Industry & Company News

World Skills UK announce the appointment of Ben Blackledge as their new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Ben, who was previously interim CEO at WorldSkills UK, will take full responsibility for the leadership and development of the charity immediately. Thewlis Graham Associates are delighted to see the appointment of Ben Blackledge and we look forward to continue working with Ben and World Skills UK.

The latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs survey, compiled by S&P Global, highlighted that lingering uncertainty over the economic outlook continued to weigh on hiring decisions at the end of the second quarter. Permanent placements fell solidly, while growth of temp billings remained mild overall. Total vacancies meanwhile expanded at the slowest pace in 28 months. The slowdown in recruitment activity and reports of redundancies drove a steep and accelerated rise in overall candidate availability. Notably, the supply of both permanent and temporary workers increased at the sharpest rates since December 2020. At the same time, pay pressures remained marked but showed signs of cooling, with rates of both starting salary and temp wage inflation softening to their weakest in over two years in June.

Employers feel marginally more positive about the UK economy, but it is not enough to shift their caution on hiring

International Non-Binary People's Day is observed each year on 14 July and is aimed at raising awareness of the issues faced by non-binary people around the world. Find out how you can show your support and explore our Diversity & Inclusion section on our website which contains a range of articles and practical guidance on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and in particular on sexual orientation discrimination, gender identity and reassignment discrimination in the workplace.

World Youth Skills Day celebrates the importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship and raises awareness of the importance of skills in addressing the challenges of youth unemployment in countries around the world. Find out more about the benefits of recruiting young people and how to connect young people through work including opportunities created by one of our clients World Skills UK who support young people across the globe via competitions-based training, assessment and benchmarking.