Businesses struggling for workers criticise visa delays

Some 29% of respondents to a new survey of businesses experienced a significant loss of staff who returned to their home countries during the pandemic.

More than half of Irish businesses (55%) are looking to invest in staff skills over the next year, a jump on the 35% investing in staff skills in the first half of 2021.

Labour shortages and visa delays have been identified as a significant constraint on growth by Irish businesses emerging from the Covid-19 crisis, a new survey has found.

The fight for talent in the workforce has also led to a rise in labour costs for employers, according to the latest Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR).

The shrinking pool of skilled workers poses a number of challenges in terms of business growth, coupled with the challenges of inflation, supply chain issues, and rising energy prices,” said Grant Thornton Ireland chief economist Andrew Webb.

As employers scramble to keep the talent they have, they do not have the money to hire more people. The labour shortage is leading to higher salary expectations and a fifth of businesses (21%) said these cost increases have made it harder to hire staff. Global inflation, which hit 5.3% in November, is also putting pressure on employers to increase wages.

As the market becomes more competitive, over half of Irish businesses (55%) are looking to invest in staff skills over the next year, a jump on the 35% investing in staff skills in the first half of 2021.

In addition, 23% of businesses in the report say that their growth in the next year will be impacted due to the difficulties in securing work permits for employees.

Almost two-thirds (63%) of Irish businesses report access to a skilled workforce as a significant constraint to the growth and development of their business.

"Despite these issues, there is room for optimism on the current state of play in the labour market,” said Mr Webb.

Over half of Irish businesses are looking to invest in the upskilling of staff over the next 12 months, in turn allowing them to grow and develop their enterprises, and nearly half of Irish businesses expect to grow their teams and increase employment over the coming year."

In the report, which surveyed 62 Irish businesses in 2021, some 29% of respondents experienced a significant loss of staff who returned to their home countries during the pandemic. Meanwhile, 23% of respondents also highlighted the regulatory issues for hiring non-resident workers.

Despite these issues, Mr Webb said that Irish businesses are upbeat.

Over half of Irish businesses are looking to invest in the upskilling of staff over the next twelve months, in turn allowing them to grow and develop their enterprises, and nearly half of Irish businesses (45%) expect to grow their teams and increase employment over the coming year," he said.

The Grant Thornton survey is the latest report highlighting the impact of a shortage of skilled workers.

Irish recruiter Morgan McKinley has said that salaries could jump up 5% to 10% and higher this year.