SKILLS

Skills for jobs Lifelong learning for growth

Before the pandemic, access to skills was often cited as the biggest barrier to growth by firms, limiting their ability to grasp new opportunities, win new contracts, innovate and stay ahead of the competition. As we begin to move out of the crisis and into economic recovery, access to skilled people remains high on the business agenda. The Coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on health and jobs and created substantial new challenges for employers in the management of people and workplaces. Furthermore, employers needing to recruit from outside the UK now face additional costs and complexity following the introduction of new immigration rules. And, as the net-zero imperative propels business towards a greener economy, firms face further challenges and opportunities requiring a wide range of new skills. The last twelve months have forced many firms to rethink their business models and operational processes, which in turn has shone a light on the need for new skills including the digitisation of traditional skills. Management, sales and marketing, customer service, collaboration and innovation have all been impacted and the need to adapt and develop employees will be a key challenge. The British Chambers of Commerce network have considered what business can do for itself to tackle skills shortages and looked for ideas and best practice within the UK and elsewhere. We examined the skills system from the perspective of the employer, the extent to which it can respond and flex to meet commercial and growth aspirations, and how policy makers can support business and incentivise investment in training. Whilst we concluded that policy change is needed, it’s clear that as employers we cannot look to others to solve our skills needs. The need for business to engage with the skills system and develop our own home-grown talent is now urgent. Many employers are demonstrating leadership in this at a local and national level, including helping to design new courses and qualifications, offering apprenticeships and providing support and experience to those new to the world of work. But many more businesses need support to identify, articulate and plan for the skills needs of their adult workforce. In January, the government released long awaited plans which set out the ambition to place employers at the heart of future post-16 skills and education strategies, ensuring that training providers and colleges will be able to respond to the needs of industry. The Chamber welcomed this white paper, which acknowledges the importance of hearing from employers about their current and future skills needs. We know that many firms don’t have a skills strategy and many often struggle to articulate their needs in ways which inform training providers and so end up having to choose from what is ‘already on the shelf’. Acknowledgement too, was given in the white paper to the role Chambers of Commerce play in supporting their regional business communities and that there could be a bigger role in working with colleges, training providers, businesses and regional policy makers as we collectively look to rebuild our economy. The Chamber believes strongly that having a functioning and regional employer led post-16 skills and education system will help companies to develop the skills needed to grasp future opportunities, to adapt to new working practices and ultimately, to thrive in a postpandemic economy. Government plans to roll out the new programme beginning with a number of trail blazer programmes within defined geographies in England, most likely based on existing Local Enterprise Partnership geographies. At the time of writing, we await further information but the Chamber will seek to engage and ensure the voice of regional businesses is heard in future skills conversations.