Much of the growth in employment is being driven by a booming information and communications technology sector (ICT). The ICT market in the UK currently generates £140 billion, equal to 12% of GDP, and employs 600,000 people. The UK has become a clear market leader for IT jobs in Europe because of the sophisticated consumer base which adopts new technologies quickly, combined with a highly skilled labour market.

The UK’s advantages in IT have firmly established it as the European market leader in ICT, and research carried out by Microsoft suggests that 2,500 new businesses and 78,200 new jobs in IT could be created as early as the end of next year.

One of the biggest growth areas within the IT sector is in the provision of Cloud Services, following indications that small and medium sized businesses are going to utilise cloud storage solutions. Currently 18% of enterprises are plugged into the cloud, but this is expected to rise to around 50% by the end of the year. It is forecast that half of all companies’ new IT expenditure will be geared to cloud solutions by 2015.

The figures cast some doubt over the common assumption that it is the public sector which is bearing the brunt of the government’s austerity measures, in the battle to get national debt under control. However the figures, although revealing, do not tell the whole story, as they show average pay rates and not direct comparisons between comparable jobs in the two sectors.

One potential explanation for the widening gap is that many former public workers are now on a private contract basis for doing essentially the same jobs but employed through agencies or private firms on a contracted basis on lower rates of pay. The ONS offered several other possible explanations for the gap, including the fact that employees were generally older in the public sector and salaries usually increased with age, and that the public sector had a greater proportion of skilled jobs.

Neil Carberry, a director of the employer’s organisation, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), claimed that regardless of the methodology it was ‘clear that public sector pay is still considerably higher than pay in the private sector’. He went on to stress the ‘need to ensure that public sector salaries reflect local labour market conditions, by putting pay decisions into the hands of individual employers at the local level’.

Traditionally, a higher proportion of Scotland’s economy has depended on the public sector than in other parts of the UK. In terms of public expenditure (as a percentage of GDP), the difference between Scotland and the rest of the country is substantial; 48.8% in Scotland against 43.9% in the UK as a whole. However in terms of employment, although the gap between Scotland and the rest of the UK is narrower (23.2% in Scotland as opposed to 20% in the whole of the UK), public sector employment is still of vital importance to the country.

There is no doubt that public sector cutbacks will hit Scotland hard, and many analysts have expressed the fear that the private sector in Scotland will not be strong enough to compensate and drive the growth of employment, particularly in light of the uncertainty over the independence referendum. However, there are signs that the private sector is more than capable of taking the extra strain.

The results of the Bank of Scotland Purchasing Managers Index for February revealed that the private sector was producing jobs at the highest rate for four years, with the blossoming financial services sector leading the way. In addition, there have recently been a number of high profile announcements, including an increase in investment for pharmaceuticals firm GlaxoSmithKline in their Scottish facilities in Montrose and Irvine.

Buoyant economic data released on 4^th April suggests that the UK is likely to avoid slipping into a double dip recession. Figures from the latest Markit/CIPS survey showed that Britain’s services sector has grown consecutively for the past 15 months, expanding by as much as 0.5% in the first quarter of 2012. The wide ranging services sector accounts for about 75% of the British economy and is widely considered as a key driver of economic growth. The survey also reported growth in the manufacturing and construction sectors, which suggests that the economy as a whole is more robust than was thought just a few months ago.

However despite the growth of the services sector as a whole, the financial and banking sectors are still behaving cautiously, resulting in limited city job opportunities. Many financial institutions have undertaken restructuring and job cutting programmes to cut costs and ensure that they remain profitable and competitive in the more demanding business environment. According to a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the City cut 27,000 financial jobs in 2011 and there are still deep concerns about the future. There are fears that the Euro zone crisis may erupt again, and while conditions remain uncertain, most companies are adopting a conservative approach to job creation.

The availability of a pool of skilled experienced workers in the sector, following recent large scale redundancies in the industry, mean that those looking for career opportunities have to demonstrate exceptional qualities. On the other hand, there are excellent prospects for companies to add talented people to their payroll.

Losing a job is tough, there is no doubt about that, especially when you personally were not to blame for the company’s problems. Redundancy can have a severe psychological impact; a tendency to depression and anger is common but ultimately self-defeating. The best proven route back to employment is to remain positive and maintain focus.

No amount of gloss can hide the fact that for most people redundancy is a blow, so if at all possible, take a short holiday after you leave your position to recharge the batteries and prepare yourself mentally for the job search ahead. It is amazing how a bit of quality R&R can rebuild confidence and wellbeing.

However after the break, it is time to get back on the horse so treat a job search as you would a job itself by getting organised and drawing up a strategy. Visiting a specialist recruitment area in your career field is always a good first move. A discussion with a recruitment professional with experience and knowledge of your industry will give you a better idea of what is out there and identify some steps to take. It is quite likely that they will already know of suitable positions available and can begin arranging interviews.

A recruitment specialist can also help with a review of your CV and help you ensure it is up-to-date and formatted according to company preferences. We also advise that you keep well-informed of developments within your field so that you are able to speak knowledgeably about current industry trends when you are called for interview.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 7,200 people were added to the unemployment register representing a 12^th straight month of rising unemployment. The unemployment rate now stands at 8.4%, the highest level since 1995. However, hidden within the data the ONS produced was the much more positive, but less widely reported, news that for the first time since the start of 2011 the private sector has generated more jobs than were lost in the public sector and this could mark a turning point for the economy.

Job losses in the public sector were brutal in 2011; in total 270,000 jobs were lost nationwide. The cutbacks in the public sector is part of the government’s plan to get national borrowing levels under control and has been the chief cause for the rising unemployment levels. As a result of the squeeze of the public sector, economic growth is dependent on the private sector which has itself been suffering both in the wake of the global economic slowdown and uncertainty created by the ongoing financial crisis in the Eurozone.

Despite the difficulties in 2011, the private sector managed to create 226,000 jobs with the IT, engineering and telecommunications sectors leading the way. Even more encouraging was the news that between November and January last year, private businesses created 45,000 jobs as opposed to the 37,000 lost in the public sector. This is a possible indicator that the unemployment levels have bottomed out.

While remaining cautious, government and leading industry experts acknowledged that the figures were positive and that firms may be confident enough to take on new staff in increasing numbers in the months to come.

Outside of the recruitment of newly qualified lawyers, many leading law firms do not recruit directly but look to specialist recruitment agencies to find the staff they require. As a result, many new legal job positions do not even get publicly advertised as the task of shortlisting is outsourced to a trusted legal recruitment agency. For someone looking to pursue a career with these leading law firms, registration with the agency is vital in order for them to be considered.

Another major benefit of using a legal recruitment agency to further your career is being able to take advantage of their in-depth knowledge of the sector. Within the law, there are many different specialisations and the recruitment consultant can match a candidate’s skills and expertise with a firm that is searching for staff with a particular type of expertise.

A good recruitment agency can also advise a legal job candidate on the selection process of a particular potential employer. These can include details on interview styles, testing and personality profiling. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and this kind of information can be enormously helpful to job candidates.

According to the report, the biggest demand for new permanent staff was registered in the engineering, construction and IT sectors. The report also revealed a slight fall in demand for temporary and contract staff during January.

The news of an increase in the number of jobs is very much welcome after official government figures revealed that in the three months leading up to November 2011, unemployment in the UK had reached its highest level in almost 18 years. However, the number of new unemployment benefit claims was less than anticipated in December and this may be an indication that the jobs economy is finally on the rise again, albeit slowly.

Kevin Green, REC’s Chief Executive, acknowledged that the report indicated a small, but welcome, improvement in the labour market. However he also cautioned of the ‘disconnect between what employers are looking for and what job seekers can offer’ and highlighted this as a major challenge for the recruitment industry.

Despite a general fall in demand for office space in the capital, the IT sector took up 1.3 million sq ft of space in 2011, double the amount over the previous year. The biggest demand came from Google, Nokia and Groupon but many smaller technology companies also moved into offices across London.

The news is a welcome boost for those looking for jobs in the IT sector, however London has some way to go before it can challenge Dublin where many technology companies base their European offices to take advantage of the considerable tax incentives on offer.

However, no European city can compete with London in terms of a large pool of skilled labour. This could be a potentially game winning card in the future. Technology companies often expand much faster than those in traditional industries and for that to happen, IT firms need to be able to recruit skilled staff quickly. London also benefits from a culture of flexibility and innovation, two necessities for the technology industry.

Of course, not all situations are as dramatic as the Barings Bank collapse, but the lessons learned have resulted in operational risk jobs being given a heightened role in many companies. It is the function of an operational risk professional to assess and demonstrate risks arising from all a company’s operations. Operational risk can examine a broad range of hazards for a business – fraud, negligence, systems failures, inadequate corporate governance and employment policies – to name just a few.

The most effective way for an operational risk professional to protect an organisation from hazards is to caution constantly against the danger of complacency. The consistent reinforcement of this message within a company can foster a corporate environment that recognises risk and helps avoid the calamitous fate of Barings.