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4. Broaden employment support
UK labour market participation fell dramatically in the pandemic, with lots of people choosing to give up work or move industries as a result of the ‘Great Resignation’. Resultantly, staff vacancies have soared upwards, leaving SMEs with hiring gaps and skills shortages.
Ahead of the Spring Statement, two small business owners told Startups that the lack of available skilled labour is the biggest issue they’d like to see addressed by Hunt.
The childcare crisis is one culprit. Last week, a report by the charity, Coram, found that the average annual cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under two is now £14,836. Such figures effectively lock out low-income parents from the workforce.
Brett Wigdortz is founder of childminder agency Tiney.co. One of his ‘perfect world’ suggestions is the government to offer subsidised early years care from birth to school.
“Parents could go back to work, and their children would have better education for their future careers,” he argues.
Another contributor to low workforce participation is poor health. Government data shows that half a million people are currently out of work due to long-term illness.
Molly Johnson-Jones is the cofounder of Flexa, an accreditation service for flexible working. She says she wants to see Hunt commit to improving support for workers with additional health needs. “As someone who has lived with a chronic health condition since the age of 18, I know how difficult it can be to find employers who accommodate health needs.”
Johnson-Jones suggests business grants could be given to help make workplaces more accessible. Training courses could also help managers to support workers with health conditions or help with inclusion policies like neuroinclusion.
“Given the government’s current focus on fixing labour shortages, I don’t see why the chancellor wouldn’t consider measures such as these,” she states.
How likely is it to happen?
Hard to say. Childcare support for benefit claimants is expected to be introduced in the budget, but the government has so far kept mum on the idea of broader support to help businesses attract and retain talent.
Still, it is likely that some training and employment policies will be introduced to reckon with the labour shortages. In his Autumn Statement in November 2022, Hunt announced that the Work and Pensions Secretary would review workforce participation in time for the March budget.
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