News and features

Fri, 24 Jun 2011

Lack of skills 'can reduce competitiveness'

A number of companies in the UK are struggling with skills shortages, it has been claimed.

Firms that fail to address the lack of skills within their organisation could find they struggle to remain competitive as the economy starts to recover.

The Financial Times reported that recruitment agencies are warning that many positions requiring specialist abilities are difficult to fill.

This could mean the UK will struggle to compete with foreign companies which do not have a problem finding skilled employees.

Alistair Cox, chief executive of recruitment firm Hays, told the newspaper: "Even though we are in the depths of the recession, there are areas which are feeling either a general or in some cases quite an acute level of skill shortage."

Recruitment agencies reported that the south-east and London were the areas in which there were the most problems finding skilled employees.

Firms that are finding it difficult to recruit workers with the appropriate abilities and qualifications might consider training existing members of staff.

Last month, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) urged companies to invest in workers to ensure there is not an exodus of talent once the slump in the economy starts to ease.

A study conducted by the CIPD found that one-third of employees in the country want to leave their current place of work once the recession is over.

Investing in staff training could help companies ensure existing employees do not leave their organisation and might also enable firms to fill their skills gap without having to resort to external recruitment.

To find out more about how learndirect can help training your business, see our business information section for further details.