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Overcoming the UK skills gap

It’s Labour Market Week on Bdaily. Askar Sheibani, chief executive of Comtek and Entrepreneurship Champion for Wales gave his views on how to step over the skills gap in the UK.

Only last week, the UK narrowly avoided a triple dip recession – signs, some say, that the UK economy is healing. However, as organisations look to take on more staff to fuel growth in their sector, attention must turn to the pool of resources on offer. Statistics* gathered by the House of Commons, suggest that there were close to one million 16-24 year olds out of work between December 2012 and February 2013. If these figures infer anything, it’s the worrying disconnect in the UK economy between the education and training we are giving our youth – the future of Britain – and the requirements of employers today. Put simply, if Britain wants to undergo a full economic recovery, it’s clear that this skills gap must be closed.

Understanding and managing the gap

The mismatch between the skills required by employers and the skills available, is something that industries across all sectors are experiencing. In fact, such is the extent of the problem, that there is general concern that the current labour market could restrict the UK’s capacity to remain competitive on a global stage.

Nowhere is this felt more acutely than in the manufacturing sector, where engineering skills are in high demand, but short supply. British women are reluctant to study any engineering courses or take up a career in engineering. In fact, the vast majority of students at British universities studying engineering courses, such as electronics and telecommunications, are overseas students. The combination of British students’ choices at school and university, coupled with the lack of on-the-job training offered by employers, is most definitely contributing to the overall drought of resources being witnessed today.

The Government is attempting to make progress in addressing the shortage of skills, with initiatives such as the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) inviting employers to put forward proposals to improve skills in the workforce, of which successful bids will receive government funding. However, the scheme needs better promotion, as a recent survey found that 72 percent of respondents hadn’t even heard of it**.

If we are to close the skills gap, businesses need to play their part too and invest in their employees and utilise the internal expertise they already have for training. Then they will see the long term benefits of skill-generating initiatives.

Reaping the rewards

For employees, developing skills which the UK market needs is vital to improving future job prospects and encouraging social mobility. These skills will also shape an employee’s economic potential for their personal wealth, business success, and even in their ability to inspire future generations in the wider community.

As to businesses, there are huge benefits to be gained from investing in employees at the start of their careers. Developing a workforce with a specific and relevant skill-set and a loyal attitude to the company, will enable the business to better meet customer demands and retain employees who their customers trust. For this reason, employee development should be a fundamental part of every business strategy.

At Comtek, our flourishing apprenticeship scheme and work within the local community has created a wealth of expertise which is now training the next generation of apprentices. Furthermore, Comtek achieved this in North Wales, an area that was previously thought of as having limited engineering skills, but which has now become a critical business hub and achieved Enterprise Zone status. Comtek has invested heavily in its future workforce, however, demand for engineering skills is still outstripping supply, and as such business leaders must work collectively to generate UK talent to keep industries such as manufacturing afloat.

Plugging the gap

Ultimately, the skills shortage needs to be addressed with good training from businesses, and with the support of the Government. It is only with this investment in training that more people will be encouraged to enter the industries currently lacking in talent, and the dots between surplus jobs and the unemployed will be connected. Not only will this stimulate the economic climate by providing a better trained workforce, but it will help to foster the business leaders of tomorrow.

For more from Labour Market Week, please see; Focus on STEM subjects will drive innovation.

*Report from the House of Commons Library on youth unemployment statistics (April 2013)

** Minding the skills gap – Kate Jacobs, HR Magazine (March 2013)

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Askar Sheibani .