Research has found a cautious optimism amongst Lincolnshire employers, with more than 70% saying business has grown in the past year and almost 30% saying they will recruit in the next 12 months.

But they say that finding the right workforce is key to future success and beating the recession, with many still struggling to find the right skills and experience to fill vacancies.

And people in the county are being encouraged to look at getting higher level skills to help boost the economic recovery.

The survey was commissioned by the Lincolnshire & Rutland Employment and Skills Board to gauge the effects of the current economic downturn on local employment.

Nearly 1,400 employers across Lincolnshire and Rutland took part in the  survey, answering questions on staffing and recruitment issues, including skill shortages, annual staff turnover and training practices.

Over 50% had recruited new people in the past year but employers said they often struggled to find the right people at management level. The care sector and transport sector also reported difficulty in finding experienced people at all levels.

“Lincolnshire is a bit unusual in its employment market,” explained Roy Harper, the project manager for the Employment and Skills Board.  “We don’t have a lot of people travelling to work here like cities such as Nottingham, and we don’t have as many our jobs in the sectors that have been hardest hit, such as financial services.

“Our economy is more stable and it means that younger and older people are more likely to get a job than in other counties. Vacancies tend to be filled more locally and our employers tend to be open to the value of individual applicants and less likely to try and favour applicants in a particular age group for example.”

He added:  “We also see very low staff turnover – 40% of employers in this year’s survey said that they had zero staff turnover, which is partly due to the economic situation and staff being less likely to move, but that figure is always pretty high in Lincolnshire. We’re affected much less than other areas.”

Responding to the difficulties reported in filling management level jobs, Adam Peacock of Lincolnshire Research Observatory explained: “Employers report difficulties in recruiting higher level managers and the cause of this is something we’ve identified in previous research here in Lincolnshire.  Highly qualified people are more likely to live on the edge of the county and are more likely to commute to higher paid jobs in other areas.”

Looking at what skills they wanted, employers said workers needed to improve their technical and ICT skills, although the biggest number said that personal skills - like having the right attitude - were what they valued most.

And for some sectors, there’s just a big shortage of experienced people at all levels.

“The results of this survey show a continuing emphasis in our economy on lower level jobs.  We need to develop and attract higher level skills opportunities to the county,” said Herman Kok of the Lindum Construction Group who is chairman of the Employment and Skills Board.

“We need to make sure people in Lincolnshire have the opportunity to develop their skills now so they can match up to the needs of employers, especially as and when we move out of recession.  That means making sure we tell training funders / policy makers what we need and where support needs to be targeted. ”

The key findings of the research, which was undertaken for the Employment and Skills Board by Lincolnshire County Council’s Research Observatory, are:

-               Three quarters of employers (72%) have experienced growth in the past year, either in terms of increased profitability (31%) increased turnover (35%), or increased market share (27%). Only a fifth (21%) of employers said they had not experienced growth of any kind in the previous 12 months.

-               Incidences of ‘hard to fill’ vacancies have reduced whilst levels of recruitment have remained at similar levels to previous surveys. Rising unemployment levels have played a role in this.

- Employers who are experiencing ‘hard to fill’ vacancies are increasingly looking to support from outside in helping to satisfy their skills needs, by targeted training and support programmes for example, rather than looking at changes they can make themselves.

-               Incidences of skills gaps amongst employers – where the skills of applicants don’t match vacancies - have increased by 2% since 2005 but still remain low at 11% compared to previous years.

-               Over 45’s and under 19’s featured prominently in target groups finding employment, a figure that is consistent with surveys in the previous three years

The Lincolnshire & Rutland Employment and Skills Board is made up of volunteers from local employers, employee groups, the community and training providers.  Its aim is to boost local economic performance by ensuring that employment and skills policies and funds meet the needs of local employers, employees and the wider community.

An executive summary of this report is available in our publications area - Employer Skills Survey 2009

ENDS