BUSINESS leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire remain concerned about the ‘unprecedented’ current skills and labour shortage as rates of unemployment stay the same, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
The unemployment rate remains at 3.7 per cent in the three months to January whilst job vacancies stand at more than 1.1million in the UK.
Ongoing research carried out by the Chamber of Commerce as part of the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) seeks to find regional solutions to the ongoing shortage of skills and labour.
The labour shortage reflected in the figures was confirmed when the Chamber spoke with more than 1,000 businesses as part of its LSIP.
Corin Crane, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “I have never known a time like it.
“Businesses are saying the same thing over and over again – they want to grow, they have the orders and the work to grow, but they cannot get the people through the door to make it happen.
“In this region, we are working hard with a whole host of partners to try to find new ways to ease the labour and skills shortage.
“We’ve held summits to look at the shortage in the tourism, leisure and hospitality sector and, only last week, we held a meeting to see how business and the armed forces can work together to ease the problem.
“It is also a massive challenge for Government. Lots of people left the workforce during the height of the pandemic and have not returned and we’re seeing parents having to make tough choices because of increasing childcare costs.
“Our work on the LSIP is vital and will help to set out plans for this region where employers are at the heart of skills provision.”
Head to cw-chamber.co.uk/business-support/lsip/ or contact Adele Wheatley, LSIP Project Coordinator, on [email protected] to find out more about contributing to the Local Skills Improvement Plan,
