Upskilling and reskilling opportunities are key in attracting and retaining the best talent amid a tightened UK labour market in 2023, according to ManpowerGroup.

Following the publication of its Q1 2023 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, SIA interviewed ManpowerGroup UK director Chris Gray.

The survey found that the Net Employment Outlook remains positive at 19% for Q1 2023 but that ‘talent retention is going to be a battle for most employers’ in 2023.

Gray said in 2023 that the staffing industry could help with the talent shortage by continuing to identify skills and experience that could transition into adjacent roles and sectors and build programmes to support that transition. The industry could also advocate focus on ‘potential and learnability’ rather than qualification and education.

ManpowerGroup’s survey found that 80% of employers in the finance and real estate sector are struggling to find skilled talent, the most of any sector.

The survey also found that globally, employers are still facing a talent shortage.

ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jonas Prising said, “Amidst a cost-of-living crisis, and a depreciation in real-time wages, companies need to think more than ever about attracting and retaining their workers – that might start with pay, yet our data tells us flexibility, career development, and purpose-driven work is worth up to 5% of salary to many workers. There are lots of levers available for companies to attract and retain the talent they need to stay competitive.”

The report showed that the strongest hiring intentions among organisations are reported in Panama (+39%), Costa Rica (+35%), and Canada (+34%); weakest in Hungary (-8%), Poland (-2%), and the Czech Republic (+1%). Globally, the Information Technology (IT) remains the strongest sector (+35%), despite headlines about tech hiring and layoffs.

Click below to listen to the interview with Gray. For the best experience, please use Chrome or Firefox.