“This is the year of all records”, announces Stéphane Ducatez, director of studies and performance of Pôle emploi. According to the Labor Needs 2022* survey published on Tuesday, companies’ hiring intentions have never been so strong. “This is the first time that we have passed the bar of three million recruitment projects (+ 12% compared to 2021)”, he continues. One in three companies intend to hire this year, compared to one in four in 2021.
“We are on a very strong dynamic, linked to the reopening of the economy after the health restrictions”, he explains. The downside to this enthusiasm: as the study was carried out before the war in Ukraine, it does not take into account a possible slowdown in the job market in the coming months. But for the time being, the indicators do not signal any deterioration on the employment front: “If we look at the job offers submitted to Pôle Emploi in March 2022, we are still recording a record number of advertisements” , notes Stéphane Ducatez. The quality of jobs is also improving, as 71% of hiring projects concern long-term jobs (CDD for more than 6 months or CDI). And the share of permanent contracts has increased by 20% compared to 2021. As always, SMEs are the biggest job providers since 70% of recruitment projects come from them.
And the professions that recruit the most are…
The leading sectors remain services, industry, hotels and restaurants and construction. And 20 professions appear to be the most promising in 2022. “We find those in the hotel and catering industry (waiter, cook, kitchen or hotel employee, etc.), seasonal positions in agriculture arborist, picker, etc.), care professions (caregiver, home help, nurse, etc.), business service professions (maintenance worker, unskilled packaging worker, handler, etc.), notes Stéphane Ducatez .
And for those who want to move after the confinement experience, the geography of the most dynamic regions in terms of recruitment is interesting. Ile-de-France, the South of France, Brittany and the Grand-Est are in the lead.
Not sure that supply meets demand
These bright prospects could, however, be partly thwarted by the complex reality of the French labor market. If in an ideal world, each position offered should correspond to a job seeker, this is not always the case in our country. Pôle emploi already anticipates recruitment difficulties on the rise this year and which could concern 57.9% of recruitment projects (compared to 44.9% in 2021) and particularly affect SMEs.
“In small companies, it’s often the boss who recruits, for lack of an HR department. However, he does not always have the time to do so. There is also sometimes a problem with the relevance of applications, a lack of image of the profession or working conditions deemed difficult,” observes Stéphane Ducatez. And in times of economic recovery, many companies recruit at the same time, which creates tensions on the job market. The trades that are the most difficult to fill are those of construction (roofer, plumber, carpenter, boilermaker, welder) and care.
Solutions to create happy professional encounters
To try to remedy this situation, companies call on the Pôle emploi or recruitment agencies. “When an employer is plagued by a shortage of candidates, we use recruitment by simulation which makes it possible to widen the pool by identifying job seekers who have the capacity to occupy a position, even if they do not don’t have the diploma or the ad hoc experience,” explains Catherine Poux, director of business services at Pôle emploi.
Another possibility: train job seekers in shortage occupations. Last year, Pôle emploi financed 76,000 training courses of this type and the Regional Councils also do so. The Center of Excellence for Culinary Professions thus welcomes new learners every year: “These are job seekers or adults in retraining who discover a new and exciting profession”, explains Xavier Geoffroy, the general manager.
Immerse yourself in a company to get to know it better
To solve the problem of poor image of certain professions, Pôle emploi offers job seekers periods of immersion in the company. Camaïeu lent itself to this exercise: “We have already opened our stores to 17 people for one to two weeks. This is enough time to determine if the job of salesman appeals to them, ”says Audrey Gaspard Kponton, recruitment manager for the brand.
Some branches, such as hotels and restaurants, are also working on their side to improve their attractiveness. A new salary scale was thus proposed last December. An important element for future applicants.
Source: 20minutes
