Employers can now register with Search.co.uk/Jobs and post their job adverts by choosing any one of 3 easy ways to pay, including a new £49 for 30 day ‘job credit’ offer.

You can also choose our industry-first ‘pay per application’ option or discuss a single monthly fee for unlimited vacancies.

Either go to our Employer Section now to register and post your vacancies for only £49 via this limited time offer, or call us on 0845-026-2026 for more information on ‘pay per application’ or ‘unlimited job advertising’.

This means doing more than simply finding the right employer. Never has it been clearer that the “jobs for life” culture doesn’t exist any more, explains Peter Gillespie, Managing Director of Search.co.uk, the leading jobs website.

“Many jobs which seemed rock solid ten years ago have disappeared. Who would have thought, for instance, that working for a Scottish bank could turn out to be a risky business?

“But rapid change in employment is now a fact of life. What job seekers have to consider is how they can develop the skills to help them to adapt and even benefit from regular career moves,” says Gillespie.

It is impossible to predict precisely which skills will be in demand at the end of the decade. But there are patterns which have continued for many years.

There have not, for instance, been enough school leavers going into technical education and training which has created a skills shortage in the oil industry in Aberdeen and Dundee. Okay, it is possible that environmental concerns will reduce employment prospects in the oil business, but higher-level technical skills can be transferred to other industries, for instance developing renewable energy sources.

“It is these adaptable skills that young job seekers need to develop,” says Gillespie. “For example at Search.co.uk we’re hearing from a growing number of employers who are seeking recruits with language skills. This demand can only grow as the economy becomes increasingly global.”

Employers also say it can be difficult to find applicants with so-called “soft skills” such as customer handling, planning and organising and problem-solving. Employees with these abilities are the ones who can benefit from on-going training so they can develop their skills to match the requirements of the organisation.

For many people higher education will be the best way to “learn to learn” new skills. Some strictly vocational training creates inflexible workers who get left behind the pace of change.

But Gillespie stresses that a degree isn’t the only path for job seekers. “It is impossible to predict exactly what skills and qualifications will be required by employers offering jobs in Scotland in 2020. But I bet there’ll still be shortages of plumbers, electricians and other qualified trades people. Those with the right qualifications will be making a very comfortable living.”

Useful links: Jobs in Glasgow, Jobs in Edinburgh, Jobs in Aberdeen, Engineering Jobs.

“For several months employers I’ve been talking to in cities like Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee have been increasingly optimistic about jobs,” says Peter Gillespie, Managing Director of Search.co.uk.

“Their feelings were confirmed in the middle of December by figures from the Office of National Statistics showing that unemployment fell in Scotland by 2,000 in the three months from August to October – despite the jobless figures continuing to rise for the rest of the UK.”

Gillespie says that while this does not represent a boom in Scottish jobs, it does seem to suggest that a recovery in demand for staff – although fragile – is on its way. Also that there are some areas of the Scottish economy where there are definite grounds for optimism.

The financial services sector, which a year ago appeared to be in meltdown, is quietly recovering. The large banks did shed staff and, while there may be more redundancies to come, there was also considerable growth in the form of Tesco Bank, Virgin Money, BN Paribas and Esure insurance.

“Although some major institutions suffered catastrophic problems with the credit crunch, the need for financial services in general hasn’t disappeared. Individuals and companies still need insurance, banking, loans, pensions, savings and investment services. The institutions may have changed but the accountancy & finance jobs are still there,” says Gillespie.

The strength of the Scottish manufacturing sector has also surprised many commentators. As early as July firms in CBI Scotland’s quarterly survey were bullish about their prospects, while by October they were talking about their order books filling up.

This resurgence in manufacturing appears to be largely driven by overseas sales. The latest Lloyds TSB Scotland Business Monitor, which surveys over 400 companies, found expectations for export activity rising to their highest level for four and a half years. Manufacturers are benefiting from the weakness of the pound which helps make Scottish products very competitive in overseas markets, and it’s helping other parts of the economy too.

Tourists from overseas are discovering their Euros, dollars and yen go much further, while visitors from south of the Border find their spending isn’t quite as squeezed as it is when they take their holidays in Continental Europe and the USA.

It’s impossible to exaggerate the importance of tourism to the Scottish economy. It brings in around £4 billion a year and creates around 200,000 jobs in Scotland .

Much of the growth in the Scottish hospitality industry has been at the upper end of the market. Five-star visitors expect professional service and the pay, training and standard of staff reflects this.

Finally, if proof were needed of the resilience of the Scottish economy, the whisky industry was reporting growth at the end of 2009 with over 800 million bottles being shipped abroad between January and September. Bringing in well over £2 billion this represents about 20% of Scotland’s manufactured exports. There’s a success everybody can drink to.

“A group of Scottish job seekers told me recently that they don’t expect a response any more when they apply for job vacancies advertised on most job advertising websites and most of their past applications weren’t even acknowledged. In fact, on average only 1 in 5 of recent online job applications resulted in any type of response.

That is a pretty sad indictment of those employer advertisers and their attitude to applicants. There is no excuse for not acknowledging job applications and keeping applicants informed at the key stages of the recruitment process,” says Peter Gillespie, Managing Director of Search.co.uk.

”With all the recent discussion about employer branding, it makes even less sense to create a group of disaffected applicants with a poor impression of your process and your regard for their effort in applying to them. People place more value on what employers do rather than what they say, and so ultimately employers get the reputation they deserve.”

“There’s no excuse as current online response management tools mean it can be as easy as clicking a button for an employer to acknowledge and respond appropriately to an application. So, why don’t more employers do it?

We’ve built openness, ease of use and transparency into all our own online response management processes for advertisers on Search.co.uk. To do otherwise is unfair on job seekers and reflects badly on the employers.”

Gillespie says that most organisations will tell you that their employees are their most important asset. If that’s the case, shouldn’t they be treated accordingly right from the very start?

“Job descriptions in many advertisements are also poorly worded. This leads both to applications from people who are not appropriate for vacancies and to well-qualified candidates deciding not to apply because they don’t understand the job requirements,” says Gillespie.

He recognises that some of the problems arise from the current strain on HR departments which are often being squeezed at the same time as they have additional pressure arising from cutbacks in other areas of the business. Bad recruitment procedures, however, can only add to the strain on an organisation.

In the current economic climate ‘running lean’ is the secret of success. That means every employee and, therefore, every new recruit has to have not just the capability and skills but the motivation to maximise their performance within the organisation.

Recruitment processes should focus on more than just simple selection. They should be seen as a way to communicate with candidates.

Every job applicant should know:

* Any information they provide is kept secure and confidential.

* What will happen next in the recruitment process.

* When they will learn the outcome.

* What the outcome is.

Search.co.uk has these steps built in to their online service for advertisers so every job seeker can be saved, initially assessed, acknowledged and responded to with a couple of ‘clicks’. There is no reason why other organisations should not offer the same, Gillespie explains.

“Quite apart from any poor experiences suffered by job applicants to any job vacancy being bad for an organisation’s reputation, it can start any subsequent new employees off on the wrong foot.

“Organisations which follow best practice, treating future potential employees fairly, will ultimately benefit from a more loyal and committed future workforce. And, they’ll enhance rather than damage that much talked about ‘employer brand’ and make it easier to attract future talent. That is the simple message we want to communicate,” concludes Gillespie.

As reported in The press & Journal, the specialist provider of oilfield equipment and services to the global oil and gas industry said that Lime Rock Partners has taken a minority stake in the business.

ITS is aiming to become a major global player in the oilfield drilling sector and already has 25 facilities worldwide and provides jobs for nearly 1,100 employees in Aberdeen and across their world-wide operations.

Executive chairman and founder Bob Kidd was quoted as saying, “This is an exciting time for the group, with unprecedented levels of opportunity in a challenging environment.

“The investment strengthens our balance sheet, allowing us to continue investing organically and also to pursue the acquisition opportunities that are prevalent in the current market.

“Lime Rock Partners has an impressive track record supporting growing companies in the sector.”

The news is another sign of improving confidence in the oil and gas sector in Aberdeen and, along with other recent indicators is encouraging with regarding to the prospects for more new jobs in Aberdeen and oil and gas jobs in general.

To view all current jobs in Aberdeen on Search.co.uk/Jobs, click here.

Aberdeen, ‘the granite city’ offers extensive job and career opportunities across a diverse range of industries and services. The oil and gas capital of Scotland and the country’s third largest city, Aberdeen is also a major administrative centre with job opportunities in oil & gas and related industries; education, sea port and ferry trades etc.

Although Aberdeen has suffered in the recent recession along with the rest of the UK, it’s dependence on the oil and gas sector has protected it from the worst effects of the downturn. Now, local business leaders are predicting a brighter future with a return to greater levels of confidence in employers and businesses in the Aberdeen area in terms of future recruitment and employment prospects, ahead of the rest of Scotland.

The Sunday Herald newspaper, on 6th September 2009, quoted Tom Smith, who heads Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (ACSEF) as saying, Aberdeen has “turned the corner” and continued, “I think the picture now is very upbeat, which is not something I would have been able to say even a few months ago. A variety of indicators, from house prices and various general business confidence measures, show that Aberdeen has turned the corner, and things are starting to move forward again”. This can only bode well for prospects for jobs in Aberdeen and the surrounding area.

The wider Aberdeenshire area contains a large number of companies supplying into the oil and gas sector, alongside more traditional agricultural, tourism and food production industries. So, if your looking for jobs in oil and gas, jobs in tourism and leisure or jobs in food production or agriculture, Aberdeenshire has a lot to offer – and not just the job opportunities, but the lifestyle also.

Whatever your job in Aberdeenshire, you’ll have access to a fantastic range of recreational facilities and services in Aberdeen and the surrounding areas or Deeside, Speyside and Morayshire.

Selecting ‘Jobs in Aberdeen’ on Search.co.uk/jobs, covers jobs in the city of Aberdeen and in the surrounding Aberdeenshire towns, including jobs in Peterhead, jobs in Fraserburgh, jobs in Inverurie, jobs in Ellon, jobs in Forres and jobs in Stonehaven.

Although the offshore jobs sector looks like it will continue to decline in future due to greater offshore automation, the smart money is on a return to greater job opportunities in Aberdeen and the surrounding Aberdeenshire area. So, to start looking for your new job in Aberdeen on Search.co.uk/jobs now, just click below!

Jobs.search.co.uk/Aberdeen/

That’s why at Search.co.uk we believe collaboration is the key to our future development. Our recent deals to acquire Hijobs.co.uk and collaborate with Real Radio to launch ‘www.Realradio.co.uk/jobs’, means we can now reach hundreds of thousands of new online job seekers as well as over 700,000 radio listeners across central Scotland.

So, if you are looking for a job in Aberdeen, a job in Inverness or a job in Scotland, you have a new series of new local site options to access hundreds of vacancies within your local area almost no matter where you live in Scotland.

As an advertiser, a single posting via Search.co.uk to reach a potential job applicant in Inverness or in central Scotland, now appears across three main job sites via a single process, for a low single cost. So, much better value job advertising for the price of a single job site. Collaboration really does work!

Hijobs.co.uk now specialises in jobs in Inverness, jobs in Aberdeen, jobs in Morayshire and jobs across the north of Scotland while also listing jobs across the rest of Scotland via the main Search.co.uk jobs database. ‘Realradio.co.uk/jobs’ displays all Scottish job vacancies from Search.co.uk to it’s audience of over 700,000* weekly listeners (* – source, RAJAR Q2, 2009). You can also view c.4,000 job vacancies across Scotland and the rest of the UK on Search.co.uk.

If you are a recruiter, you can advertise on all three job sites (and a few more of our other ‘partner sites’), for only £100! Or, even less if you have more than one vacancy. We are also unique in offering our ‘pay-per-application’ option – so, you only pay for the applications you receive (the first 20 only – the rest are free)!

So, looking for a job in Aberdeen, a job in Inverness, a job in Scotland – or, looking for new staff in Aberdeen, Inverness or Scotland, then please visit;

jobs.search.co.uk/city/Aberdeen/,
www.hijobs.co.uk,
www.realradio.co.uk/jobs,