More than four in five UK businesses have suffered recruitment difficulties over the past year as skills shortages take hold, a new report has revealed.

A study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that 85 per cent of British employers found it hard to take on staff in the last 12 months.

Nearly seven in ten firms said that this was due to a lack of specialist skills, with a further 66 per cent blaming a paucity of suitably experienced candidates.

The lack of skilled workers has led to many employers taking on unqualified staff in the hope that they grow into the role – a tactic used by 43 per cent of businesses.

Under-pressure firms are also finding it difficult to hold on to employees, with 77 per cent admitting they have experienced difficulties retaining staff over the past year.

The survey is further evidence of the chronic lack of skills in the UK workforce and the resulting pressures that this puts onto small businesses.

Many firms have been unable to take on new staff because of the lack of suitable candidates, leaving an estimated 500,000 unfilled vacancies across the UK.

Although the government has launched several initiatives over recent years, such as Modern Apprenticeships and Employer Training Pilots, the situation is barely improving for thousands of small firms that are unable to assemble a quality workforce.

Other findings in the CIPD research include:

  • Nearly four in ten employers increased salaries in order to retain key staff.
  • A further 34 per cent said that keeping up with wage inflation was their greatest concern for the future.
  • It now takes, on average, nine weeks to fill a vacancy.
  • Unfilled vacancies are now most commonly covered by shifting work to existing staff.

Rebecca Clarke, of the CIPD, said that labour shortages are having a significant impact on employers.

“Recruitment of ‘nearly but not quite’ candidates, accompanied by investment in training, is to be welcomed as an intelligent medium-term response.

“With nearly two out of five organisations increasing starting salaries or benefits packages in response to recruitment difficulties, wage inflation looks set to be a continued feature of the tight labour market,” she said.