Commenting on the findings of the latest NI Skills Barometer, Roger Pollen, Head of FSB Northern Ireland said:
“We welcome the report’s recognition that Northern Ireland requires a skills system that meets the needs of employers and the wider economy. However, a historic lack of investment in skills training, combined with problems linked to the pandemic and Brexit, has compounded the many challenges already facing small businesses. Chronic shortages at entry level and in specialisms have left many firms unable to find the right staff, thereby undermining their ability to reach their potential.”
Of major concern in the NI Skills Baromoter is the continuing digital skills gap, the low numbers qualifying in STEM subjects and the effects of brain drain.
Roger Pollen continued:
“Collaboration between education, employers and policy makers will be central to the development of a strategically targeted long-term skills plan. “Central to this should be FSB’s longstanding call for proper engagement with small businesses in the roll-out of the new Skills Strategy, which still remains unpublished.”
Media contact: Shauna McKeown, Head of Communications, NI