Why Manufacturing Businesses Should consider shifting from Temp-to-Perm to Permanent Recruitment

In recent years, UK manufacturing has faced significant challenges in securing and retaining skilled employees. While temporary-to-permanent (temp-perm) recruitment has been a popular approach, the case for focusing on permanent recruitment is stronger than ever. Here’s why making this shift is critical in 2025.

The Changing Economic Landscape

From April 2025, the National Living Wage will increase to £12.21 per hour. This rise not only impacts wage costs but also affects worker expectations. With a higher wage floor, many potential employees will seek more secure roles to maximise income stability. For manufacturers, this means it’s increasingly strategic to offer permanent contracts, which will attract skilled candidates looking for long-term job security, rather than temp-perm options that struggle to appeal to the most qualified talent.

Low Unemployment and Competition for Talent

With unemployment at historically low levels, competition for qualified employees is intense. Many skilled workers are already employed and unlikely to switch for a temporary contract, even if it could lead to permanent status. By focusing on permanent recruitment, manufacturers can attract candidates who prioritize job security and are more invested in their long-term roles. This stability can lead to higher engagement, better productivity, and reduced turnover.

Standing out from competition

Candidates looking to gain a new job are typically presented with many opportunities, due to the factors above. If most of the competition are recruiting temp-perm, then by offering more secure employment will help with your company’s Employer Value Proposition (more of this in a later blog). Our job at 10 Recruitment is to understand our clients and why a candidate should consider a career with our partner clients. The story we tell is only as compelling as what we can craft with our clients, and we can work together to enhance the appeal of our vacancies.

Temp-Perm: Filling Gaps vs. Building a Team

Temp-perm recruitment typically fills immediate gaps rather than finding the best match for the role and company culture. In a tight labour market, this approach may attract candidates who are available but not necessarily the best fit. On the other hand, recruiting on a permanent basis gives manufacturers a better chance to hire people who are dedicated, aligned with the company's values, and willing to grow within the organisation – all factors that will help reduce attrition and build a culture within a business.

A Long-Term Strategy for Success

Permanent recruitment helps manufacturers build a stable workforce, especially critical in today’s climate where finding and training skilled labour is both costly and time-consuming. By committing to permanent hires, companies can focus on upskilling their teams and building long-term resilience, while benefiting from higher morale, lower turnover, and stronger performance.

What is the cost?

Recruiting on a permanent basis through an employment agency may not be as expensive as you think. Typically, finding a candidate of the right quality who fits the criteria of the vacancy on a permanent basis is easier than on a temp contract.

Here at 10 Recruitment, we are keen to speak to enlightened businesses looking at smarter ways to recruit talent. We invest our time in developing a bespoke onboarding model to showcase your company and sell to our candidates why they should consider a career with your business. By developing assets that can be used over video calls, we can reach more and better candidates, quicker and in the comfort and safety of their own homes—building engagement and giving our partner clients more talent to choose from. This approach typically creates a supply-side advantage, with interested, engaged, passive candidates keen on putting themselves forward for future intakes. This reduces Time to Fill and builds in resilience to your recruitment strategy to respond to growth or unexpected additional requirements. Finally, having a group of engaged candidates waiting for potential starts in a company can do wonders for retention and increasing standards of the current workforce, knowing that others value the positions that they occupy.

We recommend measuring the performance of Permanent hires against candidates recruited on a Temp-Perm basis to qualify performance and return on investment from both groups. Sounds complicated? We can offer a means for such measurement for our clients.

That said, there is undoubtably a place for Temporary contracts in the manufacturing sector, but a blended approach will add value. Failure to rethink recruitment strategy may have a much more significant impact and cost in the long-term in an ever-changing marketplace.

Call us today on 0333 038 32 10 to discuss your recruitment needs.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form