>> Vacancies placed with Recruitline

... the vacancy taking section of Calderdale & Kirklees Careers.

Vacancies handled by Recruitline are mainly apprenticeships, trainee positions and entry level jobs. The number and type of vacancies taken varies according to the time of year.

between 1 March 2010 and 31 May 2010

Vacancies for school leavers remain at similar levels to the same period in 2009. Though there are fewer opportunities than before the recession. There are still Apprenticeships available. Some employers have been struggling to find suitable candidates as young people think there are 'no jobs' and so don't apply.

There has been an increase in the number of Apprenticeships this year - 2010, when compared with jobs with little training. This seems to be partly due to the Apprenticeship advertising campaign but also because employers are realising that young people will soon have to stay in learning up to the age of 17.

Between January and March 2010, Recruitline handled 112 Apprenticeships and Level 2 trainee vacancies and 32 vacancies with little or no training. Young people keen to find work need to consider jobs with training - most of the vacancies with little or no training are in catering and bar work.

Young people can go straight on to an Apprenticeship but increasingly a main route into an Apprenticeship is through pre-apprenticeship training such as e2e or Foundation Learning. Jobs and Apprenticeships in manufacturing, motor vehicle and construction are in short supply because of the recession but there are signs of a slow recovery

between 1 December 2009 and 28 February 2010

The three months around Christmas time is often a quieter time for recruitment. However, there may be temporary and part-time vacancies around. There have been fewer vacancies advertised with Recruitline this year than 12 months ago. As UK companies entered 2010 with one eye on the general election, the level of vacancies placed remained modest in the last quarter. Some economists have forecasted a 'double dip recession' for the UK economy, which would lead to a blip in the recovery in late 2010. If this happens, budgets for recruitment are usually the first thing to be cut by companies. Though catering and office positions have shown signs of promise and with the focus now on the 'backing young Britain' campaign, Apprenticeships are predicted to provide a good opportunity for young people to get on the employment ladder.

Analysis of vacancies for the 12 months to 30 August 2009 (70.7kb Adobe Acrobat PDF) by work experience trainee, Joshua Hirst.

Each graph represents the number of vacancies placed with Recruitline over a three month period:

between 1 September 2009 and 30 November 2009

The main recruitment period is over and the number of vacancies we receive usually begins to decrease. Temporary sales vacancies for the Christmas period began coming in during September and continue throughout the period. The number of part-time and temporary retail sales jobs is down on last year by 23. The total number of vacancies is down on last year but not by as many as might be expected given the difficult times.  Most of the drop can be accounted for by the reduction in Christmas sales vacancies. 

between 1 June 2009 and 31 August 2009

This quarter is an important time for recruitment - employers are looking for new entrants to the workforce. Vacancies in most skill areas usually increase, particularly in skilled trades such as care, construction, engineering, hairdressing and motor vehicle work - many of these are Apprenticeships. The number of vacancies this quarter is higher at 187 than this time last year - 157. However, this year there has been a particularly strong drive to replace part-time staff in catering and hotel work who are going on to study at university. Without these part-time catering vacancies the number of jobs is similar to last year despite the 'credit crunch', though the number of construction jobs has halved.

between 1 March 2009 and 31 May 2009

This is the period when employers start to recruit school and college leavers so the number of vacancies in most skill areas normally begins to increase when compared with last quarter (see below). The number of Apprenticeships included in these vacancies also increases. The recession is affecting the number of vacancies we receive, the number of vacancies this quarter - 123 is significantly lower than last year - 155, the year before - 199 and the year before that - 161. However, there are still vacancies so at this stage you should keep your options open and contact companies offering the sort of work that interests you. Also employers are telling us that they are getting far fewer applicants with the right qualifications and skills, and are struggling to fill their vacancies, even with the offer of training for a recognised qualification.