Skills gaps won’t disappear overnight

Jo Faragher

Once again research this week revealed how the gap between expectations and reality could hamper the UK’s ability to grow.

A survey by the Management Consultancies Association found that two-thirds of management consultants felt that developments in digital could offer the biggest opportunity for British business since the industrial revolution.

But because this sector of the economy is growing so rapidly, finding those digital skills is becoming an increasing problem. So while 94% of senior executives view digital as important or very important for their businesses, a fifth say the quality of these skills among graduates is either average or poor.

These findings reflect the July JobsOutlook from the REC. It found that, while employers are twice as confident about the economy as they were this time last year, growing skills shortages are making it difficult to support that growth. In some areas, such as engineering, a lack of candidates is affecting as many as a third of employers.

In skilled areas such as engineering and technology, the UK could be poised to lose out to other economies if we can’t nurture these skills. If there aren’t sufficient graduates coming through, more needs to be done to make school students aware of the array of careers available in these fields, and the curriculum should reflect these skills requirements, too.

Last year saw the launch of the Digital Skills Taskforce, which has worked with employers and schools across the country to find out what would make a difference in terms of teaching the skills businesses actually need and will do in the future.

Recruiters have a role too, in immersing themselves in these programmes and helping to nurture home-grown talent, rather than looking for it internationally.

Skills shortages are not about to disappear overnight, but with the focus in the right areas, we will eventually start to see a pipeline of school leavers and graduates in the worst affected industries.