| | Businesses in London
struggling to meet their
skills needs are
increasingly looking
overseas for both
graduates and
lower-skilled staff,
according to the CBI and
KPMG.
Results from the
London Business Survey
show that two out of
three firms in the
capital (65%) expect to
be troubled by skills
shortages over the next
six months, and the
majority (58%) are
already recruiting from
overseas to fill gaps.
Almost a third (29%)
of those turning
overseas said they were
increasing their
recruitment from outside
the UK and, contrary to
the perception that
overseas workers often
perform low-skilled
jobs, 83% are bringing
in those with higher,
degree-level skills.
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The survey revealed
that whilst 57% of
respondents thought that
London's talent pool was
one of its leading
assets in business
success, 24% warned that
a lack of suitable
skills was a top threat
to London's overall
competitiveness.
John Cridland, CBI
deputy director-general,
said: "London is still a
star economic performer,
but its skills problems
could become its
undoing. Shortages are
being felt across many
disciplines and at all
levels – from the
fundamentals of the shop
floor right up to top
leadership."
Ian Barlow, London
senior partner at KPMG,
said: "While I welcome
talent from everywhere,
and it is important that
businesses in London
have access to skilled
labour from abroad, | |
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| | there is so much that
needs to be done to
upskill our own
Londoners to enable them
to compete for these
jobs. It's economically
wasteful and morally
wrong for there to be so
many unemployed people
in the capital when
there are so many jobs
to fill."
Key employability
skills like teamworking,
communication and a
positive attitude were
cited by 40% of bosses
as a major skills
constraint. 39% said
that a lack of technical
skills is a bottleneck,
while 33% pointed to a
shortage of managerial
skills - up from 22% in
March 2006.
Demand for graduates
is set to increase, with
68% of employers
expecting their higher
level skills needs to
grow. By contrast, while
21% said they will need | |
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| | more people with skills
at GCSE level, 30% said
they will need less.
Barlow added: "Young
people must leave
education with the
skills that businesses
need, not just paper
qualifications. In the
current environment the
educational authorities
see the students as
their customers. But the
true customers are
businesses because
vocational
qualifications are
useless to students
unless they lead to
jobs.
"This survey clearly
demonstrates how much
employers value basic
and employability skills
in preference to just
qualifications. This
points the way to how
the education and skills
agenda needs to be
redirected under the
leadership of the
business led London | |
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| | Employment and Skills
Board."
Business leaders in
the survey said that to
improve the capital's
home-grown talent, the
London Skills and
Employment Board, which
is business-led and
advises the Mayor on his
education strategy, must
strengthen the quality
of careers guidance to
young people.
Over a third (37%) of
businesses in the
capital recruiting from
abroad say that they are
"reliant" on workers
from Eastern or Central
Europe. 47% said they
are reliant on staff
from the rest of the EU,
and 46% described
themselves as reliant on
staff from outside the
EU.
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