As the sun shines down on the historic city of Bristol today, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown are preparing to go head to head on Sky News at 8pm.Rumour has it, that David Cameron was seen jogging around the docks of Bristol first thing this morning!

Whilst I was driving into the Bristol office this morning, on my way to work, the local radio station was bursting with “pride” that Bristol had been chosen to host the second debate. The first city being Manchester and the third likely to be in the Midlands.

 Bristol is now known as the “gateway to the South-West” and historically was renowned for its manufacturing and aerospace industries with Concorde making its final flight and resting place based in North Bristol.

In the last 20 years, there have been a significant number of companies who have relocated their head offices in Bristol and the South-West including Lloyds, AXA and Orange amongst others.  At the time this hugely impacted recruitment and career opportunities for the local community. 

Whilst the last 18 months have been challenging for many companies within Bristol, we are now seeing further confidence in the market place. 

 As the days pass, there is a significant increase in job opportunities and businesses opening their doors to us on a more frequent basis. With tonight’s debate, this further heightens the excitement in the Bristol community that seems to be building. Post-election, we anticipate further growth, stability and the feel good factor remaining.

Bristol, Commerce and Industry, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Sky news

What do the latest CIOT chartered tax advisor exam results tell us about the tax recruitment market coming into 2010?   With over twice the amount of people taking the exams being admitted to the institute than at the May 2009 sitting, what does this mean for the successful candidates and for those who haven’t passed? 

We have seen the in-house tax market pick up since Q3 2009, within banking and financial services in particular, although we’ve seen recruitment across a broad range of sectors.  We’ve also seen the ‘Big Four’ start to hire again into corporate tax teams in Q4 09.   There have been fewer redundancies during the same period and we have less people looking for jobs in tax who have been affected by redundancies which all indicates that the market is moving in the right direction. 

For people who have just passed their CTA, this is often seen traditionally as a career crossroads.  There are some good opportunities on the market but the best place to explore initially is at your own firm.   Will you get a pay rise or a promotion now that you have passed?  What options are available for you as an existing employee with a new qualification?   The external market is always worth exploring,  if only to benchmark your own package.

What if you haven’t passed?  My team have spoken to several people who haven’t passed their exams and none of these have had their contracts terminated by their employers (so far).   If this is widespread, then this is good news, as it will be yet another sign that confidence in the tax market is improving.

CIOT chartered tax, Commerce and Industry, CTA results, exams, Financial Services, tax jobs