For the first time in decades the UK’s labour market is acting as a drag on growth, according to the Institute of Employment Studies. While there is a general shortage of labour in certain sectors, including our own, we are particularly suffering from a serious lack of skilled workers.
This is confirmed by different reports commissioned by the UK government, including the Levelling Up the United Kingdom white paper and the Department for Education’s Skills for Jobs policy paper, which point to the skills gap as one of the main factors getting in the way of economic prosperity across all sectors.
In fact, it has been estimated that if UK businesses cannot adequately upskill current staff or secure new employees with sufficient technical skills, it could cost the UK economy more than £240 billion by 2026.
Clearly, the next government will have to tackle this issue and quickly; indeed, the topic of skills shortages has been high on the agenda in the run up to the election. Rishi Sunak has pledged to scrap what he called “rip-off degrees” in favour of creating 100,000 more apprenticeships per year, and Shadow Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has noted that businesses are “crying out for help to tackle skills shortages,” re-stating Labour’s pledge to reform the existing apprenticeship levy, paid by firms which have an annual wage bill of more than £3 million.
But we must play our part too. Individual businesses must see education and training as an investment to drive growth and productivity, rather than as simply another cost. Furthermore, trade associations like UKWA must work to ensure that the government understands sector-specific needs, while making certain that suitable training opportunities exist and are accessible to our members and the wider sector.
In warehousing, for example, there was no recognised qualification available to support and upskill warehouse managers until we launched our UKWA Warehouse Manager Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC), with its first cohort in January this year.
Independently accredited by the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (UK), this brand-new course, specifically designed to equip learners with the knowledge and skills to manage a modern warehouse, is aimed at developing existing warehouse managers and supervisors, as well as attracting new entrants from other industries into a rewarding career in warehouse management.
Most recently, UKWA members XPO convened our CPC course exclusively for some of their own managers (all of whom passed!). The forthcoming Warehouse Manager CPC courses, held in September and October, will be open to all.
While widely acknowledged as an industry leading qualification, the Warehouse Manager CPC is still evolving to meet employers’ needs. We have, for instance, digitised much of the content to augment the learning experience and have added an App with daily quizzes for learners to test their knowledge.
Our People and Skills Advisory Board provides a forum for members to feed into our policy work, and offers a valuable opportunity for UKWA to understand the issues that matter most to our members on this topic. We’re always listening, and for the sake of UK companies, we hope that our new government will be listening too!
For more information or to book on the next Warehouse Manager CPC course, visit ukwa.org.uk/training
Clare Bottle
UKWA, CEO
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