Failure to address labour shortages could cost UK economy £39 billion - expert

Failure to address current labour shortages could cost the UK economy up to £39 billion every year, delegates were told at a Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce event yesterday, writes Feron Jayawardene.

Shazia Ejaz, director of campaigns for Recruitment and Employment Confederation was addressing the Growth Through People conference.

The conference - held yesterday at the studio - was the culmination of a series of events and workshops hosted by the GBCC.

It was hosted by GBCC CEO Henrietta Brealey and was sponsored by the West Midlands Combined Authority, South and City College Birmingham and Aston University.

The GBCC 's Growth Through People campaign is the only campaign of its kind across the country that aims to help organisations across the region increase their productivity through improved leadership and people management skills.

The aim of the conference was to explore exceptional perspectives on themes including responsible leadership, attracting and engaging talent, unlocking potential and harnessing resilience, giving business new ideas to drive and inspire positive change.

Among the keynote speakers was Shazia Ejaz, who spoke about current workforce trends and what the future of jobs might look like.

She said: “Our reports have found out that not addressing labour shortages could cost the UK economy to £39 billion every year.

“Our forecasts for the next five years point to anemic growth and stagnant productivity - a situation that could be exacerbated if we do nothing to fix labour and skills shortages.

“The real GDP impacts of a 10 per cent uplift in demand in 2023. With a hypothetical but not inconceivable 10 per cent uplift in demand in the economy, we would need 1.7 million new jobs.

“Firms must now play their part on skills and behave as if people are their greatest asset - not just say that they are. Increasing investment in skills isn't effective unless it is targeted and integrated with the overall commercial growth plan.

“Any commercial long-term strategy should include a people plan which treats skills spending as investment rather than costs. ”

Miss Shazia also revealed the impact Artificial Intelligence will have on recruitment.

She added: “Artificial Intelligence is a brilliant resource but offer ethical responsibilities and it should not replace people. ”

Another keynote speech was given by Deborah Hazell, chief executive officer of Unity Trust Bank, who spoke about her personal leadership journey, attracting the right talent and empowering individuals to achieve their full potential.

Ms Hazell said: “I like to lead from the middle rather than leading from the top. The biggest transformation I 've had at Unity Trust Bank is the transparency. Describing the future of the bank and being transparent with our employees has been a gamechanger.

“Information is power and sharing that information is sharing that power.

“Always look for the talent and don 't wait for the talent to come for you. There is so much talent you can find by asking the right questions and looking inside your organisation. ”

The conference featured a workshop on Calculating the Cost of Your Culture, conducted by Fiona Anderson and Patricia Colden from CIPD, along with two panel discussions with the themes of inclusive recruitment and calculating the cost of the culture.

The inclusive recruitment and talent development panel discussion was chaired by Hattie D 'Souza, director of people and strategy at EAST VILLAGE, David Gaughan, head of employer services at the West Midlands Combined Authority, and Rebecca Waterfield, head of employer engagement at South and City College Birmingham.

Staff retention and organisational resilience panel discussion was chaired by Mark Taylor, regional managing partner and Birmingham office managing partner at RSM UK, Anita Bhalla OBE DL, Chair of Performances Birmingham Ltd and Sukhwinder Salh, Senior Teaching Fellow, Aston Business School

Chris Finnegan, principal consultant and head of consulting services of Curium Solutions delivered a training exercise on the theme of 'What Will You Do Differently? '

Pictured: Shazia Ejaz with Henrietta Brealey