Public sector feels the pinch of skills gap

Public
sector organisations are being hit harder by skills shortages than those in any
other industry, with more than half struggling to recruit the right candidates.

Around
53 per cent are experiencing skills shortages when recruiting, compared to 44
per cent in the private sector.

The
situation has completely reversed since the 1990s, when skills gaps were much
worse outside the public sector.

Recruitment
agency Reed looked at 1,000 organisations (split evenly between private and
public) and identified local government as the worst affected, with 61 per cent
experiencing skills shortages.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

The
specific skills and traits identified as most lacking were: technical,
professional, IT, and previous public sector experience.

By Ross Wigham