The UK is having trouble finding enough skilled workers to fill vacancies it has been reported.
There are a number of reasons Britain does not have as many skilled workers as it needs. Chronic underinvestment in training both by companies and government is one, as is the higher cost of living, which has meant people can’t afford to pay for training and are unwilling or unable to risk mid-career changes of direction, especially if they involve a drop in pay.
Brexit led to workers from EU countries returning home and rising living standards in some eastern European countries has closed a lot of the pay differential between them and the UK, making immigration less appealing to skilled workers.
The coronavirus pandemic led to increases in the number of economically inactive people of working age and of people with chronic illness who became unable to work. The last cohort has been enlarged by capacity constraints in the NHS.
What’s more, the UK has an ageing population, with 19.17% of the UK population aged over 65 years old as of 2022. That means nearly a fifth of the UK’s population, many of them skilled, is above retirement age, further diminishing the workforce.
So how can you help your business to find the right people?
One way of trying to plug the skills gap is the skilled worker visa, which enables employers to recruit from abroad.
But this isn’t an easy option given the current visa rules.
But you can do some things to make your business more attractive.
Focus on your employer brand
To help increase your visibility and give candidates confidence in your company, it’s essential to focus on your employer brand and employee value proposition.
Change how you write job ads
Effective job advertisements are engaging and inclusive and prompt the right people to apply.
Use the writing process as an opportunity to communicate your company culture. In doing so, you’ll be more likely to attract workers who make a good cultural fit for your business.
Focus on the reward and recognition your company offers to help to win over potential candidates.
In the same way, you wouldn’t want a candidate to exaggerate their skills and achievements, it’s important to only advertise benefits that your company will realistically be able to deliver on.
An employee referral programme is a recruitment tactic that uses a company’s existing workforce as a recruiting source.
Through employee referral, you can ask your workforce to engage with their network to recruit candidates they feel would make a good fit for your business.
Recruitment events are an effective way for employers to meet potential candidates that they may not have come across through more traditional methods of the hiring process.
Happy hunting.