Brexit, Covid, skills shortages; there are many things we can blame the current UK labour crisis on, but how can we fix it?

With over 1 million job vacancies in the UK between the months of April and June 2023, it is fairly evident that the UK are experiencing labour shortages.

There are many different events that could have impacted this figure or be the cause of the increase. But the number one question on everyone’s mind is … how do we tackle this shortage?

Creating an Inclusive Environment

The importance of creating an inclusive environment in the workplace is not to be overlooked. It is also definitely something that as a country, we have yet to cohesively achieve.

The business charity ReGenerate have set up a Good Jobs Project, which focuses on creating a more inclusive society to be able to tackle the labour crisis that the UK is currently facing.

They recently conducted a study that found that disadvantaged young people, young people leaving care, single parents, ex-offenders, people with a disability, neurodiverse people, refugees, and homeless face significant barriers when it comes to getting into employment.

Only 17% of ex-offenders are in work within 12 months of leaving prison.

Half of employers would not consider recruiting applicants with a criminal record, according to government data.

Ex-Offender Rehabilitation

It is reported that only 17% of ex-offenders are in work within 12 months of leaving prison. Yet, 3 out of 4 people in the UK would be comfortable buying from businesses that employ ex-offenders.

Half of employers would not consider recruiting applicants with a criminal record, according to government data.

With the evident skills gap, employing ex-offenders could be the solution. The majority of prisons teach a variety of industry level skills, with prisoners achieving professional qualifications ready for their re-entry into society. This is a talent pool that is being overlooked in the quest to resolve the UK labour shortage.

Within our business, and where we are able to, we work with organisations to assist ex-offenders back into the workplace. Part of our work in this area also includes upskilling where necessary.

Upskilling

To tackle the current labour market crisis, it was reported in 2022 that nearly half (47%) of employers have responded to the talent shortage by upskilling workers.

A great way to get people into your business is to upskill. When it comes to job seekers, you might encounter people that have the right attitude, but don’t seem to have the right experience or qualifications.

The best way to get and retain the top talent is to upskill your workforce.

By offering upskilling to your workforce, you will reach an entirely new audience and it will help retain your existing workforce as it shows your dedication to their development.

What do we do?

As a business that works in the interest of helping people into the workplace, we run numerous different initiatives to help marginalised people back into work. Our initiatives include:

• An ex-offender initiative in the Midlands, working alongside Inside Job.
• An ex-offender initiative in the North West, working with Seetec.
• Members of the #SRAG (Social Recruitment Advocacy Group) Driving awareness and change along with the UK’s top employers.
• National work-based training academies with Skillcert, offering sustainable employment. Having started this initiative in September 2022, we have already had 20 learners complete, achieve and sustain employment.

Alongside this, we have people working in-house to ensure that we are an accessible agency. We are constantly working to be the best agency and business that we can.

Want to know more? Contact us today.