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London's skills gap could hamper recovery
Archived article dated Friday June 19th 2009
Skills shortages could hamper London's economic recovery as four in ten of the capital's businesses still say they have problems finding the right talent, despite rising unemployment, a CBI / KPMG survey has revealed.
And efforts to close London's skills gap are being frustrated as almost half of senior executives answering the survey said that publicly funded training and skills support was not relevant or useful.The recession continues to take its toll as business values have fallen again and spending plans are at a survey low. Firms are also finding it difficult to access credit, are making redundancies, and are struggling to make future business plans amidst the uncertainty.
More positively, 80% of respondents said the capital was still a 'good' or 'very good' place to do business. Firms have become slightly more upbeat, with 35% saying they are optimistic or very optimistic about the next six months, compared with 28% last September.
The biannual CBI / KPMG London Business Survey survey also captured business views on crime, transport, Mayor Johnson's first year, and government measures to tackle the recession.
But concerns about skills are firmly on the business radar. Although skills shortages have eased because of the downturn, 38% of bosses still said that skills shortages are a problem. The hardest hit sectors were transport (56%), energy/manufacturing/construction (52%) and hospitality/leisure/retail (50%).
The government has a key role in maintaining and growing London's skills base, and an encouraging 56% said that the publicly-funded schemes were 'easy' or 'moderately easy' to access. However, only 28% found these schemes beneficial and 45% said they were neither relevant nor useful. This highlights the urgent need to align these schemes more closely to business needs, and the business-led London Skills and Employment Board can play an important role in this.
Nigel Bourne, Director of CBI London, said: "It has been a difficult year and the recession is not over yet, but London businesses are resilient. Many are upbeat about London as a business destination, and multinationals are saying so against stiff opposition from rivals like New York, Dubai and Hong Kong.
"The skills shortage remains an Achilles' heel for the capital. Even though jobs are being lost and demand has fallen, London businesses still complain that they can't match talent to jobs. When the upturn comes this could really slow the capital's recovery, so government training programmes must become more closely matched to business needs."
Richard Reid, London Chairman of KPMG, added:
"London's success increasingly relies on its ability to function as a highly skilled, hi-tech economy. Whilst it is inevitable that businesses will continue to keep a tight rein over spend, training and improving the skills of London's workforce is essential so that when the upturn starts to arrive, the City is in a strong position to move forward. Businesses will start hiring again and they must have access to staff equipped with both basic and more advanced skills."
The London Business Survey also found:
- Flexible working policies are proving popular. 64% of businesses are offering flexible hours and 63% part-time working opportunities. 34% offer teleworking.
- Crime continues to be a concern for businesses. Theft is the most common problem, followed by vandalism, while fraud is also a serious issue.
Tagged as: cbi | staff | employees | training hr |
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