Skills shortage thwarting growth, say creatives

THE lack of skilled staff is holding back business growth.

That was the message a handful of business leaders gave to minister for skills Matthew Hancock when he was in Manchester last week.

Mr Hancock, the MP for West Suffolk, attended a roundtable discussion on skills in the creative industries held in the offices of online recruitment platform Hiring Hub.

Michael Di Paola, operations director of brand communications agency Studio North, told Mr Hancock the skills shortage was “criminal” as it had “stunted business growth”.

For firms like his there is a shortage of coders, people who can write the code that make websites and apps. He urged Mr Hancock to put coding on the curriculum, a potential change the government has put out to consultation which means it could be taught in schools from September 2014.

Mr Hancock said: “The motivating problem in my job is we have one million unemployed young people, but there’s also a skills shortage. The schools system hasn’t been responding to the needs of employers, it hasn’t been rigorous enough.”

He said the government was addressing youth unemployment with training and apprenticeship programmes, and by transforming the education system so it has closer links with employers. The government has already approved 40 “studio schools”, a new kind of educational establishment for 14 to 19-year-olds that seek to mix academic studies with work-based training.

Raja Miah was present at the debate who has led a team that has gained approval for the Manchester Creative Studio, a studio school with a focus on the creative industries.

Sandy Lindsay, managing director of Tangerine PR, has launched a social media apprenticeship scheme which will see the company take on four people a year. But she said previous experience has taught her that candidates need to work harder when they go for vacancies.

She said: “They need to be taught how to put themselves out there. We’ve had programmes in the past where we’ve created amazing opportunities for young people but had disappointing responses. Are programmes like the X-Factor making young people think they can get overnight success, and think they don’t have to put themselves out there to get these jobs?”