War for talent | Rapid innovation is the only way to compete in the battle for skilled employees, says HR expert

The UK is facing an unprecedented skills shortage, with the latest government statistics revealing that 9.25 million people aged 16-64 are currently out of the workforce. As a result, employers have a dwindling pool of talent to select from to plug skills gaps.

According to Liam McNeill, Group Vice President, EMEA at UKG, a leading provider of HR, payroll, workforce management and culture solutions for all people, to combat this national shortage, business leaders should look to innovation to streamline processes. This includes improving the quality of training and development businesses offer to attract experienced staff, while helping their existing employees develop the skills that they need to plug the gap.

McNeill said: “The UK workforce has faced a period of sustained pressure since the COVID-19 pandemic. Many older employees were pushed into early retirement, with no intention of ever returning to work, while the number of workers on long-term sick leave remains at a record level.

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“In cases where there simply aren’t enough staff available to fill crucial vacancies, businesses should turn to automation to plug workforce gaps. For example, labour planning technology can automatically schedule shift patterns, so that managers no longer need to perform this process manually.