Skills shortage in the Midlands high on the agenda

Lack of talent is hitting the SME market in the Midlands hard.

According to a recent report, commissioned by BT Business, three quarters (74 per cent) of small businesses in the Midlands are trying to overcome the skills shortage by offering their employees some form of flexible working.

However the adoption of “third generation” flexible working, which combines flexible hours, flexible locations, flexible tasks and the addition of ‘location independence’ and brings the biggest business benefits, is still slow.Researched by independent forecasting think tank, The Centre for Future Studies, the IT Skills for Flexible Working report, for the first time introduces definitions for different types of flexible working.

• The first generation involves time flexibility – offering part time or short term working to employees.
• The second generation involves both time and location flexibility; so in addition to offering flexi-hours to staff, technology is provided for employees to work whilst on the move. 
• The third generation of flexible working involves the emergence of the “virtual office”, which has total location independence and gives employees greater autonomy in the way they manage and plan their work.

While many small businesses in the Midlands have successfully adopted first and second generation practices, 62 per cent still say that they lack the appropriate IT skills and training to properly exploit their existing technology and therefore third generation flexible working.

Gary McLean, BT Local Business Regional Director for the East Midlands, said: “We are witnessing the emergence of flexible hours, flexible tasks and flexible locations. The technology to support this is available to businesses of all sizes and sectors in the Midlands and is delivering tangible business benefits.  Small businesses need to embrace third generation flexible working to compete in attracting talented staff and to serve their customers to a high standard.”

Recrion is based in the Midlands and advises companies on how to manage and retain their staff effectively.  For advice on how we can help you overcome staff shortages, contact Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910 or www.recrion.co.uk