Where should your business invest funding in 2022? The answer seems obvious: in its people

It’s no secret that business landscapes are always changing, no matter what industry you’re in. From manufacturing to digital, and everything in between, there are always new developments coming to the surface and new challenges for your business to overcome.

In some cases, these challenges can be tackled by thoughtful and strategic spending of your business funds.

But what are the challenges that are currently being faced?

In some industries, such as manufacturing, the issue is a generational one. In Forbes’ recently published 2022 Economic Forecast, they highlighted a worrying trend: on one side of the generational divide, young people are expressing a complete lack of interest in manufacturing jobs; on the other, skilled workers are reaching retirement and taking their skills and knowledge with them, with no one to pass them down to.

Other areas, such as digital, face a whole different set of skills-based challenges. Rather than the skills staying the same and the people changing, today’s digital workforces cannot keep up with the skills needed for a constantly developing industry.

The knock-on effect of these skills gaps?

Research from the Resolution Foundation has found that gaps in both basic and technical skills result in a significant loss of productivity in the UK economy.

But a shortage of skills isn’t the only issue that British workforces are facing.

The effects of the pandemic caused many workers to reconsider their priorities. There was a rise in people switching directions in their careers, with a newfound focus on flexible or hybrid working as a must-have incentive. Despite this, IET have found that only 38% of organisations have redesigned their offering to accommodate this desire, leading to problems with retention.

Further research by the Resolution Foundation has shown that, in the past 5 years, investment in the UK economy has risen by just 1%. This puts us significantly behind the average investment of 16% that can be found in France, Germany, and the US. The report went on to state that the main area of underinvestment was in human capital.

So, if the question is where your business should be investing its funding in 2022, the answer seems obvious: in its people.

Investing in apprentices has been proven to raise the productivity of a business. If you’re struggling to recruit new talent and pass on the skills of your retiring workforce, apprenticeships could give a significant boost to your business.

If your current employees are not at the skill level required, invest in building and developing their skills, rather than casting out the net for new talent. The investment in their training will come back to you through increased retention.

And don’t forget to invest in yourself – updating your business model to accommodate the changing needs of your workforce will serve you well in the future.

Investing in your people with a Skills Set Discovery strategy plan fully supports any business to plan for investment and growth where they feel it is needed, both for now and for the coming future.

At Futures, we provide a fully personalised Organisational Needs Analysis service to determine what resources and skill sets you need to support your business.

– Sarah Clifford, Head of Apprenticeships at Futures Management Group