Talent and Skills

Six out of ten scaleups say that access to talent is vital, or very important, to the continued scaling of their business. While it is now it is ranked behind markets as a barrier to growth, it remains a key concern for scaleups.

Scaleups are significant UK employers (95%) however they also attract international talent, with 57% employing staff from the EU and 38% employing staff from outside the EU. Maintaining access to these talent pools is considered to be critical – 85% of those currently employing staff from the EU say it is vital or very important for them to continue to be able to do so; alongside access to overseas talent generally. One in three scaleups say it is very important or vital to have a fast track visa for hiring overseas.

Scaleups continue to demand a wide range of skills. They employ a mix of graduates (79%), post-graduates/PhDs (47%), and school leavers (36%). 60% offer either apprenticeships or work experience, while one-third offer internships.

Social skills and technical skills remain the most important abilities for graduates and school leavers: 69% rank technical skills in their top three essential needs, while 66% select social skills. Close behind, management skills (61%) and business skills (59%) continue to be relevant.

TECHNICAL AND SOCIAL SKILLS ARE THE PRIMARY DEMANDS OF GRADUATES AND SCHOOL LEAVERS

Critical thinking is the most desired future skill. Overwhelmingly they rank critical thinking (70%) as one of the top three skills, indicating that they are looking for employees who can objectively analyse a situation and make a decision. The next most important skill is service orientation as highlighted by 51% of scaleup employers, indicating that they want employees who can anticipate, recognise and meet the needs of others. These leaders are also seeking employees who are cognitively flexible (44%), possess emotional intelligence (42%), and have skills to make effective judgement calls and decisions (42%).

FOR FUTURE SKILLS, SCALEUPS THINK CRITICAL THINKING AND A SERVICE ORIENTATION WILL BE MOST NECESSARY

When it comes to sourcing these skills, most scaleup leaders are most confident that they will be able to find employees with creativity (51%), coordination skills (49%) and the ability to solve complex problems (45%) in the future. However only 3 in 10 are as confident that their organisation will have skills in critical thinking or negotiation. As critical thinking is seen as the most important future skill, closing this gap will be important for scaleups recruiting for the future.

Attracting and recruiting talented young people is a key challenge for scaleups and one which is only likely to dial up as the full toll of the Covid pandemic is understood. As keen employers of graduates and school leavers, offering apprenticeships, work experience and internships, scaleups want to do more with the upcoming generation and to do so value funding schemes (55%) that support that end. They also see the need to improve entrepreneurial education (42%) and careers advice (44%). They want more proactive engagement between themselves and schools via employer encounters (37%). With more young people becoming economically inactive and not in employment, fostering better linkages between the education system and scaleups will mean greater opportunities for the future and should be a priority for local, regional and national Governments.