of the biggest emerging industries — as well as some established fields that are seeing higher-than-average growth — and explore the factors affecting them, their recruitment needs, and strategies to address skills shortages.
Ecommerce and Logistics
Careers in logistics are more typically associated with the transport industry, but we’re linking these two because the rising need for logistics professionals is closely tied to the explosive growth the ecommerce industry has seen in recent years. The cost of living crisis has not dampened digital retail’s expansion. The proportion of e-shoppers grew from 55% in 2012 to 75% in 2022 across Europe, and the majority of UK residents make purchases online.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing may not qualify as one of the UK’s emerging industries — the sector has a long and storied history in the region. But manufacturers across the UK are seeing unprecedented growth and labour shortages to match. Analysts estimate the current lack of factory workers is dealing a £6.5 billion blow to the economy.
This story is similar across Europe, with 39% of European manufacturing enterprises claiming that labour shortages were limiting their productivity.
Energy
The energy industry is one of the most rapidly changing industries in the world, despite the government’s decision to permit hundreds of new gas and oil projects. The fresh growth on the fossil fuel side of the industry promises to create a wealth of new jobs while rising demand for workers at companies focused on energy efficiency, renewable power, and smart technology has already left energy companies struggling to hire enough staff.
Healthcare
Like manufacturing, healthcare’s spot on a list of emerging industries seems dubious. But an ageing population and a spike in nurses leaving their jobs during the pandemic have driven medical facilities to launch overseas recruitment campaigns in the hopes of filling vacancies. Demand for healthcare supporting staff who provide service remotely or in patients’ homes has also climbed significantly.
Technology
Exponential growth in fields like cloud computing and smart technologies, combined with the emergence of artificial intelligence as a mainstream tool, has helped the technology sector grow to account for three million UK jobs and a combined market value of $1 trillion — putting it behind only China and the US. The skills gap is felt most acutely in this sector, with 50% of all UK businesses short on basic cybersecurity skills and 33% lacking advanced cybersecurity skills.
This story is replicated across Europe, with 1.7 million open tech job postings in Q3 2022.
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