More than three-fifths (68%) do not believe they will be able to find suitable recruits to address this, due to a skills shortage in either the manufacturing sector (55%).
The Close Brothers Business Barometer found only one in 20 (5%) engineering SMEs planning to take on new staff in the next year will look for an apprentice.
It also found that over two thirds (67%) do not have an apprenticeship programme and almost two fifths (38%) don’t plan to start one. Of those engineering firms that wanted to hire an apprentice, the biggest reason for not doing so was cost (45%), red tape (24%) or lack of time needed for training (10%).
Stephen Hodges, CEO of Close Brothers Banking Division, said: “Despite a clear need for more skilled workers, hiring apprentices to fill this gap simply isn’t possible for the majority of engineering SMEs. Through the thousands of SMEs we work with across the UK, we see the issues of cost, red tape and a lack of time affecting their ability to hire the entry level candidates they need.”
