27 January 2023
“The chancellor correctly raised the issue of productivity in his speech this morning. If we are to achieve sustainable economic growth it is vital that we solve the UK’s productivity puzzle.
“Mr Hunt is right to identify low skills as a key part of the problem. Recent polling commissioned by AICPA & CIMA found that 82% of SME employers had identified skills gaps in their organisation in the past 12 months. When we last conducted this research in 2020 that figure was 65%, so the skills shortage is getting significantly worse.
“The AICPA & CIMA productivity report suggests ideas to address the problem, including introducing a rebuttable right to retrain and mandated time for training. In addition, the Apprenticeship Levy should be reformed to become an Apprenticeship and Skills Levy, to widen the opportunities for upskilling the workforce. We could also set up a Productivity Commission and a Productivity Strategy to drive improvements, as some other countries have done.
As the chancellor said, if we tackle these problems and make the necessary reforms there are great economic opportunities available to the UK. The time to act is now.”
Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA
Chief Executive — Management Accounting
AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Certified Accoutant