Contractors have a strategic window during which they can exploit the UK’s acute skills shortage. Data from the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers 16th Annual Global CEO survey shows that the UK’s CEOs are not planning immediate action to fill desperate skills gaps, with three out of four believing that it is up to the government to find a solution.
According to the research, “mining, energy, engineering and construction companies report the most chronic shortage of skilled employees”. In addition, the report shows that 65% of UK CEOs across all sectors believe that “a lack of key skills is hampering their growth prospects”.
As these are core contracting disciplines, it suggests that contractors with the correct skills should be enjoying strong demand now. This demand is likely to increase before any significant workforce skills improvements take effect: PwC confirms that only a third of CEOs are taking action now, with 70% saying “they plan to increase investment in their workforce over the next three years”.
Although the three-year timescales may suit contractors’ short-term marketing needs, it may not be the best situation for the economy in general. PwC’s human resources consulting partner Laura Hinton explains: “UK businesses are struggling with a widening mismatch between the skills of their workforce and the skills they need to achieve strong growth.
“At a time when growth is top of all businesses’ agendas, investment in employee training and development should be a key priority for CEOs for the year ahead, rather than a longer-term aspiration.”
UK CEOs’ international peers seem to take talent shortages more seriously. The full results of the survey show that the “availability of key skills is named as one of the top business threats by over half of all those surveyed”. That skills shortages rank second only to tax in the minds of global CEOs demonstrates the seriousness of the problem.
However, the broader outlook remains positive for both the UK’s flexible workforce and the employed. “More UK businesses are planning to increase their headcount (45%) than make cuts (35%). The remaining respondents (17%) expect their headcount to remain relatively static,” says PwC.
Hinton’s view is that integrated talent management strategies offer the best solution to skills shortages. Such strategies recognise the need for both contractors and employees as part of the workforce mix. She concludes: “Those with a balanced approach to growing their own talent and buying in key skills are most likely to succeed.”