Talent scarcity remains a major challenge for businesses across all sectors, as 69% of employers cannot find the skills they need. And with an ever-changing working landscape, the skills and qualities needed within a workforce continue to change as well. Many organisations are focusing on these new and emerging skills when hiring new employees, and are naturally looking at younger generations to fill these gaps.

The pandemic exposed weaknesses that many companies may not have even known they had. The global talent shortage, the need to scale up tech operations quickly to accommodate remote work and other digital operations, and managing the rising demands from people looking for more from their professional lives, have shaken many businesses to their core. This has forced most to reflect, regroup and reset as they seek a new and more sustainable path for the future.

The art of leadership is under extreme scrutiny, as organisations struggle to find and develop the leaders they need for continued competitive advantage. Research has found that seven in ten organisations feel that their leaders are unable to effectively lead their business into the future, despite growing investment into the development of leadership capabilities.

Having previously spoken about how changing employee expectations have sparked a ‘great realisation’ among employers as to the importance of supporting their workforce, it’s now time to examine the workforce landscape and how it is driving the need for action from business leaders.

Gender balance is important in any profession, and never more so than in the road transport industry where currently only 1% of drivers are women. That’s why in 2021, with the support of government, client partners and industry bodies, we launched the Women in Driving Development Pathway.

Despite many sectors in the UK experiencing a skills shortage and struggling to fill vacancies, people with disabilities are often overlooked for opportunities and are twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people. Through Workfit, the Down Syndrome Association’s employment programme, job-seekers who have Down syndrome are now in jobs they want and enjoy. The benefit to employers is an untapped, highly motivated pool of talent ready to learn and get to work.

Shifting demographics including shrinking birth rates, reduced mobility across borders and the rise in early retirees means talent is scarce. 69% of employers cannot find the skills that they need. Now is the time for businesses to get even more creative – attracting, upskilling, reskilling and retaining valued workers. Whoever holds the talent holds the future.

The past two years have been a difficult time for the adult social care workforce. As the whole world was thrown into uncertainty and struggled to understand the new and pernicious Coronavirus, care sector staff around the country did not think twice about protecting those in their care, sometimes sadly succumbing to the virus themselves.