Difficultly hiring staff

SCIENCE and engineering businesses are suffering a shortage of more than 170,000 skilled workers, costing them £1.5 billion a year in recruitment, temporary staffing and extra training, according to a report.

Most firms in the Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) sector have found it difficult to hire staff, with companies now having an average of 10 unfilled posts. Almost half of businesses are looking to recruit suitably qualified staff from overseas, according to the study by STEM Learning.