There has never been a better time than post recession for professionals to get into procurement, with average salaries of over £41,000. Pay rises for procurement professionals are now outstripping the rest of the economy, so why is there still a lack of skilled professionals in the sector?

According to The CIPS/Hays Salary Guide and Procurement Insights Report 2015, over the last year 61% of buying professionals  Over the past 12 months 61 per cent of purchasing professionals were given a pay rise. The rest of the economy were given an average pay increase of 1.7% while procurement professionals saw a pay increase of 2.5%.

David Noble, group CEO, CIPS, stresses how prized procurement professionals are right now. “Despite the recession our salaries have grown above average,” he says. “The demand for good procurement people is increasing dramatically.”

More Jobs, Not Enough Talent

The report also shows a 41% increase year-on-year in the number of job opportunities for procurement professionals of all grades, with the buyer being the most sought-after. Buyers saw a 3.1% increase in pay, seeing their average salary now reach an attractive £27,400 in a bid to attract new talent and retain prized professionals.

Nicky Taberner, director at Hays Procurement & Supply Chain blames the shortage of procurement professionals on the lack of trained graduates. Many companies were forced to end graduate schemes due to the recession and universities haven’t done enough to promote the procurement profession.

“Procurement is still not the first choice of profession for a graduate when they are thinking of what they want to study or do as a job,” she says. “There is still education needed, working with universities to encourage people. That will feed into buyer roles, but until that happens buyers are going to be at a premium because they are the people with two or three years’ experience, they are at the right level for progression, they are hungry, they are enthusiastic and they want to move up the food chain.”

Skills Gap

The lack of qualified buyers is leading to the emergence of a skills gap, with the survey revealing 3 out of 4 employers found it difficult to find the right candidate for positions over the last year. The most common issue was candidates had a lack of experience and skills within the procurement sector.

Across all procurement sector (public, private and charitable), the survey reveals that employers consider the most important skills for a procurement professional to be; communication, supplier relationship management and negotiation. The private sector emphasised negotiation and sourcing, while the public sector was more interested in tendering and contract management.

Professionals With CIPS Qualifications Richly Rewarded

Procurement professionals who have gained a CIPS qualification and membership were regarded highly and rewarded for their efforts. The survey reveals that professionals with MCIPS accreditation at an “operational” level earn on average 23% more than those without.

CIPS qualifications are more important than ever for procurement professionals looking to progress and help plug the skills gap. If you would like to learn more about gaining a CIPS qualification at any level, take a look at the courses we have on offer here. You can study with us here in Oxford through classroom based learning (intensive weekends and part-time evening courses are available) or you can study in your own time from any location worldwide while receiving 24/7 support using our unique web-based Distance Learning route.

For more information, call Amy Watson on (0)1865 404900 or email enquiries@oxfordpeg.com.