Career matchmaking could be the solution to Renfrewshire’s – and Scotland’s – industrial labour shortages

Scotland’s manufacturing sector currently accounts for approximately 169,000 jobs and, each year, around 1,600 people are welcomed into modern apprenticeships in engineering. But, with the resurgence of industries like shipbuilding, Scotland joining the modern space race, and ScotWind projects coming to fruition, the demand for manufacturing and engineering skills is only going to rise.

We need to ensure we have talented people with the right expertise to deliver for these opportunities –particularly in Renfrewshire, where we have many companies involved in modern manufacturing along with the growing Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS), which includes four of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) facilities.

The experiences of some of our partners tells us that the energy and appetite for jobs in the sector is strong. One engineering company recently recruited over 180 apprenticeship positions and interviewed over 600 applicants – leaving a pool of 420 more people keen to get into manufacturing.

While not all of them will be suitable candidates, the challenge lies in ensuring those who were unsuccessful for the original apprenticeships continue their career journey in the sector and don’t feel disheartened by an initial rejection. Labour shortages have been a consistent issue for manufacturing and, at least on paper, it would seem that there are talented applicants who are ready and willing to fill the gaps.

For years, universities have taken the approach of redistributing undergraduate course places to those who want them through UCAS Clearing. Once an initial tranche of places has been filled, any remaining spots are made available to students who meet the entry requirements for a certain subject and express an interest. In 2022, more than 66,000 students got a place at university this way.

In the manufacturing jobs market, there’s an opportunity for a new approach to recruitment, using this approach as the inspiration. Unsuccessful candidates from one company could be put forward for vacancies with similar organisations.

Together with a range of partners including Skills Development Scotland, NMIS is exploring the feasibility of a career matchmaking tool – or PreApproved Talent Scheme (PATS) – that could help employers to grasp the opportunities and speak to people who have already expressed an interest in the sector. We have worked with graduates, apprentices, employers and skills agencies through a range of one-to-one interviews, focus groups and surveys to develop the concept and determine the best approach.

Of course, there are restrictions and guidelines to consider such as GDPR, but it could be as simple as giving the candidate details of other employers potentially interested in their skills. Alternatively, we could create a new, centralised applications website and jobs board.

Scotland has world-leading universities and the highest percentage of graduates compared to any other OECD country; yet, we still have skills gaps across a number of key industries. With manufacturing a critical part of Scotland’s industrial future and our drive for net zero, now it is time that we have systems in place to create and properly manage the workforce we need.

Find out more about NMIS at NMIS.scot