Leadership skills will be vital in this time of crisis
THE Chancellor pulled a few rabbits out of his hat with his summer statement last week, but many directors might feel like he missed a trick.
We fully understand the Treasury’s desire to focus on the young, and particularly badly-affected sectors, but coronavirus has crippled many parts of the economy.
The Job Retention Scheme bonus came as welcome news, and I know that many businesses will certainly be doing all they can to keep people on board.
Hypothetically, it could cost up to £9bn if everyone returns to work.
That seems unlikely, and it is impossible to know what the take-up will be, but with cash so tight now, January may feel like a long way off for some businesses, particularly those in the hospitality industry.
Just last week the Celtic Manor Resort has shown how businesses like them simply can’t afford to keep paying hundreds of staff without the income coming in, even with the cut in VAT.
We all really need to support our hospitality sector as it starts to reopen over the coming weeks.
Let’s also not forget those that have fallen through the gap of support schemes over the past few months.
A glaring omission throughout this pandemic has been the exclusion of small company directors, many of whom have not been able to access income support.
Widening grant schemes could help those who have been left struggling without assistance, and help more firms to reopen.
While boosting green investment marks a welcome step towards our long-term goals for the economy, it can only be the start, and we will need much more encouragement to help businesses invest in green and digital technologies.
At the same time, with our data showing exports have taken a knock due to the pandemic, it’s essential that sufficient measures are taken soon to aid international traders so we can avoid a perfect storm come the end of the year.
Of course, the new £2.1bn Kickstart
Scheme is a welcome idea.
Creating more jobs for young people and investing in the skills that are needed for our future economy is critical, particularly as fears are rising of a spike in unemployment.
We’ve got to find ways to create new jobs and to protect others.
The coming months are going to be difficult and certain industries like aviation, automotive, hospitality and property are likely to feel the brunt of the shock. But, there will be new opportunities with growth in other sectors like digital and health and social care.
The role of our Regional Skills Partnerships will be critical as they analyse the economic challenges and likely growth areas to identify the skills needed in our workforce.
This work is based on regional economic need to support growth and key infrastructure projects in each region, supporting the priorities identified by the City Deal and City Regions.
We also need to invest in our business leaders and directors; ensuring that we have the resilience, skills and knowledge to help drive growth and prosperity.
The IoD has been supporting business leaders for over a century and our world-class professional development programmes are specifically designed around professional competencies.
Our training is delivered by directors, for directors.
Now more than ever we need to make sure that we have the right leadership skills and that they are kept up to date.
That’s why we’ll be calling on all past and present directors to step up and help out by sharing knowledge and experience.
Your country and our economy really do need you.
Only time will tell if the measures outlined by both Welsh and UK governments will be enough to prop up our economy and help reduce the inevitable number of job losses that are coming our way.
And of course the fortunes of what will actually happen next are largely dependent on the progress of the coronavirus.
The Chancellor warned “hardship lies ahead”, but vowed no-one will be left “without hope”.
We need to be positive but it is increasingly clear that this is going to be a long road to recovery for us all.
We all need to get on the front foot by playing our part in helping each other to help ourselves because having hope and giving back really are going to be a key drivers of the bounce-back.
■ Robert Lloyd Griffiths is director of IoD Wales.