IS THE SKILLS CRISIS EASING? For many years now, UK manufacturers and engineering business have been complaining that they cannot find the staff that they need to run their operations effectively. The problem has intensified since the UK left the EU with its steady stream of young, qualified people keen to work in the UK. The skills shortage has meant that the UK has not been to realise its full potential as a manufacturing nation. But there are now signs that the situation may be easing. In its latest quarterly HR bulletin*, Make UK says that manufacturers are reporting that recruitment pressures are easing and that they are managing to fill more vacancies than at any point in the past two years. Two thirds (67%) of the companies quizzed now say they are filling most of their vacancies – up from 43% in the previous quarter. However, Britain’s manufacturers are still facing the long-term skills challenges that have held their businesses back for the past few years. Just over 65% of the companies surveyed reported that they could not find candidates with the right technical skills, while 31.9% of those questioned said they were struggling to find people with the right qualifications. Make UK suggests that the brighter recruitment landscape is the result of a combination of factors, with companies citing better staff retention, and older workers returning to the workforce, as contributory factors. In addition, sickness absence has fallen. The companies surveyed also report that pressure from pay demands has decreased, although a third of businesses have increased their pay levels to comply with the new national living wage. A similar number (31%) say they have increased pay to the rest of their workforces to maintain differentials. More companies than ever are reporting that they have embraced flexible working patterns which is helping them to keep staff. For a third of the companies, employment now accounts for between a quarter and half of their total business expenditure. Jamie Cater, Make UK’s employment policy lead, points out: “While manufacturers report an easing of immediate labour shortages, long-term skills challenges remain. The Government has made welcome improvements to the apprenticeship system in recent months – not least additional funding to support high-value manufacturing and reduce barriers faced by SMEs. “However, there remains further to go, and a full review of the apprenticeship system – with the goal of restoring the number of manufacturing apprentices to its pre-levy high and further reducing the number of vacancies in the sector – must be a priority.” Perhaps the most encouraging statistic from the Make UK survey is that 83% of the manufacturers surveyed had attempted to recruit new staff during the past quarter. Viewed postively, this could mean that they are optimistic enough about the future to want to expand their workforces. Tony Sacks, Editor * The bulletin can be downloaded from: www.makeuk.org/insights/publications/make-uk-hr-bulletin-q2-2024 n COMMENT 6RIWZDUH IRU (O 6SHFLDOLVWV LQ 'HV HFWURPDJ VLJQDQG JQHWLFV $QDO\VLV O H HU 6LPFHQWHU 0$*1( *HQHUDO SXUSRVH ' ' GH I DQDO\VLV VRIWZDUH IRU DOO HOHFWURPHFKDQLFDO G ,QFOXGHV WKHUPDO HOHFW PDJQHWLF ILHOGV SOXV RSWLP (7 HVLJQDQG W\SHV RI HYLFHV WULF DQG LVDWLRQ 6LPFHQWHU ( 'HV 7HPSODWH EDVHG PRWRU JHQHUD LQWHJUDWHG 7KHUP 9 LW W &:,(0( 0 OHFWULF 0DFKLQH VLJQ G GHVLJQ WRROV IRU WRU GHVLJQ ZLWK PDO DQDO\VLV 7UDQVI ZLWK D DOORZL FKDUD L 7UDIR6ROYH IRUPHU WHPSODWH GHVLJQ WRR DQ HDV\ DQG ORJLFDO LQWHUIDFH I QJ XVHUV WR LQSXW WUDQVIRUPH FWHULVWLFV TXLFNO\ 0 J S S ÐÕÍÖÓÖÎÐÊ ËÌÚÐÎÕ ÐÕÊÌ ¯´²³ 0HVVH %HUOLQ 6WDQG $ LVLW XV DW &:,(0( 0D\ ,QIRORJLF 'HVLJQ /WG _HQTXLULHV#LQIRORJLF GHVLJQ ZZZ LQIRORJLF GHVLJQ
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