REGIONAL REPORT
The results revealed London to be 52-54 % more productive than the South-East , the second most productive region . Wales was identified as the least productive region of the eleven .
The researchers found that differences in plant characteristics such as size or multinational ownership had a small impact and were not the most dominant reason as to why London ’ s productivity was significantly higher than other reasons . London , they said , dominates because its plants benefit from their location – factors such as governance , infrastructure , physical geography and agglomeration ( clustering ) economies .
“ When it comes to the manufacturing sector , the difference in levels of productivity is evident between London and elsewhere , whilst in terms of the services industry , this different is even higher . As plant characteristics cannot explain this difference , an obvious way for Government to help boost productivity across the board – such as increasing the proportion of plants engaged in exporting , R & D or foreign-owned – will not have the desired effect of ensuring elsewhere is working as efficiently and effectively as London ,” commented Professor Richard Harris of Durham University .
The researchers believe that the findings can help to identify the size of the task faced in ‘ levelling-up ’ as well as avoid policy initiatives for levelling up that may actually have only a limited impact on productivity , which are unlikely to close the gap with London . The researchers agree levelling up is an important policy , although difficult to implement when the reasons behind London ’ s superior productivity are largely unexplained .
Worker shortfalls
New research published by the International Longevity Centre-UK ( ILC ) projects that , as a result of population ageing , COVID-19 and Brexit , the UK economy could see a shortfall of 2.6 million workers by 2030 - almost twice the workforce of the NHS . Amid continued labour market challenges , ILC calls on Government to develop a comprehensive Workforce Strategy to tackle future shortages .
The ‘ Plugging the Gap ’ report by ILC , a UK specialist think tank on the impact of longevity on society , warns that recent labour shortages seen in sectors such as transport , health and care are just warning signs of things to come , with shortfalls expected across a range of sectors over the coming years ( including manufacturing ; wholesale , retail and vehicle repair ; construction ; transport and storage ; hospitality ; professional and scientific ; education ; health and social care ).
The report projects that 2.7 million more jobs will be created by 2030 if current trends continue . But with many older workers set to retire over the next years and fewer younger workers joining the labour force , these jobs won ’ t be filled , warns the report .
Most importantly , large numbers of workers fall out of the workforce long before State Pension Age as a result of poor health and / or caring responsibilities but also barriers to re-employment . Those that remain economically active up to and beyond State Pension Age will tend to work reduced hours . This trend is combined with the added pressures of COVID-19 , leading to many people retiring early , and Brexit leading to reduced migration , previously integral to the UK economy .
Only a third of businesses are taking action to improve the diversity of their workforce across gender ( 33 %) or ethnicity ( 30 %)
“ Population ageing , the pandemic and Brexit have come together to form the perfect storm . If we continue with business-as-usual , we are going to see huge shortfalls hitting all sectors of the economy ”, warns report author Prof . Les Mayhew , Head of Global Research at ILC and Professor of Statistics at Bayes Business School .
“ The Government has formulated a set of strong policy priorities to develop infrastructure , health and care over the coming years which will place huge demands on the economy . But if we fail to address the workforce challenge , we simply won ’ t have enough people for the jobs .”
In its report , the ILC urges the Government to introduce a comprehensive Workforce Strategy that looks across the whole economy . “ We can ’ t keep plugging the gaps as issues arise from sector to sector . Whether it ’ s HGV drivers or care workers , at the core we need to ensure we create quality jobs that people can and want to stay in for as long as they want to ”, added Professor Mayhew .
“ This means supporting healthy workplaces , supporting carers and creating flexible conditions that suit people ’ s needs . We need to remove barriers to people returning to work – whether following time out caring , dealing with a health need or taking parental leave . And we need to consider the role of migration and automation in addressing labour market gaps .
“ People living and working longer is a good thing and it needn ’ t be a disaster for the economy – quite the opposite . But if we don ’ t act fast to respond to the new normal of longer working lives , we will pay the price across every single industry .”
Upskilling the workforce
Fewer than half of new engineering recruits in the UK have either the necessary technical or soft skills needed for work within the industry , a new Institution of Engineering and Technology ( IET ) skills survey reveals , prompting fears that ‘ the UK skills crisis will keep growing unless government and industry take action ’.
The impact of missing skills means that 45 % of companies who see a skills shortage within young people provide additional training for apprentices / graduates who are new to the industry , whereas a quarter
42 | sheetmetalplus . com | ISMR February 2022