Skills Shortages Remain Acute According To New Research

New research conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the Open University has found that 62% of businesses nationwide are suffering from skills shortages, but this is down from 73% in 2023. The knock-on effects of this include reduced productivity, increased workloads, low morale, and a fall in output. The sectors of the economy that are suffering the most include engineering and sales and marketing. Nevertheless, the harsh reality is that many of these business are the authors of their own misfortune because far from proactively looking to do something to address the issue, such as investing in skills training and new technology, 71% admitted that had absolutely no skills plan whatsoever.