LONDON, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Most of Britain's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face persistent challenges in hiring new staff as their investment in training employees lags, according to a report published by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) on Monday.
In its quarterly recruitment outlook, the BCC said that 73 percent of the nearly 4,700 businesses surveyed - 92 percent of them SMEs - reported difficulties in finding new staff.
With the cost stack for SMEs having risen by 70 percent over the last decade, investment in staff training remains low, the BCC said. In the second quarter, 60 percent of businesses said their spending on workforce development remained unchanged, while 20 percent reported cutting investment.
"Skills shortages and recruitment difficulties are holding back too many firms from investing, growing and taking on new opportunities," said Patrick Milnes, head of People and Work Policy at the BCC.
"Businesses tell us they want to upskill and develop their existing people, but the current system can be hard to navigate and too often fails to meet their needs," he added.
The BCC urged the government to help businesses strengthen workforce skills and support economic growth. It called for exploring a skills tax credit or similar fiscal incentive to reduce the financial risks of training employees, cutting administrative burdens, providing practical support for SMEs' training efforts, and helping firms assess the return on training investment. ■