Hello from Zitko

In the 20 years that I have worked in the Fire and Security industry, all bar three Christmas periods have generally been quiet.  I fully expected this Christmas to be no different, given the year we’ve had.   As we come to the end of our second lockdown, December felt like a time to down tools, look to 2021, spend some time with the family and recharge and regenerate before the new year.

I couldn’t have been more wrong!  As we go into this December, the number of vacancies and the general activity across all of our divisions is as busy as it has ever been.  There seems to be a real willingness and energy about the industry to get hires done and to get people in to sort processes before the new year. Any thought of delaying or putting off decisions on hiring doesn’t seem to be happening.

Across every level, whether director or junior, and every vertical we are seeing a high level of opportunities.  As ever, this means that company branding, company communication and on-line profiles are as important as they were during the first lockdown. Although candidates have become more risk-aware, the right candidates are still looking for the right reasons and willing to move if it ticks the relevant boxes for their careers.

It’s been a very busy period here at Zitko.  Our international expansion continues with the hiring of an additional dedicated resourcer.  Our launch of Talent has gone incredibly well, and we will be looking to feature the employers that have taken the first steps to solving the talent crisis over the coming weeks.  Our new website has generated huge interest, with much more content to come and our Managed Service offering continues to win new customers, as employers seek to leverage the power of an internal recruitment team at a fraction of the cost of an employed in-house department.

As we head into 2021, with clarity on a vaccine, Brexit on the horizon, and the industry continuing to thrive, we are all set for a very busy and active year.

If there is anything that I can do to help you or your business before Christmas, please get in touch, otherwise I look forward to speaking to you soon.

Kind regards 

George Zitko 

Managing Director

 

Market Update 24-11-20

Technical: (Phil West – Sales Director – Technical)

• Lockdown 2.0 has been very different. This time it seems everyone was better set up and knew what to expect. Also, the pre-arranged time limit of 4 weeks meant that companies could plan to continue working through, banking on business either carrying on or coming back quickly. This meant very few people going on furlough.
• Although some companies are still struggling in what has been a difficult year, others are thriving, capitalising on the opportunities that are coming their way.
• The Technical Team at Zitko has seen a big increase in demand and lots of inbound traffic from employers. We’ve also seen increased interest in our Managed Service/RPO service.
• Employees working within the industry have found themselves either in busy or struggling companies. This has made things very unpredictable with employees, who would not have considered moving jobs, being forced to search for new roles.  This could be due to redundancy, or the way they have been treated this year. Conversely, previously ‘active’ job seekers may be choosing to stay put in the safety of their existing employer.
• There have been a lot of changes recently, but there is still good reason for optimism as, overall, we’re still seeing the security industry has plenty of opportunity.

Sales: (Dave Geddes – Sales Director – Sales)

• Since our last market update, we have not seen any significant change.
• We are hearing from some companies that they are holding fire to see how things progress with the current lockdown and whether we will be out of it before Christmas.  Some are waiting until the new year before hiring new staff.
• However, the majority of our clients are pressing ahead with their development plans and putting teams in place for 2021.
• There are lots of new starters in November, who are comfortable with virtual onboarding and limited travel, utilising this time to train and get up to speed for a big 2021!

Contracting: (Laura Raven – Managing Consultant – Contract)

• Contracting has continued to build at a steady pace again this month, with the new lockdown seeming to have no effect on work at all. The slump we saw in the North has definitely gone; we have seen a large number of long term install projects requiring resource come in over the last couple of weeks. Installs that had been delayed because of Covid-19 are getting back on track and new projects are being approved every day. December and early 2021 is already looking great!
• IR35 is a topic you should all be thinking about now! The changes to off payroll legislation are coming into effect from 6th April 2021, HMRC have already said there won’t be any further delays on these changes.  
• We at Zitko are ready for these, what about you? If you aren’t sure how it might impact you as a business or as a Ltd contractor, then call us for a chat! Don’t be caught out, or worse still introduce a blanket ban on contractors that could limit your business’ access to valuable skill sets.

Resourcing: (Terri Lalonde – Resourcing Manager)

• As we near the end of the year, we are seeing some slow-down in candidate activity. This is actually pretty normal for the time of year. Candidates often start to delay any idea of job hunting until after the festivities as they finish the projects they’re working on.
• We are seeing some impact of the lockdown creating uncertainty in candidate’s confidence to make a move, but with the same number of vacancies coming through as normal for the time of year, they just need a little reassurance that in many respects it is still business as usual.
• My advice is, that if a good job opportunity comes your way, don’t put it off until the New Year, as it is likely to have been filled by then. There is no harm in having a chat about it now and getting the interview process under way. What do you have to lose?