The Industrial Revolution was perhaps the first major wave of change to shape UK job market. After industrialization, the World Wars and the formation of the EU further reshaped the job market in the UK. The job market is set to undergo massive, almost revolutionary transformation yet again, with Brexit looming large.
Whether you voted for it or against it, Brexit is a reality that companies in the UK will have to deal with. And whether it is good or bad for job boards, we cannot say for sure. But what we do know is that it will lead to some unprecedented changes in the UK job market. For instance, major European businesses have threatened to cut ties with the UK due to Brexit. Also, a large number of immigrants from the EU have left the country – taking with them vital skills from the IT, Transport and medical professions.
For some of the best job sites in the UK, this presents both opportunity and threat. Thus, if you’re looking to make the best of the situation, track and adapt to the changes that will be brought about by Brexit. Here’s how you can ensure that your job board overcomes the Brexit challenge and makes the most of its opportunities.
Here’s how Brexit will change the UK Job Market
Despite Brexit concerns, the employment rate in the UK is stable at 76.1%. That means, for most job boards, it’s business as usual.
However, the composition and the overall size of this employed workforce may change in the coming years. For instance, almost 61,000 fewer EU nationals were reported to be working in the UK during the third quarter of 2018 compared to the previous year. These trends mean that the UK is set to face significant labour shortages after Brexit, especially in the positions held by non-UK nationals.
Many businesses have already begun planning operations outside of Britain, spelling a sharp decline in the future number of jobs. For job boards, this means a simultaneous reduction in the number of job seekers as well as employers.
But the shortage of job seekers and employers may not be all bad. By tweaking your strategy and operations to the evolving situation, you can not just mitigate the potentially harsh impact of Brexit but also thrive in the post-Brexit era.
But to do that, you’ll have to adapt your approach just like best UK job boards are already doing.
How are the best UK job boards adapting to Brexit?
The best UK job boards have realized that among the many uncertainties surrounding Brexit, one thing is for certain. And that is that the UK job market will most likely shrink in size and have fewer employers and fewer job seekers.
Job data collection will take center stage as every vacancy is, now, more important than ever. A reduction in job seekers means an increase in job board competition. Market coverage will be a key driver of success. Job Boards will focus on aggressive job aggregation, Job board UI improvements and job- search algorithms to ensure user retention.
There will also be a dire need to scale operations. Automation in job collection and posting can give way to leaner teams and lower overheads. It could help UK job boards collect and process large volumes of high-quality job data in no time.
Job boards are also ramping up their marketing efforts to increase competitiveness. The best job sites in the UK have taken to sending personalized email alerts about job vacancies. They’re utilizing social media feeds and employment- forums to share openings. Other innovative means include the use of voice search activation for job searches as well as video-format job postings.
How can job boards start preparing for Brexit?
Brexit will cause the job pool in the UK to shrink. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has shown that even the number of applicants per role has been reduced dramatically.
This means a reduction in the user traffic that a job board typically sees. Start by onboarding jobs from companies that are more likely to stay post-Brexit. Ensure that all jobs collected are LIVE jobs and that they lead to openings that are still valid. This way, even if an organization shuts shop or closes a vacancy, your users won’t be directed to dead jobs.
Strive to become a one-stop job search solution for all their users. Create a loyal user-base through the use of engaging statistics and job application analytics. Try employing premium job wrapping tools like Propellum. Job wrapping solutions can automatically collect jobs, sort them and post them to your job board.
How Job wrapping solutions help job boards –
Job wrapping solutions are different from job crawling solutions because of the quality of jobs they offer. Since job crawlers are limited to the scraping of jobs, they might not offer classification and posting solutions. Whereas a job wrapping solution can offer you better search algorithms, filtration options, and cleaner looking UI’s. Causing a significant increase in better user engagement.
Also, job wrapping tools automatically check for updates in job vacancies on employer websites and weed out expired or invalid jobs. This ensures that the job boards always show the latest jobs. Job wrapping tools can automatically post jobs on the job feed at regular intervals. As a result, job boards can ensure that their job feed always displays updated job vacancies. Hence, job boards can even create a job portal that runs itself.
In order to be the best job sites in the UK should shift focus towards posting job vacancies for industries that will be severely affected by Brexit. This could mean having to tweak your job board for another target audience. For example – catering to an older audience or to contract workers, labourers who may not be as tech-savvy. Premium job wrapping solutions like Propellum are customized to collect jobs from select industries. This can help job boards carve their niche and minimize competition.
How job boards can attract more candidates and recruiters
Since job boards can pose numerous jobs using job wrapping solutions, their job feed may become cluttered and unorganized.
Candidates may find it quite inconvenient to go through countless job vacancies and search for ones that are suitable. This can negatively affect the job seeker experience and hence, candidates may prefer to use other job portals.
To address this issue, job boards can also implement processes like job feed categorization. Job feed categorization can allow candidates to sort the job feed based on location, job description, expected CTC, and work experience.
With such features, job seekers will find it incredibly simple to find suitable jobs and use that job board. And who knows, when the job market recovers after Brexit, such job boards can establish themselves as the best job sites in the UK!
