Skills
Retraining essential as one in five firms consider job cuts The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has
“Whether furloughed workers are
called for the government to extend skills training
labour market, it’s crucial that employers
as new research showed nearly one in five
support and training they need to be
companies are considering staff redundancies as
rapid retraining opportunities, the
the next phase of furlough tapering begins.
returning to the workplace or the wider and the government give them the re-engaged and productive. Alongside government should extend the Kickstart scheme into 2022 and expand it to enable older workers to gain new skills and experience.”
With older workers much more likely to still be on furlough, there’s concern that they could go unutilised unless support for retraining is immediately put in place.
those who are left without jobs as the scheme winds down – with skills
While some workers may need re-skilling
shortages continuing to bite across the
or upskilling to re-enter the labour
UK labour market.
market, firms that are looking to grow their workforce are finding it hard to
Jane Gratton, head of people policy at
source suitably skilled staff.
the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Recent changes to the furlough
A recent BCC survey showed that seven
Carried out by BCC, the survey asked
scheme is likely to result in many
out of ten firms were having difficulty
more than 250 businesses with
thousands of people being released
hiring the right talent for their business.
employees still on furlough what their
back into the labour market, as
response might be to employers’
employers who are still struggling
contributions to the scheme rising.
to recover from the recession are
Nearly one in five (18%) said they
forced to make redundancies and
would make staff redundant.
cuts to working hours.
by hotels & catering at 76%.
The BCC survey comes after HMRC
“With widespread skills shortages
manufacturing, 68% reported
data showed older workers were far
across the economy, some will find new
difficulties in recruitment. Consumer
more likely to remain furloughed than
jobs where their skills are in demand,
services firms were the least likely to
younger ones, raising concerns about
while others will need to retrain for
report difficulties but even in that sector
what plans are in place to re-skill
opportunities in a different sector.
the proportion facing issues was 61%.
20 Southwark BUSINESS TODAY
The sector with the highest proportion of firms reporting difficulties was construction at 82%, followed closely Of respondents in production &
