UK will need to import high-skilled personnel within 10 years

UK business is likely to lose out to the developing economies not just in terms of unskilled manufacturing labour but also in the more highly skilled areas of research, management and engineering. This is according to a panel of experts at ìIs Europe Still Open for Business?î a Question Time-style seminar hosted by global credit insurer, Atradius, last week.

The poor quality of the UKís general education, coupled with the high quality of graduates from India and China either going home to set up business or increasingly graduating from their own improved universities, will create a significant talent shortfall in the UK and other European states. The panel felt that the UK would, within only a few years, be importing key skills to maintain competitiveness.

The panel also agreed that Chinaís emergence as trade super-power appears almost inevitable. Even if, or when, the Chinese Government stops bankrolling enterprise, it is likely that there will be enough momentum and foreign investment to fuel continued growth.

The UK was also felt to be lagging behind its EU counterparts in terms of management skills and education. Managers in many other EU countries are highly educated, fluent in a number of languages and with an excellent knowledge of the legal and regulatory implications of international trade. UK managers, on the other hand, still tend to rise through the ranks, with little or no language skills and only a ìneed to knowî knowledge of global trade.

The panel believed that the gap between the Government and business agendas in the UK was thought to be partly to blame. The Governmentís aparent lack of support for export business was felt to be a significant obstacle. Equally, it was felt that the UK Governmentís concentration on encouraging inward investment was a more risky strategy. Peugotís decision to close its Ryton plant was felt to be evidence of the UKís decreasing importance as a head-office location. If, as is likely, more companies follow suit, the accompanying economic effects may be felt in a number of different sectors.

Interestingly the panel felt the euro, and whether the UK adopts the currency, was not really an issue. Although a single currency brings greater transparency and decreased exchange rate risk, there are also trade partners that still prefer to buy and sell in sterling.

Is Europe Still Open for Business? was a Question Time-style seminar hosted by the BBCís Jonty Bloom. The panellists included: Marc Jones, senior underwriter at Atradius; Bernard Dennis, a leading export consultant and Philip King, Director General of the Institute of Credit Management.

You can download a report on this topic from the Atradius website.