Latest ONS Productivity figures published

As the latest productivity figures from the ONS are published, Ufi’s CEO, Rebecca Garrod-Waters, comments on the drop in productivity from the previous quarter.

“In February, the 2017 ONS Productivity Report delivered some uncomfortable truths for the UK government. As the least productive G7 country, the report made it abundantly clear that the British economy is being hindered by stark regional economic disparity. Outside of London and the South East, a lack of investment into infrastructure, R&D and the much talked about skills gap were highlighted as some of the main causes. Today’s figures show that there is still a long way to go in addressing these issues.

The impact on productivity of investment into infrastructure and R&D could take years to see results. At Ufi, we believe the focus right now should be on greater investment into vocational learning as a means of directly addressing the skills gap. Technologies such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and mobile learning are allowing companies to identify where these gaps exist and create tailored on-the-job learning programmes that are easily deliverable at scale.

If the UK government hopes to match the productivity levels seen in other G7 countries, then mirroring their level of commitment to vocational learning would be a great place to start.”

Read the latest ONS report

Rebecca Garrod-Waters, CEO of Ufi Charitable Trust