SPRING 2023 RECRUITMENT & RETENTION THE SEARCH FOR SKILLS Report sheds light on the issues small firms face when trying to recruit and retain staff Small firms in England are being held back by poor vocational skill provision in schools, challenges in accessing apprenticeships, and inadequate incentives to retrain and upskill, according to a recent report. Scaling up Skills, by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), shines a light on the acute skills and labour shortages in England, and recommends improvements to plug these gaps. It states that 78% of small firms are currently struggling to recruit the right people, with eight in 10 (82%) flagging a lack of relevant qualifications, skills and experience among candidates. A majority (60%) also say a lack of applicants is an issue. !Responsive education, hands-on experience and relevant training have never been more important Four in five sole traders (80%) have no training plan, budget or relationship with a training provider, while two in five (40%) have not completed any training or professional development over the past year. More positively, five in six small employers (83%) have provided training for themselves and/or their staff in the previous 12 months, with seven days of training and development per staff member on average. However, only a quarter (26%) of small employers have undertaken leadership and management training over the same period. One in five small employers says that bringing back the 3,000 incentive to hire an apprentice would encourage them to take on more, while a similar proportion (22%) say financial support for hosting T Level placements would allow them to bring more young people into their business. In light of its findings, the FSB wants the government to: n Target in legislation that, by 2035, no young person in England should complete compulsory education without at least Level 2 qualifications (eg GCSE), and that three-quarters of working-age people should have at least Level 3 (eg A Level) n Maintain the Apprenticeship Levy and fund apprenticeship training within small firms n Increase corporation tax relief for employers training low- or mediumskilled employees, and introduce 50+ Skills Bootcamps for older people to acquire the skills they need n Extend tax relief for sole traders who upskill or reskill, and widen the rollout of the EnterprisingYou programme. With the UKs net-zero deadlines approaching, and technology opening up new fields of work such as artificial intelligence and robotics responsive education, hands-on experience and relevant training have never been more important. For more articles, guides, on-demand events and training information, visit the FSBs Knowledge Hub. Credit: Karen Woolley, development manager, Federation of Small Businesses Image: Shutterstock / eamesBot Anonymous Hotline For further information, please contact your local Trading Standards Service For up-to-date news stories and information, follow us on 0300 303 2636 Is your sector being undermined by unscrupulous traders operating outside the law? Report them via Trading Standards Anonymous Hotline or online and help level the playing field for honest businesses.