Skills shortage still threatens economy

THIS year’s GCSE results show more young people are studying science and maths and the first cohort of students have successfully completed the Higher Diploma in Engineering.

However, Europe’s largest body of engineers is warning that the UK faces a massive skills shortage, unless this trend increases at a rapid pace.

Around 20% of science-related professional jobs in the UK are filled by migrants demonstrating how significant the problem has become. This could become even more unmanageable with a number of low carbon economy initiatives high on the agenda.

At the same time, a soon to be published survey by the Institution of Engineering of Technology (IET) shows that one in every five engineering employers are concerned they will not be able to find suitable engineering candidates to recruit in the next four to five years. That is a significant increase from the figure reported in 2009.

Individual science GCSE entries are up. Meanwhile, out of 3,069 young people that completed the new two-year Higher Diplomas, 871 studied engineering, making it one of the most popular. So short term there are improvements, but this trend is still not sufficient to meet expected future demand.

Paul Davies, Head of Policy at the IET said:- “There is a significant risk regarding the match between the supply and demand of UK engineering skills. That is why we have been supporting the formation of the new Diploma from the outset, as we believe it is essential to get engineering into schools and young people enthused about this exciting subject. This innovative qualification enables young people to progress towards undergraduate study or employment with the confidence that they have ‘real work ready’ skills. The Diploma has the potential to ensure that engineering is at the heart of the curriculum and on the minds of young people as an exciting career option for the first time.”

DTZ secures new letting for Latitude

A not-for-profit small business support group is urging firms to take part in a new survey to highlight their experiences of dealing with the banks.

The Forum of Private Business is hosting the questionnaire on behalf of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in an effort to find out how business owners are being treated by the major lenders.

The move comes after new figures from the British Bankers’ Association, which show bank lending to businesses fell again last month, placed fresh scrutiny on the relationships between banks and smaller companies.

The Forum hopes as many small firms as possible will take part in the online survey in order to provide the OFT with clear evidence of bank-related problems and difficulties facing business owners.

The Forum’s research manager, Thomas Parry, said:- “Clearly, the issue of the way banks treat small firms has received an enormous amount of attention recently and sparked a lot of debate.  One the one hand, groups like the Forum have been arguing that viable smaller firms are being unjustifiably denied credit, or offered it at an extortionate cost, by risk-averse banks which often don’t understand their needs. On the other hand, the banks and their industry groups have claimed that lending is down simply because demand is down and they are doing everything they can to increase the flow of finance to business. There is also a wider debate about competition between banks, with some critics arguing that smaller firms, particularly in Scotland, face a limited amount of choice in the marketplace.  We hope this survey will provide the OFT with clear, empirical evidence and reinforce the valid concerns many small business owners have over their relationships with their banks, and the banking industry in general.”

The survey can be accessed via the shortened URL bit.ly/cPVVcf and should only take a few minutes to complete.

It is open to all SMEs, is completely confidential and asks businesses’ views on a range of banking issues, including switching between banks and what financial services they use.

The survey is being carried out as part of the OFT’s ongoing review of barriers to entry, expansion and exit in retail banking.