News / Business West
‘For economy to grow, skills need to be drastically improved’
A shortage of skilled workers is one of the most frequently reported barriers to business growth, according to the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
A recent study by Business West found that 52 per cent of businesses that tried to recruit in the last year struggled to fill vacancies, with 68.5 per cent blaming a lack of applicants with the required skills and qualifications.
The organisation argues that in order for the economy to grow, skills within the workforce need to be “drastically improved” – both locally and nationally – and it aims to tackle this with a targeted long-term approach.
As part of this, Business West is running a survey that it says gives companies an unprecedented opportunity to help shape the upcoming skills and training agenda of the region, enabling them to overcome longstanding recruitment issues and plan for the future.
Nicky Williams says businesses need to have their say to ensure training programmes meet needs
“The skills shortage is prevalent across the country and this, coupled with our low unemployment rate in the West of England, can mean businesses really struggle to recruit the right staff for now and in the future,” explains Nicky Williams, head of skills at Business West.
“We need to make sure businesses understand all of the recruitment and training options available to them and make an effort to work with education providers to ensure future training provision is relevant to their needs.”
The survey, now in its third year, delves deeper into the skills, training and recruitment needs of all sizes of businesses.
This information will then feed into the West of England Skills Strategy, an initiative led by the LEP and West of England Combined Authority (WECA) to ensure education and training provision is relevant to businesses and that it feeds into the wider industrial strategy for the region.
Responses will also assist in shaping 2019’s Local Sector Skills Statements, put together by Business West, which give an overview of sectors and strengths set against regional skills priorities.
“We want to ensure workforce skill levels are fit for the challenges of the future and the starting point for this is knowing exactly what specific challenges businesses are facing in each of their sectors and as a whole,” adds Nicky.
The survey is open to businesses in Bristol and the wider region, and can be accessed via: www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/prelease2/.
Main photo by Jon Craig (construction work on Wapping Wharf Phase two)
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