FEATURE: SKILLS & TRAINING
Is there a skills shortage?
By DAVID TOMALIN, Skills Hub manager W
e are continually hearing about the National Skills shortages significant problems, such as a national shortage of 60,000 HGV drivers
that could seriously impact our logistics industry and issues around a lack of engineering or high value manufacturing skills. In fact, the appendage “Skills Shortage” is in danger of being completely over used, seemingly as a sticking plaster to cover everything from the long term-unemployed to a shortage of skills for industries that are so cutting edge, no one has thought of them yet, as well as everything in between. Interestingly this issue and concern has been recognised
by CEDEFOP, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. In their recent publication, Skills Shortages and Gaps*, they posit the case that the term “skills shortage” typically relates to a situation where there are not enough individuals with the required skills within the labour market to fill existing vacancies at the current pay rates. Others have used the concept to describe a mismatch between the available skills and jobs in labour markets. In order to try to bring some clarity to the situation, CEDEFOP have defined the following terms:
Skill Mismatch – the discrepancy between qualifications and skills that an individual possesses and those that are needed by the labour market
Mismatch – a situation where groups diverge with different skill levels in the unemployment-to-vacancies ratio
Skill Imbalance – Difference between the demand and supply of differing skill levels
Recruitment/Vacancy Bottleneck – A vacancy that is hard to fill
Skill or Talent Shortage – Demand exceeds supply for a particular skill at the current market pay rate
Internal Skills Gap – Skills levels within a firm are less than required to perform a job adequately
Skill Obsolescence – where skills are no longer required or diminished in a job role.
FEBRUARY 2016 CHAMBERLINK 43
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