Sixty-Five Percent Of Employers Say Staff Lack Required Skills

On 3rd August 2022 the professional organisation the Chartered Institute for Professional Development released the results of its research in the form of a report entitled ‘Employer views on skills policy in the United Kingdom’. As part of the survey process the CIPD interviewed in excess of two-thousand-employers and found that around sixty-five percent of businesses employing staff believed that members of their workforce possess insufficient skills to perform in their job roles.

What Did The Report Find?

Besides the headline figure, the report made the following interesting discoveries including:

• around sixty-percent of businesses employing staff have a focus on credentials such as degrees and postgraduate qualifications during the recruitment process.
• if those businesses which are using this approach are intentionally ignoring potential employees who possess the relevant knowledge, skills and experience to competently perform..
• in excess of fifty-percent of businesses who had recently employed school-leavers thought that these new colleagues were ill-equipped for working-life.
• Just shy of forty-five percent of those surveyed from professional occupations and the public sector pointed to those submitting applying for respective positions lack the requisite competencies, skills and expertise to carry out the position.
• approximately forty-percent of respondents to the survey questioned how well prepared those appointed to management positions were. Many felt that those employed in a management capacity lacked the basic training on how to improve the skills, competencies and expertise of their workforce.
• thirty-three percent of respondents perceive that those candidates who had emerged from Universities were ill-equipped and unprepared to thrive in the modern working environment and
• a lack of interaction from education establishments with potential employers

Mind The Gap?

So the question is where are the perceived gaps in the required level of skills from an employer standpoint? The Chartered Institute of Professional Development highlighted some of the gaps in skills which have been observed across their workforce:

• customer service skills
• soft skills, for example planning, problem-solving and business acumen
• technical skills and
• organisational skills

How Are Employers Responding To The Report?

The Chartered Institute of Professional Development strongly encouraged those businesses employing staff to change its approach when it comes to skills to focussing on implementing a culture whereby staff are trained and equipped with the skills they need to perform competently and will involve the implementation of a workforce planning exercise. The CIPD are of the opinion that this approach will go some way to dealing with the prevalent skills gap in the workforce both in the present and future. The Institute would also like businesses to ensure that those who have been promoted to line manager positions possess the required competencies to evolve, advance, grow and advance the expertise of their workforce. At the heart of the Chartered Institute of Professional Development’s recommendations was the suggestion that businesses need to take a more collaborative approach in this area. The aim of the CIPD is to create a culture of continuous professional development. The Institute recommended for businesses to take a great interest in developing members of their workforce and provide room for growth in skills, knowledge and experience whilst performing their particular job role. The CIPD also proposed for a more joined-up approach in this area and suggested for education providers and employers to work more collaboratively to narrow the skills gap with a view to creating a pipeline of competent staff. If employers follow this strategy the CIPD are of the view that the economy will be stronger and the workforce will be equipped with the required skills for future success.

ASSESSING FIRMS

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THE ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN USING THE FOLLOWING SOURCES

[1] Brown, Jessica – More than half of employers still use degrees to screen job applicants, research finds – People Management – 3 August 2022 - More than half of employers still use degrees to screen job applicants, research finds (peoplemanagement.co.uk)

[2] Chartered Institute of Professional Development – Employer views on skills policy in the UK – 3rd August 2022 - Employer views on skills policy in the UK | CIPD

[3] Cave, Dan - Four in Five employers would hire for potential as skills shortage continues to bite, survey – 29th July 2022 – People Management - Four in five employers would hire for potential as skills shortage continues to bite, survey shows (peoplemanagement.co.uk)

[4] Cave, Dan – Seven in 10 workers experiencing burnout or imposter syndrome, research finds – People Management – 26th July 2022 - Seven in 10 workers experiencing burnout or imposter syndrome, research finds (peoplemanagement.co.uk)