The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned that Britain faces a period of significant investment in skills for the workforce in order to prevent a long period of high unemployment figures. Accelerated in part by the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing nature of the economy, the CBI stated that 90% of people will need new skills within the next 10 years in order to support the UK economy moving into the future. It projects that this will require an additional £13billion of investment in skills each year. The report highlights how changes in the economy, fuelled by digitisation and automation, will dramatically change the skills sought by employers. The CBI believes that the pandemic should be used as a ‘catalyst for action’ in driving a national reskilling effort to safeguard livelihoods and UK competitiveness. Those most at risk from a failure to invest in new skills will be those in lower-skilled jobs that are most likely to become automated – the same demographic who participate 40% less in training than those in higher-skilled jobs. The CBI says that for the UK economy to thrive moving forwards, 21 million people will need basic digital skills while 16 million will need critical thinking and information processing skills. It also suggests that 15 million people should develop skills in leadership and management while 14 million will need interpersonal and advanced communication skills. The report also highlighted the need for expanded STEM skills in 9 million people. This is particularly important given that the UK government looks set to ‘build, build, build’ the nations way out of the economic downturn bought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. McKinsey & Company research and economics director, Tera Allas, said: “Technology-driven change is set to transform our economy and society. The emergence and spread of COVID-19 is accelerating many of these trends, and some industries have changed more in the past few months than they had in the past few years.” CBI director general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn said: “The right skills strategy can help every worker to progress their careers, drive up living standards and level-up the country. But a failure to act will leave businesses facing skills shortages and workers facing long-term unemployment. We are at a fork in the road that requires urgent and decisive action. The recently announced Lifetime Skills Guarantee is an important step in the right direction, but it is only a start. The CBI wants to work with unions, education providers and Government to ensure that employees working fewer hours have as much opportunity as possible to retrain and reskill.” The CBI website highlights key issue that the government and business must work together to tackle: “Employers remain the biggest investors in adult training, but investment in workplace training has flatlined at best in the last decade and needs to increase. Good employers recognise the importance of investing in people and embracing a learning culture: it improves staff retention, satisfaction, and overall productivity. But despite its growing importance, investment in workplace training has stagnated during the last decade, with annual training spend per employee has fallen by 5.6% from £1,620 in 2011 to £1,530 in 2017. SMEs face barriers which prevent many of them from increasing investment in training. These include a lack of scale, high fixed costs of training and a lack of capacity. 43% of micro and small businesses did not provide any training in 2018, compared to 4% of organisations with 250 or more employees. The training landscape is complex and does not support the large scale reskilling the UK requires. Provision is overwhelmingly targeted at young people and focused on longer courses and formal qualifications. Many individuals at risk of automation do not think that their roles will be impacted by technology, and people looking to retrain struggle to find quality information. 68% of workers in the 15 most at-risk automation occupation groups believe it is unlikely that their current job role will be automated in the next 10 years. But individuals looking to retrain face steep challenges in finding quality information on the right jobs and training to take up.” Find out more about our dedicated Morson Training division and see how the award-winning team can help you upskill. Search our latest job vacancies here
read more
Morson is delighted to welcome Emma Taylor to join our HR recruitment team. Emma joins us after spending over five years working for a number of recruitment firms in Manchester. We caught up with Emma to find out a bit more about her: What attracted you to the business? Craig Saxby attracted me to the business – I bought into him straight away as I feel that we have a very similar recruitment style. I was also attracted by the size of the business and the opportunity for me to expand my earning potential and further develop my network of candidates. What is your area of expertise? I'm a specialist HR Recruiter with 5 years’ experience. I've been focussing on the junior-mid market across HR, L&D, Internal Recruitment, Reward, HR Systems/Data/MI. Typical roles I recruit for include HR Officer, HR Advisor, HR Manager, HRBP, Recruitment Manager, Talent Acquisition etc. What is the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome in your career? I don't really have one, recruitment is a challenge in itself – staying positive and cracking on is the only way to get on with it! What is your proudest achievement? Setting up a HR recruitment desk from scratch at Portfolio Group. Not a single HR candidate or contact was on the system when I joined. Within 6 months of me joining the business, this desk became the highest billing desk across both the Manchester and London office as I won a huge contract to recruit exclusively for Peninsula’s HR roles. Also very proud of filling an international HRBP role with Jet2in Alicante. What would you say is your best attribute? I’m open, honest and approachable - what you see is what you get with me (this has worked very well for me in recruitment) Did you learn anything about yourself during lockdown this year? I learned a lot about myself during lockdown – I learned to stop worrying about things you cannot change and focus on the here and now! Also, having your family and a good set of friends around you is more valuable than anything you can buy. Lastly, I learned that you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone if you want to experience change. What is the best TV show you’ve watched recently (and why)? Great British Bake-off – what’s not to love about cake? Contact Emma to find out more about how Morson find the best HR talent for you, contact Emma by connecting with her on LinkedIn or by emailing emma.taylor@morson.com
read more
Morson took home the Parasol Temporary Recruitment Company of the Year award at the TALiNT International Annual Recruitment Awards 2020. The TIARAs recognise excellence in the top 6% of UK recruitment companies with revenues above £5m. On 21st October 2020, senior leaders from the UK’s top recruiters celebrated innovation and growth at the awards ceremony, which took place online due to ongoing concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. Judges praised Morson for a significant investment and ongoing commitment to D&I and equality, both internally and externally, with great examples of collaborative innovation to offer greater value to clients and candidates. Morson was also commended for its support of contractors, particularly its initiatives around mental wellbeing and early detection of COVID-19. Morson’s submission highlighted: “Recruitment will always sit at our core, but a business of our size must go beyond core talent services; we deliver a true people-centric approach to give customers the confidence that we’re the right choice of talent partner. We’ve constructed a suite of value-added services based on customer feedback as to the ways we can make their lives easier, and continually reinvest profits back into our operations to drive innovation. One such platform, Vencuro, our business intelligence tool, has increased direct candidate application by 95%. “Many of our value-added services have been borne out of quarterly reviews with clients, where innovation is a concrete agenda item. Together, we recognise gaps in the market and roll out innovations we can supply to clients, rather than them having to partner with third-party suppliers. For example, our business intelligence tool, Vencuro, was developed after clients asked for a platform to standardise and simplify recruitment by delivering constant automation of tasks, to provide real-time data. We utilised third-party software to make our website more inclusive for the 5th of people in the UK who have a disability and the one-in-ten who don’t speak English as their first language – a challenge during online job hunts. Since integrating Recite Me to the Morson website, 73% of visitors have utilised the playback feature for increased accessibility, and 5% have used the translation function, becoming integral to us attracting a more diverse workforce. In March 2020, we armed 3,000 remote workers in UK industry with early detection technology to spot the first signs of the coronavirus before attending site. The Fit For Work app was already in development pre-COVID for safety-critical sites but the technology was quickly adapted to be COVID specific.” As a leading recruiter with over 50 years of experience, we're ideally placed to help you find your next role. Search our latest roles now
read more
Since the retirement of Concorde in 2003 due to escalating costs and the fatal crash of Air France Flight 4590 three years prior, commercial aviation has slowed back down. While the level of comfort passengers can look forward to on flights has certainly increased as ticket prices have plunged, flight times have changed little as airline companies favoured more traditional aircraft flying at subsonic speeds. This is set to change in the near future with companies working on prototype supersonic aircraft designs to reinvigorate the industry. This comes after two further decades of technological development, materials research, design and cost reduction make the concept of bringing back supersonic commercial flight more of a realistic possibility – potentially creating thousands of jobs in aerospace at a time where the industry is suffering dramatically. Boom In October 2020, Boom Supersonic released their first supersonic test plane, the XB-1, the first civilian supersonic aircraft since the Soviet Tupolev TU-144 in 1968. The aircraft is a test plane for research leading to the company’s proposed Overture, a delta-wing plane intended to carry between 65 and 88 passengers. With seat-mile costs similar to current subsonic business class, Boom see supersonic flight as becoming the new normal for the industry, particularly among the business class passengers. With the initial testing phase still underway, there’s no date on when the proposed aircraft could enter construction or full testing, but the aircraft could slash flight times in half when compared to the current methods. NASA One of the biggest issues with supersonic flight over land is the phenomenon of the sonic boom, a loud boom created by sound shockwaves when an aircraft first exceeds the speed of sound. Mitigating against this, or eliminating it entirely, is crucial if sustained supersonic flight over land is going to be possible. The NASA X-59 QueSST, developed by Lockheed Martin, is set to test ways of reducing the boom with the noise being measured from the ground. The aircraft will be capable of flying at Mach 1.42, almost 1,000mph. Due to the long airframe and canards, the associated ground noise is expected to be around 60 dB(A), which is around a thousandth of the current level. The sonic boom itself should be considerably quieter than this. The aircraft is set to be delivered in late 2021 with the test flights taking place the following year. Aerion Aerion Supersonic look to be targeting the private business aircraft market with their AS2 concept. Capable of travelling at Mach 1.4, the concept boasts the ability to run on completely synthetic fuels and sonic boom-less technology while transporting between 8 and 10 passengers. With promises of personalised luxury and unparalleled comfort, the AS2 looks set to become a big player in the private jet market and is backed by Boeing. At the time of writing, it is unclear when the aircraft will be officially revealed but Aerion aims to have it fully operational by the end of the decade. Prototypes are expected to be launched in 2023. With new projects in the pipeline, it seems that after almost 20 years, the aviation industry is gearing itself back towards a supersonic future. Morson is a leading aerospace and defence recruiter, working with some of the biggest names in the industry. Search our latest jobs now to find your next opportunity.
read more
Morson-sponsored Salford Red Devils narrowly missed out on the Challenge Cup as a drop goal in the dying minutes gifted Leeds Rhinos the trophy after a fiercely contested final. Leeds opened the scoring in the 11th minute, as quick hands from the Rhinos found Luke Briscoe, who got the ball over in the corner. Salford levelled the game in the 18th minute as Niall Evans released Rhys Williams to run the length of the field in trademark style to get the Red Devils’ first try at Wembley in 51 years. The Rhinos took the lead before half-time with Ash Handley finishing off a well-worked move on the left side and getting the ball down giving Leeds a 12-6 lead at the break. The Red Devils started the second half with attacking intent and soon drew level again, with a powering run from Pauli Pauli bursting through the Leeds defence to go over in the 52nd minute. Salford continued to make their attacking moves count during this period, as a high kick from Kevin Brown put the pressure on the Leeds defence and saw the ball worked to James Greenwood, who put the Red Devils ahead for the first time in the game. Just as Salford began to dream of clinching the trophy, Leeds struck back with 15 minutes to go as Handley got his second try of the day to bring the score level. Unfortunately, it was Leeds who edged ahead in the nail-biting final moments as Luke Gale successfully drop-kicked his side to victory. Hailed as one of the most entertaining finals in recent memory, Salford can hold their heads up high for bringing such an intense contest right down to wire. Everyone at Morson is massively proud for the Red Devils representing the company on such a big stage yet again and we look forward to more big moments in the future. Stay up to date with Morson Sport by following us on Twitter @MorsonGroup
read more
Saturday 17th October marks a historic day for Salford Red Devils, as they play in their first Challenge Cup final in 51 years against Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium. The Red Devils were narrowly defeated by Hull KR in the preceding league game and coach Ian Watson spoke to Morson about what it’s like having an intense two-game week ending with a Cup final: “I’d have liked to have a full week’s training so we could have had a full prep on Leeds but when we talk about it, we’ve played against them twice and we know what they do. We know why they’ve beat us and we know how to fix it up. A lot of it will come down to sheer attitude and desire on the day. Being a one-off game, it doesn’t matter how we play beforehand because the energy of the cup final and the energy of being in that stadium will lift the players” Watson also discussed what his defining message to his players will be before kick-off: “Ours will be more of what we’ve been built upon; which is a team spirit, work ethic and a competitive edge about us and it will be to go and show that and what we do. We want to show how much we enjoy being part of a team and really take it to Leeds from the beginning. I’m really confident in our group that we’ll be good come Saturday and that we’ll shock a few more people” The last time Salford won the Challenge Cup was all the way back in the 1937-38 season and Watson explained how words can’t do it justice for what a trophy of this magnitude would mean to the club and its fans: “I probably wouldn’t be able to justify what it is because we’ve not won one in that long and haven’t seen that type of success in Salford in such a long period of time. It’d just be that big, I think everyone would go nuts in Salford if we won the cup to be fair” The hero of the epic semi-final win over Warrington, Joey Lussick, spoke to Salford Red Devils ahead of the game and also reiterated that winning this Cup would be as much for the fans as it is for the team: “We all know as a club, how much the team means to the people of Salford. We’re a big community club. So, as much as we want to win for ourselves, we also want to win for all the people who have been there through the good times and the bad.” He continued: “It comes down to you as a player and us as a team. That’s something we’re really focused on this year – that we really want to win some silverware.” We at Morson wish everyone at Salford Red Devils the best of luck ahead of tomorrow’s huge Challenge Cup final!
read more
The IR35 clock is ticking | Act now to develop your compliance strategy
By Rebekah Valero-Lee Read moreThe IR35 clock is ticking | What does this mean for contractors?
Read moreMaking it Work from Home: Eight Top Tips for a Productive Work Day
By Rebekah Valero-Lee Read moreOur Guide to Managing a (Newly) Remote Team
By Rebekah Valero-Lee Read moreCan You Keep Creative Sparks Lit Whilst Working Remotely?
By Rebekah Valero-Lee Read more