Engineer shortage is big problem for security recruiters

The biggest challenge facing the recruiter in the technical security market is the chronic shortage of good candidates, says Douglas Catt, Senior Consultant at the Technical Security Division of c2c Recruitment. "This is, without doubt, the most demanding sector in the security market, and merits a re-appraisal of recruitment policies and techniques."

The first requirement is to give the recruitment process more priority in terms of both planning and execution, he says.

"It is surprisingly rare for the employer to have even an outline written job specification", says Catt, who if necessary will write one for the client before commencing the candidate search. "It is an excellent discipline for clarifying the extent to which specialist knowledge and experience is essential rather than just desirable to do the job. Also ensure that your recruitment consultant understands both the industry and your business. I would have difficulty servicing this market without my previous experience running my own security company."

One of the principal constraints is the insistence of many employers that they will only consider candidates with both suitable qualifications and industry experience. This results in everybody fishing in the same limited labour pool, often without making a catch! There are many potential candidates with good technical skills working in other industries, and there should be greater focus on attracting more of these rather than insisting on security industry knowledge.

A reputation for training will attract good staff
Going hand-in-hand with this broadening of the candidate field is a greater commitment to training, essential if engineers and technical sales people from other industries are to get up to speed quickly. There will be occasions when people move on before providing a full return on the investment in training, but as a general rule a reputation for good training will enable an employer to both attract and retain good staff.

Rates of pay need to be competitive, and in calculating what can be afforded the employer should take account of the cost of vacant positions and also of continually recruiting as a result of high staff turnover. Candidates are also suspicious of employers who advertise jobs at salaries of 'Up to £x000 for the right candidate', only to try and save money by offering less. 'This is really saying that the applicant is not the right candidate, hardly the message to give to a prospective employee'.

c2c Recruitment also believe that too many good candidates are lost in the recruitment process because of delays in holding interviews, making decisions and job offers, and vetting. Agreeing a timetable and adhering to it requires a much more disciplined approach than most companies adopt, but it does significantly improve the chances of making successful appointments.

"This labour market will remain very competitive as far ahead as I can see" says Catt, "So if recruitment does not figure high on your list of priorities now may be the time for a re-think".