Corin Crane, Chief Executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said that while work is being done to help close the skills gap in the West Midlands in the medium to long term, more needs to be done in the short term to tackle the issue.
He said: “As we look ahead to the new year, it is clear that more work needs to be done to solve the skills crisis.
“Here in the West Midlands we have been awarded £10 million of Local Skills Improvement Funds (LSIF) by the Department for Education – the highest amount for any area of the UK – to close the skills gaps in a number of key areas.
“While this is extremely welcome and fantastic news for employers across Coventry and Warwickshire, this will only help to address the problem in the medium to long term.
“In the short term, there continues to be a skills crisis which needs to be addressed to support business growth and reduce unemployment figures.”
Jane Gratton, Deputy Director of Public Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Labour market data continues to send mixed messages, as vacancies trend downward, but unemployment and employment remain largely static and pay growth outstrips inflation.
“But while we may have fewer vacancies, we still have a major shortage of skills across our economy. This is holding back productivity and growth. So now is the time to redouble efforts to prepare, upskill and reskill the workforce for the changes and opportunities ahead of us.
“These remain challenging times for firms and the BCC’s most recent forecast predicts the economy will grow by just 0.6 per cent in 2024 and business investment will contract by 0.8 per cent. Government must do all it can to help businesses invest more in apprenticeships, technical education and upskilling people in work.
“Every day, employers are struggling to fill jobs, so it’s essential that everyone who wants to work is given the opportunities and training they need to do so, urgently.
“The Autumn Statement included some welcome steps, but with the immigration system now looking out of reach for most businesses, the Government must encourage investment in skills training and set out a stable, long-term strategy to support this.”
