Welcome to In The Spotlight, a series where Manchester Digital interviews its members to shed light on their work within the digital and technology industry in Greater Manchester.
In this edition, we have the pleasure of speaking with Gravitas’ Principal Recruitment Consultant, Charlie Moore.
What does your organisation do?
We are Gravitas, a recruitment company serious about providing specialist recruitment services to Technology professionals and businesses, in Manchester and across our 8 other offices.
We focus on building partnerships and gaining an in-depth knowledge of local technology communities, working in accordance with our values of Respect, Integrity, Passion and Excellence.
This approach enables us to focus on collaboration and working together so that we can help you achieve excellence and fulfil your potential.
Providing high quality specialist services has helped us to become one of the leading UK recruitment companies, not self-proclaimed, but demonstrated by our numerous accolades, which include Best Specialist Recruitment Company.
What do you think is currently the biggest issue facing the tech industry?
From a recruitment point of view, the skills shortage within the tech industry is continuing to grow. Digital transformation has accelerated even more since COVID and we are seeing companies in the North West and UK-Wide all competing for the same talent. This increase in demand coupled with a lack of skills is pushing up salary and rates.
One way to combat the skills shortage is to encourage more people to enter the industry via education or by changing careers. As a recruitment company, we spend time working with local universities/colleges to advise students/graduates on careers in technology and also host regular networking events, where attendees can hear from people that have had successful careers in the industry.
In addition to the skills shortage, another challenge for the tech industry is improving diversity amongst candidates. This is something that is being addressed by many organisations and it requires a concerted and combined effort from all of us to solve it. We spend time working with our clients to consult on the type of person/skills that they are recruiting for, ensuring that job specifications and interview processes are inclusive and fair and building various diverse talent communities from which to recruit from.
What is your organisation’s biggest achievement?
It’s always hard to point out one achievement but if we were to point out one it would have to be the impact we’ve had on people.
In 2020/21 we managed to overcome the considerable challenges of a global pandemic. Despite the impact of COVID-19 on many in the recruitment industry we continued to grow, moving into new bigger offices in Manchester and extending our presence globally. We were awarded our second Princess Royal Training award, in the midst of a pandemic and, in 2021, we once again made the Recruiter Fast 50 list and won Global Recruiters Best Medium Recruitment Company, the judges praising our resilience during COVID-19.
Lastly, since our Manchester office opened, we have worked with 494 clients to recruit for vacancies and assisted 2,193 candidates in finding a new position.
What would you consider to be your organisation’s biggest challenge?
Like most organisations, Gravitas is working to overcome the talent shortages for the clients we work with and also for ourselves. We are focussing on creating an inclusive environment where our employees can grow and develop their own careers to their highest potential. With regards to working with our clients, we consult regularly on different ways to attract, select and retain talent in a competitive market.
What do you think the future looks like for Manchester’s tech sector?
We believe the future of the tech scene in Manchester is bright! We are seeing more and more companies continue to start up in Manchester or expand from other locations across the UK and even globally. Whilst business continues to grow in Manchester, we are seeing a healthy investment into residential to try and keep it as an affordable place to live and work.
It’s great to see developments like the opening of the new Manchester College campus this year and the collaborations between the college and local business to ensure young people are work-ready for the digital industry. This and other local initiatives will help with overcoming the challenges of the talent shortages and provide better career prospects for the local community.
Also, having a community like Manchester Digital bringing everyone in the sector is a great benefit for all the organisations involved. We’ve not come across communities like this in other locations that we have offices in.
Tell us something that we might not know about your company?
Not only are we a leading technology recruiter, we also fully believe in technology and the power of what it can deliver. We are investing into our own IT and Business Systems team which is now being led directly by our Managing Director.
Thank you Charlie
To find out more about Gravitas, click here.
