Throughout 2014 there was encouraging growth in the jobs market for the chemicals industry. The market as a whole is recovering and is set to continue to expand with the industry forecast to reach a turnover of £56.8 billion in 2015 in the UK1. However, with this positivity come some challenges, the most notorious of which is the ongoing skills shortage.
By Justin Hines
Manager, Kelly Engineering and Scientific Resources, Manchester & NorthWest
Simple rules of demand and supply indicate that in areas of greater demand the pressures on the supply chain will intensify. This is apparent when looking to source certain skills sets in the chemicals industry. As more jobs are created there is an uplift in the number of opportunities available and the fight for good, experienced candidates is intensifying. As the CBI recently revealed: “40% of firms looking for staff with STEM skills had difficulties recruiting, and about half thought the situation was only going to get worse.2” As a result, measures need to be taken by individual businesses and the wider industry in order to address these challenges.
Industry Initiatives
Although there is no overnight solution, the industry has started to address the problem of skills shortages. As an example Manchester University, home of some of the country’s top science talent, has created a mock laboratory to allow students to experience hands-on learning. So often graduates fresh out of university do not have the practical skills required in the workplace and the laboratory helps to overcome this issue.
To take this initiative further, academia and businesses need to collaborate more closely together to help train future graduates in the skills required by the chemicals industry before they leave university. This will take an initial upfront investment (and perhaps a leap of faith) on behalf of a business, but it could become recognised as a strong business model and a solution to some of the skills shortages. It would also give these organisations an opportunity to see graduates perform in the workplace and offer them roles upon their graduation, securing future talent.
Another industry-wide initiative is that of apprenticeships. It has been well documented over the past few years there has been resurgence in the number of apprenticeships being offering by UK businesses. However the chemicals industry has somewhat lagged behind, with comparatively few apprenticeships on offer. One reason behind this is that many businesses have found it hard to find colleges or universities to offer the right training and assessment support for apprentices. This is often the result of a lack of demand for the course – meaning it is a vicious cycle. To break the cycle, there should be better dissemination of information about the availability of modules at universities and larger, established apprenticeship providers could look to help offer training for other, smaller firms. Greater collaboration between business and universities would also help improve this situation.
Talent Fuelling Business Competitiveness
While the industry is addressing some of these challenges in the long term, businesses need to ensure they are competitive in the war for talent in the short term. In this candidate driven market, applicants don’t stay around for long and more often than not they will end up with several job offers on the table. Indeed, due to the lengthy interview processes of many businesses potential employers are at risk of losing good candidates to competitors as timeframes are simply too long.
With these pressures in mind, what can businesses do to remain competitive? Firstly, they can look to improve their recruitment process by ensuring a streamlined, efficient approach to hiring. We advise meeting with good candidates as they become available rather than waiting for a full shortlist to be drawn up, in this way you can secure interest ahead of competitors. Once you have seen a strong candidate, don’t protract the process. Ensure all stakeholders are on board with the process and available to interview on the assigned day. Only second interview if necessary.
Candidate experience and how a business appears to prospective employees is another area we have talked a lot about previously, as a way to gain competitive advantage in the talent market. A poor experience will dissuade candidates, impacting future pipe-lines too and in a time of ever increasing skills shortages businesses must avoid this at all costs.
With the chemicals industry worth 1.5% of GDP, the sector represents an important component of the UK economy. It’s clear that while some initiatives are underway to address the skills shortages, more needs to be done, with businesses, industry and academia all working more closely together to solve the issues to ensure the sustainability of the sector.
1. www.cogent-ssc.com/research/Publications/Chemicals.pdf
2. www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30224320
