Firms in skills crunch

FIRMS are facing an “acute” shortage of skilled workers and it is hitting business hard.

The shortages are having a knock-on effect on morale as existing staff struggle to keep up with workloads, said more than nine in 10 respondents to a Chartered Management Institute survey of 1,000 employers.

Anthony Painter, director of policy at the CMI, said: “It’s clear the UK economy is facing a drastic skills crunch that is hitting our ability to grow and people’s ability to cope.

“Unless we retool towards a skills economy, we will struggle not just in the coming difficult months, but the coming decade.”