Appropriate skills – the lifeblood of the small business community

Citation

(2005), "Appropriate skills – the lifeblood of the small business community", Education + Training, Vol. 47 No. 8/9. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2005.00447hab.004

Appropriate skills – the lifeblood of the small business community

While young career-minded professionals are busy striving for academic qualifications to help them to make their way in the world of work, six out of ten small-business owners and managers regard experience and vocational qualifications as more important when recruiting.

Research from Bibby Financial Services shows that more than a third (36 per cent) of small firms find it difficult to recruit skilled staff and, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, more than 40 per cent do not receive any applications for some vacancies. The findings reflect this skill mismatch and a shortage of appropriate candidates, revealing that 20 per cent of appointments by small firms are made after seeing only one or two candidates.

While Britain’s small-business community is crying out for vocational training, the standard of this in the UK is historically poor. Only 28 per cent of the British workforce is qualified to technician and intermediate-skill levels, compared to 51 per cent in France and 65 per cent in Germany.

David Robertson, chief executive of Bibby Financial Services, said: “If the 1,000 businesses a day that are currently starting up are to succeed, these requirements need to be met and the emerging skill gap in our economy addressed. While the small-business community is pushing the government to ensure investment in more practical qualifications that are in tune with entrepreneurs’ and businesses’ needs, an inward look at their own skills could be of benefit, too. Our research shows that, despite owners and managers conducting more than five million interviews each year, 79 per cent of those interviewing candidates have not had any training to help them to interview or recruit staff. It is clear that those responsible for recruitment in small and medium-size enterprises would be well advised to re-evaluate their own training requirements as well to ensure they have the necessary skills to make the best recruiting decisions.”

Norman Mackel, education and training chairman for the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Despite the numerous task forces and initiatives dedicated to skills, employees still lack the technical skills that businesses need. Politicians have so far failed to listen to small businesses when they call for flexible training. A firm with five staff cannot release employees for lengthy periods so that they can attend long training courses at local colleges where much of the funding is directed. Courses need to be bite-size and targeted at solving specific problems.”