Job Creation Initiatives. Should You Raise Your Hopes?

David Cameron has started a tour of the UK with the aim of boosting employment. The Prime Minister says that his government “will be focused relentlessly on supporting growth and driving job creation across our economy.” But public sector jobs are being cut dramtically and Government ministers are on record as saying that they believe the private sector will be the engine for job creation. Which begs the question, how much can governments really do to create jobs in private companies?

Bosses and Their Shortcomings

The head of the Northern Ireland Water company is reported as set to resign following extensive water shortages brought on by the cold weather. The commander of an American aircraft carrier has been fired after showing his crew sexually abusive videos. The one thing both these events have in common is that they are bosses of public organisations.

Wishful Thinking Is No Way to Run A Country

This month’s rise in UK unemployment figures was not unexpected. The first round of public sector redundancies began in August and the consultation period is just ending. We can expect the unemployment figures to rise further. What is less likely to happen however is that the private sector will step in and create jobs, despite government assertions that they will.

Moving From A Public To A Private Sector Job

It seems that the government is hoping that many of those being made redundant from the public sector will find new jobs in the private sector. That may be so. But nobody has focused on the problems that public sector employees will face when applying for private sector jobs, particularly if they have never worked for a commercial company before.

The key difference between public and private sector recruitment processes is that the former is much more transparent. Every job is supposed to be advertised and generally the only way to apply is by filling in an application form. The private sector by contrast relies much more on word of mouth techniques, networking accounts for well over half the jobs awarded by commercial companies.

Also of course the cultures are very different. Expectations in a profit-driven environment are very different from those in a service-focused regime. Applications to private sector companies may well need to stress a very different proposition to those directed at public sector bodies.

It would be useful, I think for those being made redundant from the public sector to receive some sort of induction into private sector recruitment processes. It is just one of the many reasons why ex-public sector employees need to be offered a top quality outplacement service.