Engineering Sector
Engineering, our largest and most established sector, has been the most resilient in the
second half of the year. Contract NFI was up 6% in H1 but fell 12% in H2. Permanent fees
were up 19% in H1, down 38% in H2 and, overall, the sector was down 11% for the year.
Automotive saw the sharpest slowdown in recruitment activity with an 18% fall in NFI for
the year, contract NFI being down 16% and permanent fees down 25%. The remaining
engineering markets remained fairly resilient particularly in the Defence, Oil & Gas and
Marine areas which were essentially unchanged with slight growth in contract NFI
balancing out a small fall in permanent fees.
The Oil & Gas team focuses on the Offshore, Subsea and Petrochemical markets. This
marketplace has been affected by the huge fall in the price of crude oil which impacted on
pay rates, margins and ultimately temporary and permanent requirements.
The signs are that the marketplace may pick up again in 2010 and we believe that we have
positioned ourselves to capitalise on such a change due to our wide client base across the
Operators, Contractors, Consultants, Equipment Manufacturers and Subsea specialists.
We have won major contracts at Honeywell and Invensys, from both of which we expect to
see high demand for both UK and overseas based contractors.
The Power & Nuclear team have been focussing on client development work and we
anticipate seeing growth in the areas of renewable energy and “new build” in the coming
year. The Government’s recent announcement of major investment in the UK nuclear
infrastructure marketplace (including four new EPR reactors) should provide a solid
platform for the coming year.
The Automotive market saw major pressures this year as a result of the economic climate
and our contractor numbers reduced by some 60%, in line with the decline in new car
sales. Our main clients are anticipating recruiting again in the second quarter of our
current year. We are in a mature position within this marketplace, having first tier access to
the main Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s), allowing for strong growth in
contractor numbers and permanent placements when the market turns.
Aerospace is traditionally better protected against the immediate effects of such recent
downturns due to the relatively low volume and long lead times of aircraft purchases, and
the need for ongoing maintenance and repair work to ensure airworthiness. This year has
seen us maintain our contractor base and currently see continued activity within our major
Military clients, who are still fully financed, but anticipate continued pressure within the
Commercial sector.
The Marine team have experienced another successful year, predominantly based upon
their 97% fulfilment rate on our Master Vendor accounts across both blue and white collar
recruitment. Major projects include the CVF (aircraft carrier), OPV export projects and the
Astute Class submarines and this coming year we are also anticipating work on the FSC
(Future Surface Combatant) and the Successor submarine, subject to government funding.
The high level contract skill sets recruited into this marketplace were less affected by the
slowdown due to our niche focus and cross-industrycoverage.
The Pharmaceutical marketplace stayed fairly resilient during the year, whereas the Food
and Medical areas were affected by the slowdown. However with our specialist focus and
relatively small marketshare, we are looking forward to growth in the coming year.