Talent gap shows skills strategies need a new approach

According to a new report, the significant talent gap seen across the UK is proof that resourcing and skills strategies need a new approach.

The research, compiled by Guidant Global, looks at the skills gap being seen across all sectors, highlighting the empty supermarket shelves and the complete mayhem most recently seen at UK petrol pumps.

Guidant Global believes that although changes to immigration rules will help, there are other key steps that the government need to take, for example, expanding the reliance on the temporary/contract workforce and rethinking approaches to IR35 and removing the fear of getting a worker’s off-payroll determination wrong.

Simon Blockley, CEO of Guidant Global, explains, “Beyond the headlines, talent gaps are having a tangible impact on both our everyday lives and the wider economy: a scarcity of resources across the UK is impacting everything from the availability of mattresses to fuel at petrol stations.

“The reasons behind this evident lack of candidates are, unsurprisingly, complex. Insufficient talent pipelines, an exodus of EU workers post-Brexit, remote working options opening up job opportunities that were simply unavailable pre-Covid, and the fact that many professionals retrained or switched sectors to find work during the pandemic, have all helped to contribute to the current situation. However, many businesses are also struggling to source staff because they are fishing for talent in the same small pond as their competitors. But the basic fact is, there simply aren’t enough people to go around.

“While approaches such as expanding the remit of immigration visas to encourage more EU workers back to the UK will likely have a positive impact, there’s a lot more that can, and indeed should, be done to support the resourcing challenges that almost every sector is experiencing. The ongoing fear of getting an individual’s off-payroll classification wrong, for example, is still preventing some employers from engaging legitimate contractors. This talent scarcity isn’t going to go away anytime soon and it’s important that employers take every possible step to broaden their skills attraction strategies if they are to navigate the next few months.”

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