Guernsey Work Survey
Flexible working, childcare and the retirement age are among recruitment matters that need to be addressed in Guernsey. Despite the economic downturn and the resultant rise in unemployment, the States of Guernsey Commerce and Employment Department’s most recent Workforce Participation Survey revealed that employers were still having trouble recruiting suitable staff. The 393 employers who took part in the survey covered 13,959 employees, or 48.5% of the island’s workforce, with good representation across all sectors of the economy, both private sector and public
The report, published in February, included the following elements:
Recruitment and Retention
28.5% of private sector employers reported that recruitment and/or retention difficulties were a constraint for their business. The equivalent figure in the public sector was 50.0%. Skilled labour was the most difficult to recruit/retain, with unskilled labour being the least difficult.
Flexible Working Arrangements
69.5% of employers (private and public sectors) either strongly agreed or agreed that offering more flexible and/or family-friendly working arrangements would provide an effective way to increase the size of the available workforce and contribute to easing recruitment and/or retention difficulties. Part time working arrangements are the most popular type of flexible/family friendly working arrangement offered by employers.
Provision for Childcare
66.2% of employers agreed that improving access to childcare facilities would give parents with young children more opportunity to participate in the workforce. Only 4.8% of employers offered their workforce access to childcare facilities, and only 2.8% offered financial help towards childcare.
Working at or Near Retirement Age
71.0% of employers agreed that encouraging more individuals who can continue to be productive to remain in employment at or around retirement age would provide an effective way to increase the size of the available workforce and contribute to easing recruitment and/or retention difficulties. 47.6% of employers already had in place arrangements to employ persons at or around retirement age.
Encouraging Locally Qualified Residents to Return to the Workforce
53.2% of employers agreed or strongly agreed that more should be done to encourage locally qualified residents of all skills levels, currently residing off-island to return to the Island and take up employment.
Carla Whitham, manager of AP Commercial, said that the findings broadly reflected what she was hearing from employers. ’With regard to the skilled labour I would say that current market conditions will better suit candidates who are professionally qualified than the ones that aren’t,’ she added. ’I am hoping that it will make unskilled candidates stop job-hopping and get some solid experience and/or qualifications under their belt, as there are more skilled candidates than ever competing for the same vacancies.’