Recruitment is never easy–finding the best employees for your business requires talent, knowledge, and just a bit of luck–but the UK skills shortage is making this task even more challenging. 

Job vacancies in the UK are now at a record high of 1.2 million. This is expected to worsen before it improves, especially given the additional skills gaps appearing as more industries turn to digital processes.

More than 77% of UK employers today say they are concerned about skills shortages at their companies. But what are the solutions?

Upskill Your Current Employees

Upskilling is one of the most popular ways to combat the current skills shortage. Four in five employers say they now consider hiring staff based on potential, not current skillset. Including opportunities for your team to attend additional training will ensure your company gets the skills you need without spending money on further recruitment. 

There are different ways you could provide additional training. One is to keep a budget aside for training and ensure managers spend time every quarter or year seeking opportunities. Alternatively, you could give each employee funding for training, as long as the course is deemed suitable for the business. 

Work Smarter, Not Harder with Recruitment

However, sometimes recruiting can be easier than upskilling, especially if your managers don’t have the requisite skills to re-train employees or you’re searching for a particular skill set. The best way to approach recruitment in our current skills shortage is to work more efficiently and invest in your recruitment process.

For starters, make sure that your job adverts are clear–you don’t want to waste time interviewing candidates who don’t have the skills you need. Additionally, this isn’t the time to be restrained about salary. Review your employee benefits (both monetary and non-monetary) to see what you could add to entice the best talent to your business.  

Prevent Staff from Leaving

The average cost of hiring a new employee is £3,000. This sum is too great for many small businesses, and retaining current employees will become a vital part of combatting the recruitment skills shortage. Once you’ve invested in your current employees, you don’t want them to leave for another company.

Cultivating a transparent and ambitious company culture can ensure your staff feel empowered to work with you. You could do this by introducing incentives like bonuses or making your employees a part of high-level decision-making processes. Open communication channels and continual feedback and praise can also build employee loyalty.

Our Advice

Sadly, there’s no quick fix for the current UK skills shortage. To combat it, companies will have to become more efficient and innovative in their recruitment processes and explore opportunities to upskill their existing workforce. 

If you’re a small business, finding the best talent may still seem like a daunting process. As well as following our tips, we’d recommend working with an HR professional to find the best people to help your business succeed.