Press Release

CII statement in response to CBI announcement

16 June 2009

In response to today’s CBI announcement on skills shortages in London, the CII agrees that shortages are affecting businesses and that these pose a threat to the recovery of our economy.

The CII’s recent membership skills survey found that, despite the current economic climate, seven in ten employers reported skills shortages, and that half said that these were having an adverse impact on business. These figures bear out the findings of the CBI’s London Business Survey which showed 38% of employers struggling to find staff with the right skills.

David Thomson, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the CII, said:

“The short term difficulties being faced by firms as a result of the economic downturn (such as redundancies) disguise the long term challenge that remains – that of developing the skills of the UK workforce. This is central to ensuring that the UK economy, and financial services especially, remains competitive in the global marketplace. ‘Who trains, wins’ remains the central mantra for financial services and insurance in the battle for competitiveness.”

Notes for editors

The CII’s skills survey was conducted in March across all qualified CII and PFS members. There were more than 2500 respondents, 621 of whom were employers.

The key findings were as follows:

Over two thirds of respondents believe that investing in training now will put companies in a stronger position for the recovery. 70% think that government funding for skills should cover a mix of both long term and short term goals.

There is a degree of pessimism in relation to the UK’s skills levels when compared with other countries. A number of respondents feel that the UK is being left behind – 39% feel we’ve already been left behind, rising to 46% when looking forward to 2020.

66% said they thought new entrants to the sector are well equipped in terms of basic skills. This contrasts with employers who feel school leavers and graduates struggle with the basics.

The full report of the Third Annual CII Group Skills Survey 2009, with graphics, can be seen on the CII website at: http://www.cii.co.uk/pages/research/researchandsurveys.aspx