Firms demanding future workers have better communication skills

FIRMS in North Warwickshire have identified good communication skills as one commodity in short supply among potential workers.

The principal and chief executive of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College said more and more employers were now demanding good communication skills as essential for their workforce.

Marion Plant was addressing a meeting of the North Warwickshire branch of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, held at the college’s Nuneaton campus.

Ms Plant said the college was working with businesses to try and plug the skills gap.

She said firms had identified skills such as project management, planning and problem solving as baseline skills for their workers.

But across the advanced manufacturing & engineering, IT & digital media, and tourism sectors, many had said communication skills needed to be improved.

Ms Plant said the new apprenticeship levy was a major change to the way apprenticeships would be administered but the system was designed to give employers a greater say in the training given.

She said: “We work hand-in-hand with businesses and we had positive feedback from two companies at the chamber meeting who have taken apprentices through our college.

“The skills gap and the skills shortage have been talked about for many years and apprenticeships are a great way of addressing that.

“Key sectors in this particular region include health and social care, business support services, IT, retail and transport & logistics but across all the sectors, communication crops up again and again.”

Paul Carvell, the chair of the chamber’s north branch, said the organisation’s members had highlighted skills development as a key priority.

“Skills was highlighted within our Go For Growth campaign as a potential barrier to businesses expanding and Marion was very informative around the skills that firms have identified and how we might be able to solve that,” he said.

“Productivity is another issue that has been highlighted by business and bridging the skills gap is vital to that. We had a very good discussion around how training providers and businesses can work towards a solution to that.”