New research from Indeed suggests that law, finance, supply chain and internal communications are among the job sectors currently hiring on the back of Brexit.
Today (10 March), job site Indeed published new research suggesting which sectors are on busy hiring for Brexit-related roles in both the UK and Ireland.
By analysing job postings on the site mentioning Brexit, it found that law, finance and healthcare job descriptions are the most likely to reference it.
Due to “border uncertainty”, the company said, it also found frequent mention of Brexit in postings for supply chain jobs, including customs, shipping and quality assurance.
The reasons for referencing Brexit in these sectors, Indeed explained, is their relation to service industries that are “likely to be heavily affected” by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
‘It’s no surprise that skills and responsibilities related to Brexit planning make their way into job descriptions’
– PAWEL ADRJAN
UK lawyers have been registering to practise in Ireland since the referendum took place in 2016, the company added, as have financial services professionals such as financial reporters, market surveyors and auditors.
Internal communications roles have also been mentioning Brexit at a higher rate than other sectors, Indeed reported. It cited company restructuring as a potential factor in this, as such upheavals require increased information sharing and, as a result, must start hiring for additional resources.
Finally, postdoc positions have seen greater mentions of Brexit, “potentially filling a need for increased academic research into the effects of this new political territory”, Indeed said.
Recruiting to Ireland
Indeed noted that many recruiters are using Brexit as a means to hire UK-based workers to Ireland. It highlighted one job spec that said: “Brexit, Brexit, Brexit, leave it behind you and move to Ireland.”
Indeed stated that in October of last year, job postings mentioning Brexit peaked at 741 per million – up from 331 per million in March – which it linked to the January 2020 deadline for the UK’s withdrawal.
Brexit-related jobs postings from 2017 to 2019. Image: Indeed
Pawel Adrjan, economist at Indeed and head of EMEA research at the company, said that despite many fearing “negative employment effects of a bad Brexit”, it has in fact “created a need for some jobs to be adapted, or for new roles to be created entirely”.
“As companies ask their financial and legal teams to deal with the potential impact of Brexit, it’s no surprise that skills and responsibilities related to Brexit planning make their way into job descriptions,” Adrjan said.
“Some employers are leveraging Brexit uncertainty to attract UK-based candidates to jobs in healthcare and construction. Our previous research with the Central Bank showed that those sectors suffer from a particular shortage of candidates and it makes sense for recruiters to target anyone they can.
“We’ve seen this happen before in other areas where a specialised labour force is particularly in demand. For example, when Thomas Cook ceased trading in the UK last year, other travel operators targeted the company’s former employees by mentioning Thomas Cook in their job postings, and even setting up accelerated recruitment pathways overnight to attract workers with a particular skillset.”
