As a recruitment agency with offices in multiple countries, we have a great advantage in being able to watch and compare recruitment trends from region to region. My role is to help grow E-Frontiers in the UK, and having access to this information is incredibly helpful. It allows us to spot new opportunities and find the best ways to support our clients as we continue to expand our operations in the UK.
At E-Frontiers we work with our clients across most skillsets and all industries by providing recruitment services for Permanent and Contract roles within the UK.
As an Irish headquartered company, we have an extensive reach on both sides of the Irish Sea. This is important to our clients for several reasons:
We have access to talent relocating between the 2 countries. For certain skills and talent (Funds, FP&A as examples) this can provide access to a broader talent pool for the more challenging skillsets. Additionally, we have USA and Spanish offices to further broaden our reach for clients.
Our understanding of the requirements around legislation for both countries is excellent – built up by 10 years of experience operating in both the UK and Ireland. For example, this applies to contract support with IR35 and the required considerations.
UK: We have supported several Irish companies in making their first key UK hire. As an Enterprise Ireland company ourselves who have gone on this journey, we are uniquely aware of the importance of this hire for companies. An example of such a client that we have supported with their UK growth is ClubForce (Sales Director UK).
Ireland: With vast experience in the market and a broad and deep market reach we can help clients build up management and leadership teams to support growth. We understand the importance of these hires and provide solutions that will ensure success for clients.
International Trends: Operating in several countries allows us to effectively observe and leverage trends. This global perspective helps us anticipate changes in one market based on trends in another, offering a broader, more comprehensive strategy for our clients.
At present, the UK market is not showing many signs of growth. A recent report by S&P along with KPMG recently shows that the contract market has experienced its sharpest contraction since the summer of 2020, somewhat alarming from my perspective, given what happened then. While this is worrying by its nature, we have noticed some encouraging trends in Q2 so far.
We have noticed a positive shift with increases in sales role requirements over the past two months. This is encouraging as it shows us companies are starting to think about growth again, instead of struggling to survive the recent tough times. The demand spans various positions, including Sales Development Representatives, Senior Business Development Managers, Account Managers, and Country Managers across a range of industries and companies.
At E-Frontiers, we have a proven track record of successfully assisting companies as they establish their presence in the UK. Securing that crucial first sales hire is often a key initial step, and we are experts at facilitating this process and work closely with companies to support them and ensure that this key hire is successful. These roles have traditionally stemmed from Irish companies expanding into the UK (given our Irish HQ). This has slowed over the last 18 months, but encouragingly, we are seeing companies starting to look for this type of hire again in the UK.
Although the UK contracting market has also slowed significantly over the last year and a half, recent positive developments suggest a resurgence.
A very encouraging trend we have noticed in this quarter is Professional Services firms are beginning to release more contract roles to us. This resurgence is significant as it indicates a return to post-pandemic activity levels within recruitment. This is hugely positive for us and for the wider market. Some of these clients have not had the requirements over the last 18 months due to a high percentage of staff on their “bench”. Now that we are starting to see these types of requirements come through, we can start to look optimistically ahead to Q3.
As a recruitment agency we love it when the wider talent market is tight resulting in a candidate-led market. Currently, this market can be described as more of a buyers’ choice market. However, the signs are encouraging for us. Coming out of covid we saw requirement numbers at their highest in decades, followed by a reduction over the last 18 months. In Q2 and especially on the contract side, we are now seeing signs of recovery with demand trending back to what it was in 2022. Companies are building out their sales teams, and professional services firms are resuming hiring. This, coupled with the apparent end to widespread layoffs, signals a positive trend in the job market.
At E-Frontiers in the UK, we serve a broad spectrum of industry needs. Our services include recruiting for key management and leadership roles, and filling both contract and permanent positions. Our commitment extends beyond mere staffing; we partner with companies to strategically build their management and leadership teams, supporting your business’s growth and expansion in the UK.
Our extensive experience and strong market presence equip us to offer customised recruitment solutions tailored specifically to your needs. Whether you’re building a dynamic sales team or filling specialised roles, E-Frontiers is here to facilitate you on every step of your journey.
Article Author: Kenneth O’Connor is the Head of Contract Recruitment (UK & Ireland) at E-Frontiers. Kenny is a very experienced IT recruitment specialist with over 10 years of experience in both recruitment and tech sales. Kenny currently leads the E-Frontiers Contracting division while also managing E-Frontiers UK, helping our clients secure the talent required to drive their growth plans. Kenny’s specialist areas of expertise cover all aspects of contract recruitment across the full IT lifecycle, Finance, Compliance, and multiple other areas. He holds a degree in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of Limerick and is the Vice-Chair of the London Irish Business Society.
Feel free to get in touch with our commercial team to discuss your recruitment needs:
UK: Kenneth O’ Connor : kenneth.oconnor@e-frontiers.com (m: 0044 740 365 1213)
IRE: Nigel Bolger : nigel.bolger@e-frontiers.ie (m: 00353 86 3888147)
