Talking Business: Skills gap still a major stumbling block for the Midlands

SENIOR business leaders attending a round table discussion on the regional economy organised by TheBusinessDesk.com have identified the skills gap as an issue that needs to be prioritised.

Although the attendees at the event – staged at accountancy and advisory firm KPMG’s Birmingham office – came from a number of sectors, skills, or the lack thereof, appears to be a common denominator.

It seems to be a particular issue in manufacturing, partly because the success of Jaguar Land Rover means it is taking on a lot of skilled staff that might otherwise find work within the wider sector and partly because the skills simply aren’t available in the marketplace.

Mike Smith, chief executive at Birmingham-based aerospace manufacturer Bromford Industries believes there is still a perception problem.

“Manufacturing is still perceived by many as dirty, smoky, dusty and noisy,” he said.

“We have to start by educating people, starting with schooling. Children need to be told that they can’t all be accountants, lawyers and professional services type of people. Everyone can’t do the same thing.

“There can also be a mismatch between the qualifications people have and what we need.

“Education doesn’t understand manufacturing and the other way around.”

This article is based on a round table discussion featured in a supplement from TheBusinessDesk.com based on our Talking Business series of interviews, carried out in partnership with KPMG. Click here to download it.

Andrew Clayton, finance director at Drayton Manor Theme Park, believes there is also a problem in finding people with the right ‘soft skills’.

“We need people with the right social skills,” he said.

“Some of them we can train but we need a wide variety of skills. For example, we need engineers to maintain the rides.

“We can sometimes get 1,000 applicants for a handful of jobs but only a few of them might be suitable for roles working with customers.”

John Dodds, Midlands region director at Birmingham-based property developer  St Modwen said: “I think social skills are the most important thing. A big part of the programme at the University of Birmingham now is life skills.”