Member Article

Time to stop looking enviously at Germany

A significant number of employers are still struggling to employ people with the right skills, a survey suggests.

Over 290 firms employing 1.25 million people were quizzed for the CBI Education and Skills survey, and 39% said they were still struggling to recruit workers with the STEM skills they require.

Nearly half of the firms put on basic remedial literacy, numeracy and technical skills classes for their employees, up from 42% in last year’s survey.

John Cridland, CBI director-general said: “We’re facing a critical lack of skills in some key industries, just as the economy starts to pick up. Long-term, sustainable growth will come in part from rebalancing towards high-value products and services, which demand much better technical skills.

“We need to boost our skills base urgently before the UK loses more ground. It’s time to stop looking on enviously at Germany and build a system that works.”

“The CBI is urging the Government to implement the independent Richard Review into apprenticeships, which proposed a range of measures designed to ensure investment follows industry demands - giving employers control over qualification content and structure, while routing funding more directly to businesses, rather than spending the money through intermediaries.”

Rod Bristow, president of Pearson UK said: “Youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, so now more than ever, business, government and the education community must work together to ensure young people learn what they need, for a better job and a better life. This data shows that employers are still having to do the leg work to get young people ready for work.

“This means considering the skills and knowledge that young people need to compete on an international level. We share an ambition to ensure that the qualifications and skills people acquire at school, college, university or in work are truly world class, and globally benchmarked.”

“By bringing together our strong national heritage in education and lessons from our partners internationally, Britain has the potential to become the global leader in the race for knowledge, skills and innovation.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .