Essential Skills in Recruitment and Lifelong Learning
This factsheet on essential skills in recruitment and lifelong learning reports on what the essential skills are and why they are needed.
Even before COVID-19, business, governments, and educators were raising concerns that the UK workforce lacked the skills needed to respond to the fast-changing nature of work, innovate and raise productivity.
The global coronavirus pandemic catapulted us into a changed landscape where employees have had to adopt remote working, pivot in their roles, or adapt their skills to entirely new industries.
Employers now find themselves in unprecedented labour shortages, with the number of vacancies reaching a par with the number of unemployed in 2022. Accessing skilled talent is a business emergency. The UK must build the skills it needs for economic recovery while supporting people back to work and ensuring social inclusion.
While the technical skills we need are expected to continue changing rapidly, the essential skills businesses have been calling for are likely to remain constant.
This factsheet sets out what these essential skills are and why they are needed to build resilience to future economic crises. It also explains how they can address two of the most significant challenges of our time: climate change and inequality.
Business in the Community’s work on employment and skills
Business in the Community (BITC) supports organisations to create meaningful employment. This is one of the most significant ways that business contributes to the livelihoods of individuals and communities, and is, for many, the only sustainable route out of poverty.
Offering quality work experience, adopting new approaches to recruitment and breaking down barriers to entering work for people from disadvantaged groups can benefit business by tackling skills shortages, building new talent pipelines, boosting retention rates and achieving higher productivity.
Next step: contact Business in the Community’s Advisory Service Team
Support in this area is available from Business in the Community’s (BITC) Community Advisers. They help businesses create skilled and inclusive workforces by embedding essential skills, creating opportunities for all and establishing successful education partnerships. Our advisers can also work with you to design and develop effective and sustainable cross-sector initiatives to build stronger communities.
Contact our Advisory Service Team to find out more.