Skills gap crisis deepens for UK manufacturers

James Worthington, co-managing director of MyWorkwear

A new study of manufacturing leaders has revealed a worrying ‘skills gap’ picture with two thirds believing the picture has got worse in the last six months. The report, conducted by personalised workwear, uniform and PPE supplier MyWorkwear, canvassed 107 companies, with 62% of firms suffering from an acute skills shortage and, worryingly, just 38% believing the Government will be able to take action to solve the crisis.

The results revealed that over half (52%) admitted that they are struggling to recruit or retain existing staff, while, going against popular opinion, over three-quarters (76%) of respondents thought the Employment Rights Bill will have a positive impact on the current skills landscape.

Other findings from the survey suggested that more industry specific training would help, and this was closely followed by a quarter of firms calling for closer links with education. As a branded workwear provider - which partners with businesses in 15 different sectors – MyWorkwear is seeing the impact of the skills shortage first-hand through customer ordering patterns and day-to-day conversations.

James Worthington, co-managing director at MyWorkwear, said: “Having been in business since 1976 and working with so many industrial sectors, we often pick up on the latest trends, and the skills shortage is definitely something impacting a large majority of manufacturers.

Undermining confidence
“There is little belief from industry that the Government’s approach will solve the skills gap crisis we are seeing, and this is undermining confidence with 66% feeling the situation has worsened over the last six months. You cannot really make the most of new opportunities, if you don’t have the talent in place to meet customer requirements.”

He continued: “A lot of the measures introduced have fallen on deaf ears so far and I believe there is a lot of scepticism around the latest Industrial Strategy and whether it will actually benefit small to medium-size companies.”

However the MyWorkwear report did show some positivity for the workwear industry, with almost 80% of businesses stating that branded workwear boosts employee pride and 68% indicating that it helps them to retain staff in what is a very volatile jobs market.

Further information, and access to the full survey, can be found via the website: here.