The roll out of a major UK-wide project to replace 53 million gas and electricity meters (smart-metering) has seen demand rise for accounting professionals in the energy sector to support the project from a financial, systems and communications perspective.
With a good supply of immediately available candidates at the moment, there is an appetite from employers for temp-to-perm roles at the transactional and part qualified level. Employers experiencing sign off delays for permanent vacancies are increasingly turning to temporary workers to clear backlogs.
Retailers remain cautious
Whilst retailers remain cautious in the current market, a few employers are hiring financial and commercial analyst roles in order to gain a better understanding of where their businesses’ financial pressure points lie, and in order to plan for the future.
The weakness of the GBP continues to make British exports more competitive in overseas markets. As a result we are seeing an increase in demand for financial controllers and commercial finance roles in export manufacturing companies, particularly in the Midlands.
The market is still seeing a significant amount of consolidation activity within the SME market. This is driving demand for finance managers to allow finance directors to focus on restructuring and upskilling their organisations.
Back in 2008 companies cut their intake of graduates into ACA training as the recession started to bite. We are now seeing a supply issue with companies unable to fill vacancies for newly qualified accountants.
