January Figures Show Rising Skills Shortage And Job Vacancies In UK

15 Feb 2014

Recent figures indicate a reducing availability of skilled workers, and a rise of vacancies and skills shortage in UK. The January 2014 statistics published by KPMG displayed UK job vacancies increased at an accelerated and sharp rate – the quickest pace in over 15 years.

However, the survey of 400 UK employment and recruitment consultancies also disclosed that both temporary and permanent candidate numbers have reduced. According to the consultants, the number of part-time and permanent workers registered with them kept decreasing in January, including workers with financial and accountancy skills, healthcare providers, and engineers and surveyors.

Tom Hadley, the director of policy and professional services for Recruitment and Employment Confederation called for a better system of guidance in careers to increase awareness of future and current skills needs and growth sectors.

He said that the report shows several recent in-demand UK job vacancies are being sought by employers who are keen on investing in staff to grow their businesses including sales, customer services and marketing roles, although there is an acute skills shortage in UK across all sectors.

Hadley added that this again emphasizes just how important the issue of skills shortage in UK is becoming, as contributing to economic growth will not be possible for businesses if they cannot find the necessary skilled workers.