Finding answers to closing the skills gap

Henri Murison said that the average salary of a factory worker involved in industries such as robotics or artificial intelligence was now higher than that of a teacher’s and that university need not be the only access point to a career.

Mr Murison made the comments at a roundtable discussion held jointly between Barclays Bank and The Yorkshire Post on the subject of skills which was attended by business leaders from around the Yorkshire region.

During the discussion Mr Murison said: “If we are going to transform our economy what we do not need is lots more undergraduates.

“Why is it that people have to go off and study for three years to get a good job?

“If they want to study for three years, that is a great idea, but it should not be the only means of accessing opportunity.

“If we could create a degree-apprenticeship route for every industry then that is real choice and is open to everyone.

“For someone working in a highly skilled factory, whether it is robotics or AI, the average salary will be higher than a teacher’s.”

Much of the conversation centred around the changing outlook of young people and how employers can match this.

David Masters, group managing director at OE Electrics in Wakefield, has plans to recruit more than 140 people.

He said: “I have just sat down with a group [of graduates] lately, some have only been with us 18 months and want to move up. We are trying to understand their needs.”

Natalie Marrison, partner at law firm Ramsdens, said that this was a common theme across all industries and that the reason lay in expectation levels of young people. “Graduates come in now and they are so driven,” she said.

“There is so much more competition out there and they are very focused, they want to see some clear progressions and career plans.

“We have put in place a career plan for each individual so they can see there is a clear path from here to there.”

Matt Hughan, head of recruitment at Sky Betting and Gaming, said: “They have grown up in an instant society and we all now live in an instant society.

“We have everything available in our pocket.

“They come out of university thinking ‘why can’t I do that, maybe I can do that’; they want that instant recognition.”

Craig Burton, managing director of recruitment firm The Works, said that businesses needed to have recruitment plan structures that accounted for as long as 15 years and that transport played a crucial factor.

“We get an A star every time in north of England for creating a poverty of aspiration,” he said.

“The District Line is the same difference between Leeds and Manchester but the latter is six times more expensive.

“I would not dream of commuting from Manchester to do my daily job. I would not think twice about the District Line.”

Leanne Birch, business development director at accountants EY, said apprenticeship schemes were “a wonderful move for professional services”.

“I think it’s a real opportunity to create a more diverse and productive workforce,” she said.

Paula Molyneux, who works for Barclays AFTER programme (Armed Forces Transition and Resettlement) programme, spoke about the work the programme had done to find work for hundreds of ex-servicemen.

“We began to understand the enormous range of skills they had. They have tremendous soft skills, we have research that proved the armed forces population outperformed their civilian peers in things like leadership, teamwork, problem-solving and so they have got a lot to bring to businesses.”

In the last four years, Barclays has employed nearly 500 ex-service men and women and now works with a group of other businesses expanding the work under the VETS (Veteran Employment Transition Support) programme.

Andrew Richardson, chief executive of the BATA Group, also employs many former military personnel and said that the team ethic among such staff was exceptional.