Skills shortage fears as training drops to lowest level in 20 years

THE skills shortage in the UK is expected to get worse because the number of adults in training or education has fallen to its lowest level on record, which could further undermine the economy’s weak productivity growth.

Just 37pc of Britons have undertaken any sort of training at all over the past three years, according to a study commissioned by the Department for Education. That is down from 41pc in 2015, the last time the study was done, and compares with a peak of 46pc in 2001.

Most people surveyed said they did not plan to undertake any training in the next three years either.

Fiona Aldridge at the Learning and Work Institute, which carried out the study, said: “It is notable that in the 20 years we have been doing this survey it is the lowest level of participation.”

She added: “It is more vital than ever that adults are learning, retraining, developing their skills. We are living in an environment where there is more change than ever before. However well your initial education prepares you for the world of work, if you have a 50-year career ahead of you, there is no way you are going to be on top of all of the things you need to know.”

Ms Aldridge said that changing economic circumstances, new technologies and potentially changing migration patterns will all affect demand from employers for different skills that workers will need to learn.

As many as 35pc of jobs “are at high risk of replacement in the next 20 years”, the report said, while “an ageing population is increasing the need for adults to reskill throughout their extended working lives”.

Low levels of training are having a knock-on impact on prosperity.

“The UK economy has an entrenched productivity gap relative to other advanced economies; and social mobility is low by international standards and does not appear to be improving,” said the report. Employers warn there is a severe shortage of workers with the right skills to carry out vital work. In the past 12 months, 91pc of companies have struggled to recruit staff with the necessary training, according to the Open University business barometer, a survey of employers.

It has forced companies to spend more than £6bn on higher recruitment fees, salaries and training schemes.

David Willett, at the Open University, said: “Investing in work-based training, which allows workers to earn while they learn, will help organisations to bridge the divide between the skills available in the labour market and the skills they need.”

The Department for Education said it was preparing a new scheme to encourage adult learning.

“Our Flexible Learning Fund is supporting 32 innovative projects across England to give people the opportunity to get the skills they need.”

It is also developing the National Retraining Scheme, backed by £40m to test “innovative approaches” to help adults “upskill and reskill”, it said.