Hello from Zitko

With Halloween around the corner, it is easy to get scared, but hopefully there is no reason to be afraid of the stability of the Fire and Security market today. Overall, we have seen a return to the kind of levels we would have expected pre-Covid in October.

Our Contracting, Technical and Sales teams have had a near record month, and this has been on the back of consistent recruitment from employers in all key sectors across manufacturing, distribution, installation, consultancy, sub-contract and end-user.  

As intimated below, many employers are using this time wisely to attract key individuals into their teams, and cementing plans for 2021 now. 

On the candidate side, we have seen a shift in mentality that is similar to the first stages of lockdown back in March.  In other words, with Christmas round the corner, local lockdowns starting to bite, with the media mainly full of negativity on the overall economy, candidates in the fire and security industry are naturally feeling more concerned and more risk averse. Ultimately, this means an increase in the ‘let’s wait and see’ approach amongst an increasing number of formerly mobile candidates. 

At Zitko we are reassuring employers and candidates that it still remains a strong and sensible time to review careers or recruitment strategies.  The best talent is still looking and is still highly aware of which employers are showing credible engagement and retention plans, strong recruitment strategies and a forward-thinking approach to 2021.

As well as our core divisions seeing high levels of activity, we have also been busy growing our offering.  In addition to launching our international operations, with news of our expansion in the US with Northland Controls, we have also launched our new division Zitko Talent, which aims to solve the talent crisis in the fire and security industry.  We are confident that both initiatives will only serve to strengthen our service offering to all of our customers.

Supporting these initiatives, we have a new website, which I welcome you to visit.  Over the next few weeks, you will be seeing more and more relevant content and functionality being added.

Finally, there are still obvious opportunities to celebrate.  In November the Fire and Security Excellence Awards are being hosted virtually for the first time.  Zitko are up for two awards in Customer Service and Lockdown Hero and several of our partners are also up for awards.  We look forward to celebrating the hard work that everyone has put in over the last 12 months, even if both the night and the year are not quite what we imagined they would be. 

Kind regards

George Zitko

Founder and Managing Director

Market Update 29-10-20

Technical: (Phil West – Director, Technical)

• The security industry continues to recover and the Technical Team here at Zitko is busy. Our clients have the vast majority of their workforce back working, albeit with many still working from home. Most companies are continuing with their growth plans, no longer in recruitment freezes. 
• We’re also seeing an increase in exclusive and retained searches as companies feel the frustration of being hounded by multiple agencies and prefer to use their time with a more targeted, precise and successful recruitment relationship. 
• Companies and candidates are beginning to look more at future plans, rather than just the immediate situation. This means the initial rush is slowing to a more considered pace, with companies and candidates becoming more selective during their searches. 

Sales: (Dave Geddes – Director, Sales)

• Manufacturers are looking to fill a few gaps caused by redundancies, but this is sporadic and is certainly not across the board.
• Installers / Integrators – we are seeing a bit more activity and companies are looking forward.
• International – More active in certain regions such as DACH / Middle East.
• In general, things were looking more positive than 4/5 weeks ago.  There is some hesitancy with latest Covid updates, but most progressive companies are looking to get in shape for 2021 and pressing on regardless.

Contracting: (Laura Raven – Managing Consultant, Contract)

• Contract market has continued to build at a steady pace over the past month.  We have seen a slight change in the need of engineers in the North, due to lockdown, but anticipate that will be a short-term slump.  We fully expect work will pick back up there as soon as the lockdowns are lifted.  
• The need for Multi Skilled Service Engineers across the South East and Midlands has been unprecedented, as businesses look to reduce the backlog of work cause by Covid!  If you are looking for service work, please get in touch!
• BS7858:2019 is still a topic of conversation with our clients.  Being able to offer this vetting adds a further layer of confidence in the contractors we are providing. As far as Zitko is concerned, quality assurance can only be a good thing for the sector! If you want to find out more about BS7858:2019 vetting please do get in touch with Laura. 
• IR35 is looming once more, with the changes to off payroll legislation coming into effect from 6th April 2021.  Are you ready? If you are not sure how it might impact you as a business, or as a limited contractor, then call us for a chat! Don’t be caught out, or worse still introduce a blanket ban on contractors that could limit your business’ access to valuable skill sets.