Skills Gap in UK – 91% of the surveyed organisations struggled to find workers with the right skills over the past 12 months

The Open University Business Barometer investigates the extent and nature of the skills shortage in the UK, and the e ect it is having on organisations of all sizes. The data presented within the report have been collated from 950 senior business leaders in organisations of all sizes across the UK between 8 and 25 May 2018.

The Business Barometer reveals that the majority of the surveyed organisations in the UK (91%) struggled to find workers with the right skills over the past 12 months, and three in five senior business leaders surveyed (61%) report the skills shortage has worsened over the past year.

Employers are paying a high price to ensure their organisations have the skills required to remain productive, with the shortfall now costing an extra
Over the last 12 months the surveyed employers have:

£6.33 billion a year in recruitment fees, inflated salaries, temporary staff and training for workers hired at a lower level than intended.

With skills in short supply, many senior business leaders (70%) find that the recruitment process is taking longer – by an average of one month and 22 days. As a result, nearly two in three (64%) report spending more on recruitment, with costs increasing by 49 per cent or £1.23 billion in total.

Over the last 12 months the surveyed employers have:

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Welcome to the Edge Foundation | Edge Foundation