Skills crisis looms ahead, UK businesses fear

Over 75% of British businesses believe that they’ll be severely affected by a skills crisis over the next three years, results published in a report drawn up by The Prince’s Trust in partnership with HSBC have revealed.

Research also revealed that, right now, a third of organisations are experiencing skills shortages at entry level, while over half are unable to fill vacancies.

Furthermore, 616 UK firms questioned for the report, 68 per cent were concerned a skills shortage would slow economic growth, while 35 per cent feared it would cause their business to fold.

Further findings point out that 72 per cent of business leaders believe recruiting young people is crucial in avoiding a skills crisis, yet 71 per cent admit that jobless young people still face stigma and negative stereotyping from employers.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that the fact that employers now had more influence over the design, delivery and assessment of courses and qualifications, was having a real impact.

“Latest figures show that the number of 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training is at the lowest level since 2005,” he said.

“This indicates that more and more young people that were previously held back from reaching their full potential are now in work or developing skills that will allow them to become valued employees.”

Faced with such concerning prospects, every company and organization should also consider the possibility of implementing extensive workforce management system designed to permanently assess, evaluate and report the available skill base. This is specifically where Tensor’s extensive expertise in the field can be put to very good use.

Tensor plc offers a range of solutions designed specifically to streamline workforce and skill management within companies of any sizes. Our WinHR suite enables managers to save and easily access a wide array of data pertaining to each of their employees, thus allowing them to better use the available resources and skill ranges at any given moment.

Moreover, Tensor’s range of products offer both a high level of reliability and good value for money, which means that companies who do decide to implement our solutions will immediately see the returns, without taking a hit as far as their balances are concerned.

If you’d like to find out more about the range of workforce management and Time and Attendance solutions supplied by Tensor, just contact us or Book a Demo, our representatives will be more than happy to answer anu questions or queries you might have.