Closing the skills gap

We are living in challenging times for some sectors, with recruitment in particular a key issue. The impact of a variety of economic changes – and the changing ways in which people live, work and shop – are playing havoc with recruiters attempting to fill roles in everything from health care to leisure. Many industries are currently struggling with recruitment and the skills gap is a real issue. How is this going to be addressed and where are the skilled people needed to close these gaps going to come from?

 Changing expectations and ambitions

The skills gap occurs when there are not enough trained working professionals applying for available roles. It can be that there isn’t the same interest or demand at the moment in certain sectors, or that they are seen as being ‘boring’ or ‘obsolete’. There is also a tendency for people to gravitate now towards places that offer the opportunity to work from home, or to work a four-day week, or both. Peoples’ preferences have changed and they often desire a greater work-life balance these days. This is particularly true if they have a young family, or elderly relatives, that may require a workaround in their everyday lives. The work from home model of hybrid routines has been the ideal solution to many workers’ schedules, but has led to certain areas – social care and hospitality, to take two key examples – struggling to recruit.

 Consequences for business

Whatever the reasoning behind the shortfall, the crux of the matter is that a skills gap has serious consequential effects for businesses. For example, companies having to recruit from other areas, or pay higher wage rates, which results in a change in the business model. The advent of the national ‘living wage’ has already made many companies examine their businesses and tailored them to accommodate this. The cost-of-living crisis and rising household bills is also making people look at taking on multiple roles, across a variety of sectors, that is forcing them almost involuntarily into ‘portfolio careers’ without really realising it. It’s detrimental to businesses growth too, with the uncertainty causing less companies to take less risks. Inflation means employees’ earnings are worth less, which is driving up wages. But the lack of skills and the competition to employ the best candidates in the bet-fit roles is also leading to improved monetary packages.

 Addressing to shortfall

Part of solving the challenge of skills gaps involves the ability to steer workers towards areas where there are shortfalls. Extra training and knowledge-sharing within your company can make a big difference to your existing workforce. Often transferable skills too can be key to filling roles – many staff see themselves pigeonholed in sectors, without realising that they can diversify into different roles with the minimum of training. It’s often beneficial both for HR managers and staff to talk to Career Consultants, to identify where they might have a shortfall in staff skills and options on where the right solutions might be found.