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Employers complacent on skills say Amicus

In a new survey commissioned by manufacturing union Amicus, more than half the manufacturing employers questioned said they train their staff constantly although almost half admitted that skills shortages had been a problem for their own company.

"This is evidence of a skills gap of a different kind - the one that exists between what employers think is enough skills training for their workforce and what is actually enough to create a competitive workforce", said Derek Simpson, General Secretary of Amicus. "It's no coincidence that productivity levels are much higher in countries like France and Germany who provide much greater investment in skills and training. Without a similar commitment from employers in the UK our manufacturing industry will fall even further behind."

The survey, conducted for Amicus by the Manufacturer magazine, also found that the majority of employers were critical of the government's approach with almost nine out of ten respondents saying that the government's efforts to resolve skills shortages were unsatisfactory.

Amicus are calling on the government to reintroduce the training levy, compelling employers to provide a statutory minimum amount of training every year for their staff.

Six out of ten of the manufacturing companies questioned said that potential employees lacked specific technical expertise and more than half said that the lack of communication skills was also a problem. Only one third of the manufacturing employers questioned said they provide apprenticeships for 16- 24 year olds.

Amicus say that low levels of capital and skills investment compound the UK manufacturing's difficulties. They say that when these factors do come together, such as at the Nissan plant in Sunderland, UK workers show they can be the best and most productive in the world.

Poor performance in UK industry is also linked to low levels of skill and competence among UK managers and long working hours. Three quarters of UK manufacturer opt out of the EU's 48 hour Working Time Directive.

Only 15% of all UK firms provide training for the entire workforce.

Amicus say that UK manufacturers are also disadvantaged by weak employment protection that makes them more vulnerable to jobs cuts by multinationals than continental workers. Almost half of the respondents said they would definitely or possibly go to make redundancies in the next year.

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