2007年6月14日 伦敦高技能人才短缺
伦敦商界领袖们表示,首都的技术人才短缺现象正日益加重,政府的教育和培训改革未能提供充足的高技能员工,以满足它们的需求。 London's business leaders say skills shortages in the capital are getting worse, with the government's education and training reforms failing to produce sufficient skilled staff for their needs. The latest CBI/KPMG London Business Survey found 74 per cent of companies reporting problems with finding skilled staff, up from 61 per cent a year ago and half in January 2005. Four-fifths of the 126 businesses - which employ almost half a million people in the capital - said they expected to run into further shortages over the next six months. Richard Lambert, director-general of the CBI employers' body, said: "It will shock many to discover that the city has the highest unemployment rate of any region in the UK while, at the same time, employers are increasingly struggling to fill skilled job vacancies. "We need a step-change in education and training delivery to ensure we have the highly-skilled workforce we need to stay ahead of the global competition." Ian Barlow, London senior partner at KPMG, the professional services firm, said an open approach to immigration would allow businesses to continue filling their skills gaps from overseas. But he said the skills and training system in London must be transformed. Other concerns identified by the survey included transport, with 86 per cent saying London's public transport system had damaged their productivity and 83 per cent calling for an increase in rail capacity. Employment regulations were also mentioned by half the businesses as burdensome, with 29 per cent citing planning red tape. However, the twice-yearly survey found most businesses upbeat about London, with 95 per cent saying it was a good place to do business and 78 per cent optimistic about their prospects for the next six months. Three quarters said London's policymakers were business- friendly - though 23 per cent said they were not. Four in 10 said their volume of business had grown faster than normal over the past six months, and 44 per cent that their earnings had risen faster. But 69 per cent said the cost, availability and quality of housing in London was a barrier to staff recruitment and retention. |