GC Situation Report: September 2023 Employment Insights

• The Growth Company (GC) Situation Report, September 2023, includes detailed information on the economy, as well as the results of the GC Survey and Business Confidence Index.
• The latest data shows that little has changed month-on-month when it comes to employment.
• Workforce skills gaps are still an issue, with around a third of firms actively recruiting new staff.

The GC Situation Report, September 2023, contains leading economic data from both local and national sources. This month’s survey findings are based on responses from 126 firms recorded between 4th September to 2nd October.

Here are the headline figures and trends relating to employment and skills:

Skills Gaps

• 52 percent of firms reported workforce skills were only “partly” at the level needed to meet their business plan objectives (vs. 58 percent previously).
• The main technical skills gaps identified were: Specialist technical skills (35 percent); knowledge of products and/or services (13 percent); complex problem solving (7 percent); and advanced specialist information technology skills (6 percent).
• The main people and personal skills gaps were: Sales (15 percent); managing and motivating staff (12 percent); ability to manage time (11 percent); and customer handling (8 percent).

Workforce and Skills Development

• 42 percent of businesses said they intend to increase capital expenditure to invest in workforce development and skills over the next 12 months (vs. 47 percent previously). 50 percent expect their investment in this area to remain the same (no change).
• 52 percent of those surveyed stated they were actively seeking to increase the diversity of their workforce through recruitment and progression practices (vs. 46 percent previously). Meanwhile, 21 percent said they were likely to do so in the future (vs. 27 percent previously).

Recruitment and Redundancies

• 29 percent of firms said they were actively recruiting new staff, an increase of 3 percent on August. 18 percent reported difficulties recruiting new staff (vs. 16 percent previously).
• The main job categories companies were looking to fill were: customer facing roles (40 percent); managerial roles (16 percent); and roles “not elsewhere classified” (11 percent).
• 2 percent of businesses said they were in the process of making redundancies (no change).

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