The talent drought: nearly half of UK employers face a shortage of workers

Almost half (46%) of employers in Britain confess that they are facing a shortage of workers to get the necessary work completed.
October 20, 2023
Back

Almost half (46%) of employers in Britain confess that they are facing a shortage of workers to get the necessary work completed.

This is according to new research from SD Worx, the leading European HR solutions provider. To collect this research, SD Worx surveyed 16,000 businesses in sixteen countries across Europe, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium.

Across Europe, talent droughts are being acutely felt, with six in ten (61%) of French employers noting a shortage of workers, as well as five in ten in Italy (49%) and Germany (47%).

In addition, over a third (38%) of employers in the UK state they encounter difficulty attracting employees when recruiting.

In contrast to this, the UK can boast strong employee retention credentials, nearly half (46%) stating that it’s ‘easy’ to keep employees on the payroll.

Training is key when building an employee-first company

Personal development is a key part of retention strategies, and positively, the majority (73%) of UK employers state that they have technology in place for employee training – giving staff the tools they need to better their skillsets.

This puts the UK as one of the highest-performing countries for training and development technology availability, ahead of Germany (70%), France (68%) and Italy (68%).

However, despite an availability of technology resources, there is a lag in course implementation and training uptake. Four in ten (41%) of UK employees say that they have little or no time to take training courses at work.

This lack of training drives in companies is causing knock-on effects for job readiness. Four in ten (41%) UK employees also state that they would need to undergo further training if they were looking to find a new job easily on the labour market.

Original Article: HRnews

Addressing talent shortages effectively requires a nuanced understanding of the specific challenges in each industry and location. For all your recruitment challenges – contact our HR & digital recruitment specialist Gareth Allison on 02920 620702

Other articles
November 16, 2023

Employers have been slower to staff up for Christmas than usual, as fears over demand for goods and the sluggish economy affect recruiters. According to the latest labour market tracker by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and Lightcast, the increase in job adverts in the week to 22 October would in most years be…

April 17, 2023

Six in ten (56%) small and medium sized businesses in London have seen an increase in permanent staff requesting to move to contract roles in the years following the pandemic – far higher than the UK average of 35%. Research from business finance lender Sonovate also shows that firms in the capital are increasingly reliant…

Let's talk. Get in touch with us today!

Ask a question
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Risus morbi magna non, vitae placerat molestie viverra molestie odio.

    Thank you, the team will be in touch shortly