Bridging the jobs-skills gap (in Britain).

Why are so many young people jobless in Britain, when manufacturing industry is experiencing recruitment shortages? What can be done to bridge the jobs-skills gap? These questions were discussed at a seminar organized by the shop-floor paper The Industrial Pioneer, in West Bromwich recently.

Bill Nicholls, Director of Education and Training Development for the Engineering Employers Federation in the West Midlands, pointed out that there are now 10 per cent fewer engineering craftsmen and women, and up to 35 per cent fewer machine operators, than in the 1970s. Although 1.7 million people are employed in engineering plants, that figure will continue to fall as firms invest in computer technology. Too many big companies equated `taking cost out of business' with employing fewer people, he said.

Most vacant jobs are now in areas requiring higher engineering skills and training, he pointed out. At the same time, `there had been a tremendous shift in the education of young people'. A third of school leavers now go to university compared with only eight per cent in the 1960s. Engineering employers predict that, in the next 10 years, half of all employees will come through higher education. Knowledge is what gives competitive edge to a company and a nation's industry, Nicholls said.

Engineering had a greater recruitment problem than most sectors, because of the skills demanded. Modern apprenticeships since 1995 had stimulated up to 9,000 young people a year to enter engineering through on-the-job training. There was a crucial need to give small companies support with training costs in particular as these companies provide the greatest area of growth and new jobs.