Engineering news
The government's failure to adequately handle the skills shortage is impairing industry productivity and manufacturers’ efforts to combat the crisis, according to a new report from the EEF, the manufacturer’s organisation.
Amid accusations that the government has largely abandoned manufacturers to manage the burden on their own, almost three quarters of organisations (73%) said they have found it difficult to recruit skilled workers in the past three years. A similar percentage (72%) were worried about securing the skills to drive productivity in the next three years, with recent policy changes such as the apprenticeship tax and the proposed immigration skills charge adding more pressure to already strained conditions, and the EEF has warned that the situation is set to worsen.
Companies are looking to recruit more technicians (53%), sales and marketing (52%) and IT and software (47%) staff, as well as talent in leadership (59%), production-related technical skills (59%) and people management (59%) roles in the next three years. Manufacturers are worried about the lack in quantity and quality of workers to meet their production demands, with recruiters citing that they’re facing a lack of technical skills (67%), an insufficient number of applicants (64%), and a lack of relevant experience (61%) with potential candidates.
In the face of these challenges, manufacturers are offering competitive salaries (84%), training (50%), career development opportunities (49%) and flexible working (43%), as incentives to attract and retain highly-skilled workers. Majority of respondents (79%) also plan to employ manufacturing and engineering apprentices in the next 12 months in order to close the skills divide.
This move is welcomed by the EEF, which believes that apprenticeships represent a long-term solution to the skills crisis and more funding should be directed to the area. It proposes that government should scrap the proposed immigration skills charge, in the meantime, and introduce grants to alleviate the burden on the industry.
Tim Thomas, director of employment and skills policy at EEF, said: “Despite multiple warnings about the UK’s yawning skills gap, the dial hasn’t moved since 2012. Manufacturers continue to struggle to find the right people with the right skills – undoubtedly this has led to lost opportunities for employers, would-be employees and the UK economy.
“Had manufacturers not already been taking action we would arguably already be over the cliff-edge and not just approaching it. But this report contains a clear warning – we are just about treading water today and the struggle is only going to get harder. The demand for skills is going to soar in response to manufacturers’ productivity plans and their ambitions around Industry 4.0. Getting the right quantity and quality in place will be critical, which is why we are urging the government to take firm action now."
He added: “The government must match the ambitions of industry and ensure that the education and training system delivers the skills that employers require. Policies must help, not hinder firms. It should provide support, rather than hitting employers with additional costs that could potentially hold them back. Above all, an April 2017 start date for the apprenticeship levy is looking increasingly ambitious. A patched and piecemeal implementation will cause complexity and confusion for employers, apprentices and providers alike. Without a single, coherent levy platform ready well before April 2017, the levy launch risks sinking.”