INTERVIEW FEBRUARY 2019
MULTIPLY AND THRIVE
A widening skills gap is jeopardising UK manufacturing’s long-term success.
Instead of hiring new workers, a focus on the ones you already have may be a way
of combatting it, says Stephanie Devine, senior consultant at HRC Recruitment
BY CHRIS BECK
a different approach. They
looked at people from different
environments or other parts of
the industry – often still from
an FMCG background, but not
necessarily with the specific
bottling skills needed. They’d
still have relevant skills, but
not exactly the specific ones
needed. The company can then
multi-skill the new recruits.”
As this example proves,
multi-skilled workers are a vital
asset for all manufacturers.
However, SMEs stand to benefit
more than most. Not only
does it reduce the pressure on
smaller companies to recruit
more staff, but it can also
incentivise existing workers,
says Devine.
“For smaller companies,
which as a rule don’t have as
much disposable income as
the larger ones – and therefore
can’t necessarily pay their staff
as much – encouraging this
mentality of constant learning
helps make them feel valued,”
she says. “As a result, such
organisations enjoy much better
staff retention. They can use it
as a recruitment benefit, too:
come and work for us and we’ll
arm you with additional skills.”
A changing desire
for self-development
This ‘pulling power’ of
employee self-development is
often under-estimated. Many
companies, says Devine, assume
that it’s money that will retain
and attract staff. In reality,
while this is important, today’s
workers are often looking for
more than that.
“People are very open to
change,” explains Devine. “The
younger generation in particular
have the mentality that if they
take a sideways step – going
from a role at one company to a
similar one at another, but with
the opportunity to learn new
skills – it gives them the chance
to grow in the future.
“It’s very easy to get
pigeonholed into one specific
area, doing the same job dayin,
day-out. Any company,
therefore, that can offer the
chance to develop its staff by
training them in new skills will
be very attractive. We’re seeing
people become interested in the
benefit packages – such as the
opportunities for learning and
career growth – and the culture
that surrounds a company,
Multi-skilled
workers are
likely to be more
loyal to your
company
24 www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
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When was the last time you learnt a
new skill? For many, the answer is
when they left education – school,
college or an apprenticeship. Since
then, chances are they will have
learnt how to perform roles specific
to their jobs, but it’s unlikely that they will have
learnt anything truly ‘new’.
This is exacerbating the already-critical skills
shortage facing manufacturing, says Stephanie
Devine, senior consultant at HRC Recruitment.
For too long, she argues, manufacturers have
focused on apprenticeships. While these are
incredibly important to guaranteeing the future
of the industry, they take time to come to fruition.
Instead, she suggests a different approach to
combatting the skills gap: multi-skilling. “A lot of
manufacturers have realised the size of the skills
gap in recent years and have started bringing
apprentices through their companies,” she says.
“Apprentices need significant amounts of training,
though, which will mean the skills shortage will
continue for several years yet. Multi-skilling
existing workers can play a key role in bridging
this, even in the short-term.”
Encouraging a CI culture
Over and above this, multi-skilling can bring
a multitude of benefits to a company. “Rather
than relying on staff with single skills, such
as mechanical engineering, they can all be
incorporated into one engineer,” says Devine.
“That brings a huge efficiency gain for the
company. The larger companies that are taking
this approach will be able to use one multi-skilled
engineer in the place of three single-skilled ones.
If you’re upskilling your employees, it gives them
a different mindset. Upskilling staff by putting
them on different courses helps to develop a
forward-thinking, CI mindset. Your workers are
continuously learning by themselves and will
naturally bring that into the wider organisation.”
HRC Recruitment have seen first-hand the
benefits taking such an approach can have. One
of their clients, a large drinks company, had
struggled to find the right calibre of skilled
worker when recruiting. “This company,
like so many others, was only interested
in hiring from other organisations in the
sector,” explains Devine. “We encouraged
them to widen their outlook and take
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