Easing the UK's labour shortages

According to recent government data, the UK has over a million unfilled vacancies.

These vacancies highlight how persistent labour and skills shortages are hitting growth and business investment while exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis.

Business groups are now demanding that the government takes action to tackle the problem. Here, we look at what these groups are recommending as well as some of the help for employers that’s already in place.

Crippling shortages

The British Chambers of Commerce?(BCC)?says that rapid reform is needed to tackle the ‘crippling staff shortages’ that have created 1.3 million unfilled jobs in the UK economy.

The BCC’s figures show that 61% of firms were looking to find staff during the year's second quarter, but more than three-quarters of firms continue to report recruitment difficulties. It says that construction, production and manufacturing; logistics; and hospitality?are facing the greatest difficulties recruiting staff,?but all sectors have significant issues.

Three-point plan

The BCC proposes a three-point action plan?to tackle?the substantial number of unfilled vacancies.

Firstly, it says that firms?must be encouraged to find new ways of unlocking talent pools – by investing more in training their workforce, adopting more flexible working practices and expanding apprenticeships.

Secondly, it wants to government to?help employers invest in training by?reducing?the upfront costs of business and?providing training-related tax?breaks.

Skills wanted

Finally, the BCC says the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) be reformed to allow sectors facing?urgent demand for?skills?to get what they need. The SOL governs immigration rules according to the demand for skills by both job type and region.

The BCC says the SOL is not currently fit for purpose?and should be?more flexible, so it supports firms?experiencing?a national recruitment crisis.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) agrees that the government should urgently update the SOL in parallel to developing genuine strategies for homegrown skills.

It says it is time to set out the skills the country needs, what talent can be developed at home, and then make smart use of immigration to plug the shortfall.

The Apprenticeship Levy

In addition, the CBI says the Apprenticeship Levy works well for some firms and sectors, but not others. For many, it has become a psychological barrier to skills investment and a financial one.

It says the Levy should be reformed so that it can be deployed in a more flexible, modular way – enabling firms to target their most pressing skills, such as green and digital, to help with reskilling as well as being an effective route to getting young people into the world of work.

Workforce for the future

The CBI says these steps will help the UK build a workforce for the future. It says that around nine in 10 workers will need to add to their skills by 2030. Achieving net zero will require a major push on green skills and other skills associated with delivering major projects. And two-thirds of firms currently have digital skills vacancies.

The CBI concludes that the UK has labour shortages and skills shortages, and it is time to get serious about addressing them both.

Kickstarting training

The government has introduced some schemes to enable jobseekers to gain the skills they need to get jobs and provide targeted help for young people to get into work.

The Kickstart Scheme funds the direct creation of high-quality jobs for young people at the highest risk of long-term unemployment.

It is a ￡2 billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of high-quality six-month work placements for those aged 16-24 who are on Universal Credit and deemed at risk of long-term unemployment. Funding available for each job covers 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week plus the associated employer National Insurance Contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.

Training and apprenticeships

The government is also funding high-quality traineeships for young people by paying employers who provide trainees with work experience ￡1,000 per trainee.?

Providing opportunities

Despite the current challenges, many businesses are looking to the future. They must invest wisely to develop a skilled, motivated workforce using the available government support.

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