Research released today by the British Chamber of Commerce shows that 82% of firms within the manufacturing sector are reporting recruitment difficulties. This figure for Q3 of 2022 has increased by 3 percentage points on the second quarter of the year. Across all sectors, 76% of businesses that tried to recruit in the third quarter of 2022 reported difficulty in finding staff which is the same as Q2.
he manufacturing sector is closely followed by hospitality on 81%, logistics on 79% and construction and engineering on 77%. The impact of this on business productivity is clear to see with 56% of all firms reporting they are operating below full capacity, rising to 71% of hospitality firms.
Responding to the findings, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the British Chambers of Commerce, Alex Veitch, said:
“Unless we find a solution to the longstanding recruitment difficulties facing UK businesses then any plans to boost economic growth are doomed to failure. We have to fix the people problem before we can make headway on the productivity issue.
With more than half of all businesses operating below full capacity, despite months and months of desperate attempts to fill jobs, it is clear something has to change.”
The BCC has given Government a three–point plan to help solve the UK’s long-term recruitment problem. This includes:
- Encouraging firms to find new ways of unlocking pools of talent – by investing more in training their workforce, adopting more flexible working practises and expanding use of apprenticeships;
- Providing training related tax breaks; and
- Reforming the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) to allow sectors facing urgent demand for skills in the short-term to get what they need.
