ABOUT MAKE UK
MakeUK, the manufacturers’ organisation, is the voice of UK manufacturing and engineering and the leading membership organisation for the sector. MakeUK enjoys close links with the government, a strong media presence, and is also a leading provider of business support services.
Members look to MakeUK for guidance and support on a diverse range of issues including the implications of government policy, international trade, supply chains, digital manufacturing, health and safety, apprentice training and HR and recruitment.
OVERVIEW
The UK manufacturing industry is something to be proud of and anyone with an interest in manufacturing will likely be aware of MakeUK. They are the voice of UK manufacturing, and the go-to for industry-leading reports, surveys, events, conferences and campaigns.
MakeUK is an organisation that represents manufacturers and uses its extensive industry knowledge to influence policymaking at local, national and European levels. They have in excess of 2,000 members who have joined the MakeUK community to connect, share and create industry best practice.
UNDERSTANDING THEIR NEEDS
Post-Covid, the manufacturing industry weathered the storm of the Great Resignation and the Great Reshuffle, with the highest number of people moving to new jobs for over seven years. This created a very competitive candidate-driven market, which made a fast and effective recruitment process crucial.
IDENTIFYING THE CHALLENGES
Candidate engagement
Time to hire
Suitable experience
Market insights
MAKE UK'S AIM
MakeUK and their members had seen the ongoing impact of a candidate-driven market and, as such, were seeking a new partnership with a specialist recruitment agency that could provide market knowledge and recruitment insights. Their objectives were to:
Identify a partner with excellent knowledge of the sector and the ability to engage with manufacturers on topical issues
Recruit for internal roles and roles required by members
Source a mutually commercially beneficial service provision
Engage with a partner with a collaborative approach to knowledge-sharing opportunities
This was all in support of their ultimate aim, to further the manufacturing and engineering industry. It soon became clear, through a thorough tender process, that STR Group/Insignis could provide the full services required of an Advantages Programme partner, particularly with our ambition to give back to the sector in which we first put down our roots 23 years ago.
OUR BESPOKE STAFFING SOLUTION
As part of our service, we provide market insights to MakeUK and its members via our new software system, in which we have invested significantly. This includes salary, surveys, rate benchmarking, and candidate availability and movements, broken down by geography and diversity criteria. These reports also help us to ensure that high-calibre talent is available when needed. We proactively plan upcoming requirements with MakeUK, actively talent-pooling ahead of the need so that vacancies are filled quickly and efficiently.
STR Group offers MakeUK’s members access to the full spectrum of our high-quality recruitment services including contract or interim placements, permanent recruitment and retained searches for hard-to-fill roles, or packages of roles, tailored to requirements. This is in addition to our market insights offering.
As the Recruitment Advantages Partner, we created a process whereby when a member indicates in the MakeUK portal that they are facing challenges, these are logged and our Account Director makes contact to discuss our offering in detail and designs a recruitment solution that addresses their needs.
For the first placement made with a new member, we invest 10% of our fee into a charity pot that we then donate to the ‘Smallpeice Trust’, a charity that runs STEM training days in schools across the UK.
Further to delivering skilled candidates and improving MakeUK’s recruitment, we have worked closely with MakeUK to provide additional value through the delivery of webinars covering staff retention, candidate engagement and workforce recruitment and retention. We have also delivered these presentations at Regional Advisory Boards (RABs) and have attended numerous member networking events, such as MakeUK’s Annual Conference.
DELIVERING ADDITIONAL VALUE
Reduced time-to-hire
The means to address current skills shortages within their workforce and that of their members
Access to leading market insights and advice through our reports, blogs, articles, webinars, and presentations on recruitment-related topics
Increased traffic to the MakeUK website via our articles and press releases
Reinvestment into the future of the manufacturing industry. This is achieved through a percentage rebate on each placement made with MakeUK being returned to the organisation for investment, and a percentage rebate on first placements with member organisations being donated to a charity that is passionate about the future of the industry
even if they are in the future.