WITH the UK experiencing major labour and skills shortages, more businesses than ever are investing additional resources into training and upskilling their current workforce.
The House of Lords’ economic affairs committee reported that the UK is in the midst of a recruitment crisis, with people in their 50s and 60s retiring early during Covid-19 lockdowns listed as the main reason for the skills shortage. The committee has predicted the situation will worsen in 2023.
Centre for Leadership Performance (CforLP), which provides a range of leadership training programmes for businesses and organisations across Cumbria, has experienced a surge in demand for its services as companies start to place more emphasis on professional development of existing team members to help retain staff and maximise the potential of its staff.
There has been a particular spike in interest in one of its most popular programmes, the Leader 2 Leaders course, which is tailored around delegates and their own personal goals and ambitions for leadership within the workplace.
CforLP Executive Directors Catherine Eve and Sarah Glass are predicting a further increase in Training and Development as businesses gain a clearer understanding of the value of promoting within.
Sarah said: “Most industries across the UK are experiencing significant recruitment and staffing problems, and that is for a number of reasons including labour and skill shortages.
“Particularly in the second half of 2022, we noticed a larger demand for Training and Development services as employers started to place more value on retaining its current workforce and also the benefits of developing the skill sets and leadership qualities of staff members.
“Among the many benefits of this type of training is that the employees feel highly valued and motivated to drive the business forward, while it also builds the capabilities within the existing workforce to complement growth plans.
“There has never been a better time than now to invest in staff and leadership training to help keep current members at the company, and it is a more cost effective way of developing new skills and capabilities within the business to assist in the running and growth of the organisation rather than recruiting new staff.”
The Leader 2 Leader programme encourages delegates to share personal experiences in order to learn from one another through ‘real-life’ learning opportunities, with experts from CforLP leading all sessions to further develop leadership skills.
Over the course of eight months, delegates examine and compare their individual and business experiences of leadership, collaborate to produce solutions to key challenges and put new learning into practice to benefit both the individual and their organisation.
Catherine said: “The Leader 2 Leader programme is a perfect example of how investment in employees adds direct value back into the business as building leadership capability has a direct impact on the productivity and growth of a business.
“Delegates can start applying what they learn in the first workshop to their organisation, so it brings immediate benefits to businesses.
“Over the past decade, the course has proved useful in aiding business growth, success planning and developing leadership calibre at a wide range of businesses across Cumbria.
“Because our Leader 2 Leader cohorts are diverse and we encourage peer to peer learning, what tends to happen is that stronger business networks are built between participants and this is essential for resilience within our local economy.”
Leader 2 Leader programmes run throughout the year with the next course set to start around Easter.
To find out more or to register an interest, visit www.cforlp.org.uk or email catherine.eve@cforlp.org.uk.
