Employers not making the most of their staff

UK employers could be wasting millions of pounds by not making the most of the skills available in the workforce according to a new study published today (13 December 2004).

The study, undertaken by the Sector Skills Development Agency, found that large sections of the UK workforce are under-utilised, with many people having skills and qualifications that are not put to good use by employers.

Key findings from the study include:

Most ethnic minority groups of people are less well paid than their white counterparts. The average hourly earnings for white men is 9.03, but falls to 6.74 for Pakistani men. These differences do not entirely arise from differences in personal characteristics or education

In 2002, disabled people had an employment rate of around 48% compared to 81% for non-disabled people. Disabled people are more likely to be employed in manual occupations and have lower average earnings, even after taking age, education and occupation into account

Whilst the gender gap in pay is narrowing, the gap amongst the highest occupations seems to be getting worse. Womenís basic hourly earnings are 82% that of men, compared to 72% amongst managers and senior administrators. Women also receive less training and report that the skills they have are under-utilised by their employers

29% of refugees were working in September 2001 compared to 60% of ethnic minorities in the general population. The work they do and seek is often not commensurate with their skills

The study also revealed that a high proportion of people who are currently economically inactive would be able to work if certain barriers were removed. Some two million people in this group do want to work - a potentially huge supply of labour if circumstances could be created to meet their desire to move into work.

Professor Mike Campbell, Director of Strategy and Research at the Sector Skills Development Agency, said:

We know that many employers suffer from skills gaps and skills shortages which affect their profits and productivity. This research shows that the skills they need might well be out there - we just need to look in the right place, or think a bit more creatively about how we can get people in to the labour market.

Skills for Business, the new network of employer-led Sector Skills Councils, has been tasked by the government with informing and influencing policy on training and skills development relating to productivity. Sector Skills Councils have a key role to play by gathering labour market intelligence and understanding future skills needs, employment patterns and demographic trends and making the business case to employers so they can ensure their policies and practices are sufficient to deal with potential labour shortfalls.

Through the establishment of the network, we are not only working to ensure that the UK workforce has all the skills needed by employers , but also that the skills of the existing UK workforce are effectively utilised.