Workforce upskilling as the key to closing the UK skills gap, Enginuity snapshot report reveals
In the wake of skills shortages, rising costs and governmental reforms, affordable quality training courses promise a brighter future for SMEs.
The value of bespoke learning and development courses for businesses is undisputed. As one of the tech industry’s biggest suppliers of these courses, with15 years’ experience in tech training and over 920 corporate clients under our belt, Enginuity’s findings are all too familiar.
Enginuity’s latest SME Snapshot Report captures insight from 135 manufacturing and engineering employers, representing 6,500 employees and £1.1 billion worth of sales. Moving beyond the widespread impact of rising labour and energy costs, this report from the former Industry Training Board and Sector Skills Body presents the UK labour market’s skills gap as the most potent issue.
Written by
With five years in tech education and career consultancy, Jasmine brings deep insight into career change and development. As Executive Career Consultant at Learning People, she guides individuals into tech careers through expert support and industry-recognised training
More than half of SMEs have experienced difficulties recruiting suitably skilled workers in the last six months. Just 33% felt slightly or very confident that they could recruit enough workers over the next 3-5 years.
Although the UK Government’s commitment to extensive upskilling is promising, the reality of short-term, quick-fix skills reforms for SMEs is often overwhelming.
Interestingly, 58% agree that lack of candidates with appropriate, industry-level qualifications is the most common driver of the skills gap. Combine this with over half of SMEs feeling slightly or very confident that they can train enough workers to meet their needs, workforce upskilling is the obvious way forward.
Upskilling your employees should be a priority...
"The majority of the businesses I speak to trust their workers implicitly - they just need to upgrade their skillset to keep up with the fast-paced nature of the tech industry.
Our training solutions are really adaptable, so creating a bespoke program that suits each individual employee’s existing skill sets and future goals while still prioritising business needs is instinctive, as well as satisfying."
How can I effectively upskill my workforce?
A skills shortage, rather than a labour shortage, presents the perfect opportunity for businesses to invest in existing employees via tech and business skills training. Debenhams Group are already making moves with their AI Skills Academy, with the aim to to create “future-ready workforce” and “close the AI skills gap”.
Counteracting the instability of inflation and governmental reforms with an investment into your reliable workforce is beneficial for both employer and employee. Scaling back on costly recruitment helps businesses balance the books, while still retaining talent; The World Economic Forum highlighted earlier this year that 94% of employees would stay at their company longer if their employer invested in their career development.
Enginuity sees an industry shift toward upskilling existing workforce
“When it comes to employer confidence in being able to recruit or
train enough workers to meet their organisation’s skills needs over
the next 3-5 years, employers are much more confident in their
ability to train than recruit."
- Enginuity SME Snapshot Report, July 2025
Future-proofing your business: the next steps
We support organisations with bespoke, benchmarked workforce upskilling across a range of other areas, including:
- AI and data readiness
- cyber awareness and resilience
- compliance and audit readiness
- leadership and management
- and much more
Our continued dedication to providing the highest standard of education for career development, in particular cyber security, Learning People has become the first and only training and careers company to become a member of the UK Cyber Security Council.
Contact us today for a free consultation and team skills gap analysis.
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