Over half of local employers struggling to hire skilled staff

More than half (56%) of South West firms are reporting difficulty recruiting skilled staff, and a third (33%) have seen increased staff turnover since June 2016, according to a new employment and skills study from Lloyds Banking Group and London business membership organisation, London First. The study sought to analyse the impact of Brexit on business recruitment and access to skills across the UK.

The skills shortage is proving to be an issue for businesses, with 38% saying it had impacted their activity. More than half (53%) said it had increased workload and stress for existing staff and 40% said it had made it harder to respond to customer needs.

The skills gap

The biggest skills gap reported by respondents was technical and job-specific skills, with 36% of respondents saying these were the most difficult skills to source, closely followed by planning and organisation (31%).

Many thought these gaps would persist over the next 18 months, reflecting the UK’s long-term challenge in tackling its skills shortages.

Addressing the challenges

To help generate a pipeline of future talent, 67% of South West firms said they would be focusing on improving skill-set in the next 18 months as part of their recruitment efforts.

More than two thirds of companies (67%) in the South West are already engaged with local schools, colleges and universities and many (56%) want to work with more. Despite this, almost two fifths (38%) said that they don’t have enough time or staff resource to engage with more schools.

Apprenticeships are proving to be a popular route for employers, with almost half (49%) of regional companies surveyed employing apprentices and, of these, almost 8 out of 10 are planning to either hire more or maintain current levels over the next couple of years.

Stephen Noakes, Lloyds Banking Group Ambassador for the South West, said: “Access to the right skills, be it technical, digital or practical skills is absolutely crucial for businesses. Both private and public-sector organisations have a role to play in nurturing the next generation of talent and working together we can develop the skills the region needs.

“We’re committed to nurturing young talent as part of our Helping Britain Prosper plan and, in the South West we employ apprentices across our business and work in partnership with local schools, colleges and universities.”

As part of its Helping Britain Prosper plan and as a bank to more than a million UK businesses, Lloyds Banking Group provides financial support and internships to help young people get through university and into the world of work; as well as taking on 1,000 apprentices every year across the country. Lloyds is also helping to train apprentices in other key sectors of the economy, including manufacturing and construction.