The biggest issue facing West Midlands businesses remains the lack of skilled workers, according to a poll taken at an event in Birmingham recently.
The West Midlands Business Leaders Dinner — hosted by law firm Shoosmiths (
www.shoosmiths.co.uk), NatWest, accountancy and advisory firm Grant Thornton (
www.grantthornton.co.uk) and the University of Birmingham — brought together more than 130 senior figures from businesses, support organisations and public-sector bodies at Birmingham Town Hall to discuss the challenges they face.
A survey taken at the event revealed that 77% of respondents have struggled to recruit the right people with the right skills in the last 12 months. In addition, when asked to rank the single biggest issues facing their organisations, more than 59% said ‘skills shortages’.
The next major concern was regulation and ‘red tape’, with employment legislation seen as the most challenging element, followed by employment tax rules and the grant-funding process. On the plus side, the poll found that access to finance has become less of a concern in the last year, with nearly 63% of respondents reporting no problems in sourcing finance to fund their growth plans or initiatives.
David Hillan, practice leader at Grant Thornton in Birmingham, said: “The West Midlands is currently a hive of economic activity, and this poll shows the importance of action to help bridge the skills gap. It echoes the conversations we are having with our clients and puts the key issues facing organisations in our region into sharp focus.”
Martin Letza, corporate partner at Shoosmiths, said: “As business leaders, the West Midlands region offers us many advantages, but there are also challenges too. The ‘brain drain’ of talent to London remains an on-going issue, as does the growing shortage of candidates in the job market with the relevant skills.
“Time will tell whether a devolution deal for the region will go some way in helping to tackle this. As a business community, it is incumbent on all of us to find solutions to these challenges. We can do this through our local enterprise partnerships, and I urge businesses to actively engage with the partnerships’ plans for the region.”