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A new report from the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development calls for immediate short-term action to stem acute skills shortages in certain sectors.
Four in 10 employers currently have hard-to-fill vacancies which often pre-date Covid, but several are facing acute shortages, according to a report from the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development [CIPD].
The report, Addressing skills and labour shortages post-Brexit, finds that while most employers’ rate of skills shortages is only slightly higher than the 36% recorded in 2019, sectors such as hospitality, healthcare, social care and manufacturing are in need of specific short-term interventions and longer-term investments to tackle the issues.
The findings are based on a survey of more than 2,000 employers and focus groups with organisations in low-paying sectors and young jobseekers.
The CIPD is calling on the Government to establish a temporary job mobility scheme for young EU nationals to act as a ‘safety valve’ to ease immediate, acute labour shortages; reform the Apprenticeship Levy to create a broader, more flexible training levy to boost employer investment in skills; and provide £60m to fund a business improvement consultancy service via the Growth Hub network to help more firms invest in new technology and improve their people management and workforce development capability.
The report recommends that employers increase wages where possible to attract more staff, consider employment under permanent contracts rather than temporary ones and use a wider range of recruitment channels and methods, and in particular, build links with local groups, schools and colleges. It also calls for them to explore different flexible working arrangements and provide training for line managers to support this and says employers should ensure there are opportunities for development and promotion.