Skills creating the conditions for investment: CBI Education and Skills Survey 2022

Since the CBI’s previous Education and Skills Survey in 2021, the UK economy has experienced a series of political and economic shocks in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Labour and skills shortages now rank top of labour market concerns across businesses, whilst inflation, and the cost of living, also feature highly.

The survey was conducted between 14 October and 14 November 2022. 273 businesses, of all sizes and sectors across the UK, responded in total.

It reveals that more than nine in ten firms (94%) know that they currently have skills gaps to address. Add to this that a further nine in ten workers will need to learn new skills by 2030 to keep up with anticipated changes to their jobs, and the case for improving approaches to training and staff development is more compelling than ever.

Key findings from this year’s report:

• The proportion of firms intending to increase investment in training and development over the next year has fallen (38% compared with 53% in 2021)
• But 47% of business respondents said they were planning to maintain investment in training and development, compared with 43% in 2021
• Fewer than 4 in 10 firms (37%) are confident that they're investing enough in training to meet their skills needs, with 3 in 10 (29%) admitting that they are not, and 1 in 3 (35%) unsure
• There was a widespread lack of awareness of key Government skills reform programmes. Four in five of respondents said they were unaware of plans to introduce the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE)
• There were similar reactions from respondents for awareness of Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) - 82% were either only slightly aware or not aware - and 65% were only slightly aware or had no awareness of the Government’s flagship T Level initiative
• Of the firms that do not offer apprenticeships, the key reasons for not doing so were identified as the lack of compatibility between current apprenticeship standards and skills needs (42%), the complexity of administration (27%) and greater relevance of other forms of training (24%)
• When asked about the proposed features of a Skills Challenge Fund, three quarters of respondent firms (75%) were supportive of extending the Apprenticeship Levy to cover other forms of regulated or accredited training.

This year’s report also covers:

• The approaches adopted by businesses to training and development
• Firms’ views on adult education and lifelong learning
• How businesses are engaging in the education system
• Firms’ approaches to apprenticeship delivery and the impact of the Apprenticeship Levy.

Please contact Shelby Roberts for more information.