UK vital industries ‘on cliff edge’ as workers shun jobs over low pay and poor conditions
The UK’s crucial industries are threatened by a shortage of workers because of poor conditions and low pay, a factor that is putting off potential new recruits, research shows.
Construction, healthcare and logistics are "on a cliff edge" facing growing recruitment challenge as people shun jobs, according to City & Guilds.
The organization, which carried out a survey of 10,000 working-age people, found only one in four respondents would consider a major worker job in such industries.
This is in spite of essential roles accounting for half of all job opportunities in the United Kingdom.
Nearly 3.1 million jobs are expected to open up during the next five years in industries considered vital, with the study indicating that many of those positions may go unfilled.
Construction could be most badly affected with only 17 percent of people saying that they would consider working in the industry.
Just over a fifth (22 percent) said they would think about working in food production, agriculture and animal care jobs or transport and logistics (23 percent), while 26 percent stated they would work in health and social care.
Among the reasons which put people off working in these jobs are low pay and a lack of relevant skills, experience or qualifications.
Unsociable hours are also another negative factor for healthcare (17 percent) and social care (18 percent) roles.
Though the research showed that essential workers, on average, only earn around £500 less per year than those doing a job in non-essential roles, some are more badly impacted than others.
In comparison to the average annual earnings for a British worker (£28,100), salaries fall particularly for workers in retail and social care, where 31 percent and 23 percent of them respectively cited pay as a reason not to work in the sector.
The research demonstrated the “undeniable fact that low salaries, unattractive or inflexible working conditions and a general lack of respect for these critical jobs is having a catastrophic impact on the ability of employers to fill these roles,” said Kirstie Donnelly, chief executive of City & Guilds.
“In the face of a growing labour crisis that is impacting these vital industries and wider society, we need to collectively take a long, hard look at how we can make these jobs more attractive. In the future, we need to do more than simply clap for carers, we desperately need to re-evaluate the way we recognise these roles as a nation,” she added.
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