A survey after lockdown: UK companies want staff but foreign workers are not there
May 17, 2021, 12:54 pm

A survey after lockdown: UK companies want staff but foreign workers are not there

This picture taken on April 26, 2021 shows security officers checking cars along a road in Suva after the Fijian capital entered a 14-day lockdown following a COVID-19 spike following a "superspreader" funeral event. (AFP)

A survey showed that British firms seek for new staff as pubs, restaurants and other hospitality and travel firms got ready for Monday’s lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in England.

According to the survey by job search website Adzuna an exodus of foreign workers is aggravating a shortage of candidates, with more than 10 jobs on offer for every job-seeker in some cities.

Job adverts on Adzuna increased to 987,800 in the first week of May, up by 18% from the end of March, which was before the reopening of non-essential retailers and hospitality firms for outdoor service on April 12.

A further lifting of restrictions to let pub and restaurants to serve customers indoors takes place in England on Monday.

Adzuna said 250,000 fewer job-seekers from western Europe and North America applied for work in the UK per month between February and April than before pre-pandemic.

“UK employers can no longer rely on overseas workers to plug employment gaps,” Hunter said.

A combination of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic are believed to have reduced the number of foreign workers in the UK.

The UK’s statistics office estimates the number of non-UK nationals employed in the country in the last three months of 2020 fell by 4.0% from the same period of 2019 to 4.22 million, based on tax data, compared with a 2.6% fall for UK nationals to 24.0 million.

Adzuna said there were 13 jobs on offer for each job-seeker in Manchester while the ratio in Cambridge and Oxford stood at 11. In Maidstone, southeast England, there were 20 jobs for every job-seeker.

The shortage of workers is not unique to Britain. Hospitality firms in parts of the United States have said their holiday seasons are threatened by a lack of staff, echoing recent problems in Australia.

A feared surge in job losses in the UK has not happened, largely because of a massive public jobs subsidy scheme. That furlough scheme is due to be phased out over the summer before ending in September.

Reuters staff, Writing by William Schomberg

Source: Reuters

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”