ISG’s latest Wide Angle, ‘Rethinking the skills conundrum’, seeks to connect the dots between people, place and productivity.
One of the primary limiting factors impacting organisations across the public and private sectors is access to a correctly skilled workforce. Today, skills demand outstrips supply, and this situation will persist unless we change our approach to identifying and planning for our future workforce requirements.
“Early-stage mapping of the investments organisations make in physical assets could prove the catalyst for a skills and training transformation. ”
By interrogating data on investment decisions at the earliest stages, we create a dynamic and forward-looking perspective on future skills demand at a national, regional and local level. We stimulate earlier engagement and collaboration between organisations, educators, young people and parents/carers to map skills and aspirations to future opportunities; creating a more targeted talent pipeline and a perception reset for the built environment as a desirable career option.
What can this report help achieve?
Greater co-ordination between future talent, parents and carers, educators and training organisations, transforming how the UK upskills and prepares for the careers of the future.
Inward investment decisions based on highly skilled workforce criteria.
Promotion of the UK as an attractive destination for business investment based on our high-skills and high-knowledge economy.
The UK's ambitious plans for growth present an opportunity to be more streamlined, agile and strategic in our national skills approach.
Many key industries with large investment pipelines are prioritising workforce factors as a key determining factor in asset-planning strategies.
An example of industry demand comes from film producer and former Member of the House of Lords, David Puttnam, who has identified skills shortage and lack of investment in skills as a 'major crisis' hanging over the industry.
“Enhanced visibility and transparency of data on planned investment areas will greatly assist the sustainable supply of a well-trained workforce equipped with the requisite skills. ”
By unleashing the potential of our existing data we spread opportunity, reduce inequality and promote forward skills-planning visibility. Young people will need this reassurance to inform their career pathways.
The key is to support incumbent businesses while preparing for the skills of the future, matching young people to guaranteed opportunities. The coordination of planning data with industries across the UK creates tangible opportunities to learn, train and work on local levels.
By using built environment planning data to identify the key skills required in the immediate future, we can begin to map specific skills fundamental to the current UK economy and tackle any future pipeline issues.
We’ll be exploring the skills conundrum across the UK, bringing you the latest sector insights direct from our teams on-site with their clients – featuring video and commentary from our experts in sustainability, social value, supply chain, talent acquisition and sector specialisms on how we can collectively address rising skills shortages through a demand-led skills revolution.
Featuring a spotlight on our deep retrofit project for The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). We’ll be exploring how businesses and institutions are prioritising high-quality facilities to attract top talent, and how owners are managing to meet tenant demand for more quality space alongside an ever-steepening requirement for supply chain skills required to support upgrading of existing stock to meet energy efficiency standards.
The film and TV sector is growing rapidly - for those looking to meet current and increasing future demands, a first-mover advantage in rethinking their approach could be an accelerating force in the war for talent. Find out what our sector experts and talent acquisition specialists think is the way to overcome a rising skills shortage.
The clock ticks down on climate change, while our energy systems struggle to keep pace with growing demand. We explore how earlier collaboration across the entire stakeholder landscape could be key to unlocking many more opportunities for delivery excellence within the energy sector. Turning competition to collaboration has the potential to profoundly change our industry’s ability to deliver on energy aspirations.
ISG hosted an event at The Science Museum in London to launch 'Rethinking the skills conundrum' research. Joining Zoe Price, Global Chief Operating Officer at ISG to debate how this novel approach could prove transformational for UK plc. were Susan Raikes, Director of Learning at The Science Museum Group, David White, Chief Operating Officer at Rolls-Royce (RR) SMR and Rosa Wells, Executive Dean for Engineering, Digital and Sustainable Construction at University College Birmingham.
