The Candidate Speaks to Simon Lewis, Co-Founder of Edge Global Media Group

Last month professional services firm Deloitte announced that this year recruitment adverts were the fastest growing type of advertising for digital publishers in the UK. Revenues rose by a quarter compared with the same period last year, experiencing its fastest growth since digital recruitment revenues were first tracked in 2009.

In this week's blog post we speak to Simon Lewis, Co-Founder of Edge Global Media Group (EGMG) - a portfolio of award winning brands specific to the marketing, digital and recruitment industries. We find out first-hand about the online recruitment ad industry, job trends, how the growth of digital has impacted EGMG and what's in store for the next 12 months.

Hi Simon, thank-you for taking the time to speak with us. How is the online recruitment ad industry?

Without question 2014 has seen online job advertising propel, especially given the continued rise and demand for digital talent. For a decade there has been chat about the demise or realignment of online recruitment advertising and in some areas, particularly traditional, flat, transactional job boards, this is true; but for progressive online recruitment channels, there remains a huge opportunity.

Can you tell us about any job trends you have noticed? Are there any specific skills sets that have increased in demand?

Without doubt the biggest talent demand is within digital, where skilled creative freelancers and front-end developers are particularly sought-after.  Unfortunately, aligned with this increase is a huge skills void, the trajectory of which is getting more and more prevalent.  

How has the growth of digital influenced Only Marketing Jobs and The Edge Global Media Group?

When OnlyMarketingJobs.com was established in 2009, it was sufficient to use the term 'marketing' to encapsulate the generic industry, which encompassed all online and offline marketing activities.  Now, digital has grown with such extremity that this term has now taken on the same overarching encapsulation of its previous marketing incumbent. As a result, 'only marketing jobs' needed to reach further into the increasingly sought-after areas of tech digital and creative, both client and agency-side.  Subsequently, OnlyDigitalJobs.com and OnlyAgencySideJobs.com were incepted as independent brands in these spaces. The Edge Global Media Group is the holding company for all three job boards and the network within they sit, the UK Marketing Network.

What do you predict for the next 12 months?

Unless employers are prepared to train passionate graduates or help 'skill-up' more mature professionals, the digital dearth is likely to continue.  Universities need to take responsibility too, understanding that current syllabus structures are nowhere near contemporary enough for the changing climate.  I predict that within the next 12 months the demands of hiring managers will relent, with the passion and commitment of tech-savvy marketers forcing themselves into roles currently unobtainable.  Without 'acceptance' from both sides, the skills gap will increase even further.

What are your perceptions towards the North/ South divide? Do you think there still is one?

We run regional digital marketing conference and, I have to say, I do still think a north/south divide exists, though not with the prevalence it once did. With its obvious strategy to become a digital powerhouse, Manchester in particular is arguably challenging London for supremacy. Though I believe the Capital continues to attract the best talent, mainly because brands are more established there.  That said, the recent 'Relocation Research' by The Candidate proves top talent is prepared to move for the right opportunity.

Meet Simon...

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