Good news for those in the marketing sector with job site Reed reporting a substantial rise in the number of marketing opportunities currently available.
According to data gathered by Reed for Marketing Week, the past 6 months has seen a 302% rise in those looking to fill marketing roles.
The market hit an all-time low in April last year when there were just 2,125 jobs on offer. By June this year, however, the number of open roles had risen as high as 14,055, an increase of 561%.
This data shows marketing managers have been in particularly high demand, accounting for more than 1 in 10 roles over the past six months. Roles paying between £25,000 and £50,000 have been most in demand, accounting for 65% of available vacancies.
Great news for marketing candidates, but what does this level of competition to fill places mean for employers?
According to research by recruitment agency Hays, almost three-quarters of employers say they have experienced skills shortages over the past year.
Will Pendlington, senior consultant at Michael Page, claims that now it is very much a candidate-driven market with marketing roles that would once have received 100 responses now receiving only 20 or 30.
In the IT channel specifically, jobs have spiked to pre-Covid levels with Marc Sumner, MD of channel recruitment firm Roberston Sumner, commenting:
“There’s been an enormous tsunami of vacancies registered with companies wanting tech sales and marketing people in the channel to fuel the growth. I think there’s going to be lots of companies out there that are going to have record years now. There’s no halting this train at the moment. It’s still really, really moving forward.”
But is there enough talent to meet demand?
Recent research for KPMG reported that the tech sector job market was growing at its fastest pace for two years with this expansion meaning there is an inevitable war for talent. Good people, with tech and channel skills are hard to find and they’re getting fussier as they have more choice.
Is it time for the channel to change how it recruits?
Marc Sumner recommends companies cast their nets wider and look beyond the IT industry for talent with transferable skills.
The closed shop mentality of some sectors of the channel has to change. There are many talented marketers from other industries interested in moving into the tech sector so now is the time to capitalize on these opportunities
“There’s no doubt that people really want to come into tech now. There’s loads of people out there with transferable skills that want to come into the industry,” says Sumner.
