It is massively encouraging to see an increase in businesses looking to recruit over the next 12 months, signalling strong economic growth in Hertfordshire.

But there are still so many companies who are finding it difficult to find people with the right skills. And that’s where our Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) comes in.

The Chamber has just published its second LSIP report, building on the findings of last year, as we try to bring together training providers and businesses.

I have had first-hand experience recently of looking to recruit and I can empathise with those organisations who are finding recruitment a huge challenge.

The number of local companies looking to recruit rose from 40 per cent last year to 56 per cent, but 40.5 per cent of businesses revealed that they did not engage with any training providers.

These figures highlight the discord in local recruitment prospects, but businesses can work towards closing the skills gap and improving recruitment prospects by collaborating with independent training providers, higher education colleges and the University of Hertfordshire. These efforts will enhance technology and employability skills and ensure young people are being given the right training to meet labour demand.

The report shows that 47.04 per cent of businesses stated that online training courses and qualifications would improve the skills supply for their business, with 40.28 per cent identifying that local training to upskill staff would help.

It’s clear that our young people need to be taught the right skills to get matched with the right jobs, but a unified approach to collaboration is the key to closing the skills gap.

If you are struggling to get enough suitable applicants like the 43.4 per cent of businesses who cited this as their most common recruitment problem, I encourage participation in the LSIP programme to foster collaboration between local businesses and education and training providers, identifying the skills and training your sector expects applicants to bring to the table.

These efforts will help to maximise the talent in our community and improve employability.

Work is ongoing, and opportunities for collaboration have been identified through the LSIP initiative.

The Chamber aims to transform the post-16 skills landscape and drive economic growth by collaborating with education providers and local businesses.

We’ve been hard at work behind the scenes finding new ways to bring the two together to develop and use the talent we have in our county.

Our recent Creative Services Summit was the fourth event in an ongoing series bringing industry experts from various sectors together to share ideas, expertise and resources.

When it came to thriving in Hertfordshire, the consensus was clear: it’s about collaboration and it’s about networking.

Let’s work together to empower young people to gain the skills to thrive in our county and recruit the best talent to grow our economy.