'Serious recruitment concerns' | Why the 'war for talent' is bad news for small businesses

New data has warned that SMEs face a tough time in the oncoming months. Not only are they suffering with a “cost-of-work” crisis which could result in many small business owners being forced to put up their prices, hampering their ability to compete with large, more resilient companies in their sector, but they’re being hit by the double whammy of the “war for talent”, which is in some instances stifling companies’ ability to grow.

New research from Gatsby – a charitable foundation which supports and strengthens technical education – has found that 81% of small businesses have serious recruitment concerns. The researchers found that more than half (55%) of those surveyed cited a lack of skilled candidates as a top concern and one in five (18%) are uncertain about how to engage with the education and skills landscape.