‘Structural issue’ | Is it time to rebrand so-called skills gaps as training gaps?

The UK’s unemployment rate rose unexpectedly to 5% in the three months to March, latest figures from The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown.

Climbing from 4.9% in three months to February, coupled with vacancies dropping to their lowest level since the same period in 2021, it seems there is no sign that concerns around joblessness, youth unemployment, and hiring will abate any time soon.

And yet, for employers, it seems skills gaps – in virtually every sector or specialism, from construction to AI – are ever-present, and rarely out of the headlines.

According to the Government’s ‘post-16 education and skills’ white paper published in November: “Skills gaps and mismatches in our economy are holding people back from employment and limiting growth in priority sectors.”