Calls for island to back finance sector training

They were speaking after census data released this week showed that nearly a third of all jobs advertised at the Job Centre last month were in administration and finance, a significant rise on previous years, where they tended to make up between 10 and 20% of vacancies.

There are more than 300 finance and insurance employers in Guernsey, and 17% of islanders work in the sector.

Employment within finance continues to grow, from 7,467 jobs at the end of 2022 to 7,683 last year, and Glen Tonks, chairman of the Guernsey branch of the Institute of Directors, said the island was continuing to struggle to meet the employment demands of the sector.

A recent IoD member survey revealed that business leaders were worried about attracting, developing and retaining talent over the next 12 months.

‘An inability to recruit hampers growth and could lead to strong demand for labour driving wages up as firms compete for staff, which will be unsustainable in the longer-term,’ he said.

While the survey did not link the high cost and shortage of accommodation to the recruitment issues, he said this was a concern of members, alongside the cost of living, population management and keeping young people in the island.

‘It is worth noting that Guernsey is not unique in facing this challenge.

‘Talent recruitment and retention is a concern for businesses elsewhere, although the size and location of the Bailiwick makes the problem more acute,’ said Mr Tonks.

‘It is clear that Guernsey needs to continue to support high value, low footprint industries.

‘We need to invest in providing the training and education to support those industries while ensuring the island has the right blend of accommodation to meet its social and economic needs.’

Guernsey International Business Association vice-chairwoman Jo Peacegood said that industry and government had to be ‘strategically aligned’ to make sure the island remained an attractive place to live and work.

She added that GIBA members, the island’s financial services companies, were continuing to find recruitment difficult.

‘Anecdotally, we believe that recruitment is still a challenge, and there are currently a number of open vacancies in the finance sector,’ she said.

‘The ability to attract and retain staff with the right skills, is a critical factor in the island’s competitiveness and the health of Guernsey’s economy. The finance sector employs around 20% of Guernsey’s working population but generates nearly 40% of the island’s GDP.’

Problems with recruitment will ultimately impact on productivity and growth, she said.

Firms forced to look outside the island to carry out business which could be done locally was ‘a missed opportunity in a number of ways including training opportunities and ultimately the impact on GDP and tax revenues’, she said.

While there were many variables involved, the cost and availability of suitable accommodation played a big role in recruiting and retaining staff, she said.

The States has consistently made a skills strategy one of its priorities but no significant progress has been reported in the past couple of years.

In 2021 an IoD survey showed that 95% of firms would need to upskill or reskill existing staff over the next few years, while seven out of 10 said that recruiting specialist technical skills was most challenging.