Customs & Global Trade Recruitment: Q3 2021 Market Report

Now that we are passed the halfway point of 2021, how active is the customs and trade jobs market?

Here is the Q3 market report…

The past quarter has preserved the everlasting trend of a highly competitive market within Customs and Global Trade. We’ve seen the market jump leaps and bounds in recent months with regards to the accessibility of available resources for expertise, with movers and shakers across different industries or within practice.

Our regular newsletter subscribers will know that a common topic of discussion here is the concept of building a greater awareness around the importance of customs professionals at all levels. Recently, commerce & industry and professional service firms have faced a large influx of customs queries, making it apparent that shifting focus towards junior resources is becoming widespread.

It’s becoming exceedingly clear that the most considerable challenge this market faces is building a larger pipeline of juniors and graduates specialising in customs & global trade.  From a recruitment perspective, this creates a very attractive long-term opportunity for those who have yet to choose a tax discipline to specialise in.

In the foreseeable future, customs and global trade will continue to be a hugely candidate driven market in both practice and industry.

Why choose a career in Customs & Trade?

Now Brexit is done, surely the rush for customs and trade professionals is over?

Well not quite!

Although some politicians would prefer, we all looked elsewhere, the full implications of Brexit are still unclear. Many businesses are still unsure where they stand when it comes to UK-EU trade and there is more upheaval to come. In September, the UK Government announced they would delay border checks on incoming goods from the EU until next year, citing supply chain issues.

Meanwhile, export health certificates which were due to be required from October won’t be brought in until July 2022.

As well as this, the government has announced further delays to some Irish Sea border checks, with grace periods that were due to expire at the end of September being extended indefinitely.

It remains a confused landscape which is why the demand for experts is more apparent than ever. Any customs and trade professionals looking for a new challenge will find themselves highly sought after.

In addition to more national matters faced by Customs, it’s a truly global career, creating an impressive level of mobility in comparison to other disciplines.

“What makes me most enthusiastic about working with Customs and Trade is that it’s all based on harmonised provisions this is by nature a global career. Multi-country projects generally are the most challenging ones  but also the most interesting ones.”

– Fernanda Herrmann, Head of Customs Standards & Strategy – Global Trade Governance, Diageo 

The Customs job market – A continuous peak, or incoming trough?

Since the beginning of 2021, there’s been a long standing wave of opportunity flowing throughout all levels of expertise within this market.

Whilst there’s been a more prevalent need for junior resources, there continues to be a large gap of talent for those that offer a more strategic approach in the dealings of customs processes.

Like anything that’s governed by patterns, there’ll surely be a dip in demand, however it’s unclear as to when that might occur for what’s been a monumental drive in recruitment across both in-house and practice.

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