Employers to tackle skills crisis with easter

Employers in Britain are expected to look to eastern Europe to tackle growing skills gaps in many industry sectors, a new report claims.

A study by Ipsos MORI discovered that around one quarter of human resources managers believe that workers from eastern Europe represent the best source of foreign employees for UK companies, particularly those in the manufacturing sector.

In terms of regions for recruiting new talent, eastern Europe was way ahead of France, Germany, North America, India and the Far East.

The poll of 200 managers also found that 38 per cent of HR managers expected that the current UK skills crisis will become worse over the next few years.

Commissioned by recruitment firm Vedior, the survey shows that many companies expect to raise salaries in order to attract talent over the coming years, with many HR managers disappointed by the apparent inefficiency of government policies to tackle skills gaps.

Zach Miles, Vedior CEO, said: "It is encouraging that UK employers are taking an open approach to the immigration of skilled workers. This will put the UK economy at an advantage over the many continental countries that also face severe skills crises, but that have far less positive approaches to immigration and less flexible labour markets."

© Adfero Ltd
Date:26/06/2007 12:16:22