Women key to plugging skills gaps

The severe shortage of skills in many industries could be solved by breaking down traditional barriers and recruiting more women, according to a new report.

The study, undertaken by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), claimed that workforces are still divided along gender lines, with women receiving little encouragement to enter plumbing, construction or engineering.

The EOC said that small firms struggling to take on skilled applicants should ditch traditional views over what jobs women are able to do and start employing more female workers.

The lack of skills in the UK workforce has become a major problem for employers, with an estimated eight million British employees not able to properly do their jobs.

Despite the economic upturn prompting many firms to start recruitment drives, around 500,000 vacancies across the country are unfilled due to the lack of skilled applicants.

At a London press conference to publicise the new report, the EOC stressed that employers, employees and the economy in general would benefit if gender stereotypes were forgotten when firms took on new staff.

Among the speakers at the press conference was Pauline Brown, a plumber, who described how traditional views of ‘female’ jobs hampered her attempts to set up her own plumbing business.

Brown called on the government, careers advisers and colleges to do more to promote manual jobs to women.

The EOC said that although the Modern Apprenticeship scheme has done much to combat skill shortages, it has re-enforced gender stereotypes among young men and women.

Julie Mellor, chair of the EOC, said that the study had identified real barriers to choice for employers and individuals.

“Unless we see dramatic action to address them, major skills shortages will continue to blight individual businesses and damage the wider economy.

“In the short term, the government’s relaunch of the Modern Apprenticeship programme will provide an exciting opportunity to open up more choices for young people and supply business with a more diverse pool of workers,” she said.