SCOTLAND is struggling to recruit skilled professionals in key sectors such as medicine and IT as uncertainty over Brexit takes grip, experts have warned.
White-collar professions are toiling to hire qualified candidates after the European Union referendum vote, with turbulent economic times also deterring coveted employees from risking a career move, according to the Markit UK Report On Jobs In Scotland.
A separate survey by the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) found more than 80 per cent of businesses face a digital skills shortage.
The disparity has sparked renewed calls for Scotland to have a different immigration system from the rest of the UK.
Official figures show Scotland’s economy contracted in the last three months of 2016, amid Tory claims the country was set on a “path to recession” under the SNP but the Markit report – which surveyed 100 recruitment consultancies operating in Scotland – found anecdotal evidence that “planned business expansions and improving economic conditions” were driving demand for staff in March.
Finding skilled staff “is rapidly becoming employers’ biggest headache”, according to Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.
“Many are reporting an increasing number of white-collar jobs as hard to fill, including in the IT and financial sectors,” he said.
“Shortages of appropriately skilled, willing and able candidates was a problem before the [Brexit] referendum.
“Our concern is Brexit will make the problem worse, particularly if onerous restrictions are imposed on people coming from the EU to work.”
Vacancies were highest in the nursing, medical and care sector, with IT and computing in second place, pushing up wages from employers willing to pay top salaries for skilled staff.
It is thought the collapse of sterling could also mean Scottish firms are having to spend more money to match foreign wages when headhunting abroad.
Jeremy Peat, visiting professor at Strathclyde University’s International Public Policy Institute, said: “I have heard anecdotally from universities and other organisations they are now finding it much more difficult to recruit from overseas because of the uncertainties over how long people would be able to stay.
“If you are talking about medical jobs, a significant percentage of all those employed in the health service came in from overseas, and it’s certainly possible the difficulty in finding staff is because there are fewer people from Europe, in particular, who are willing to come over because of the worries about how long they are going to last.”
He added: “There is no reason why Scotland couldn’t have a different immigration policy.
“Already, London has a dramatically higher percentage of immigrants in the workforce and Scotland has had a relatively small percentage, so there can be permits that can be introduced for specific jobs.”
Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “It is concerning so many are reporting knowledge gaps and skills shortages that are having a direct impact on business.”
She added: “As the UK enters negotiation on our withdrawal from the EU, this survey underlines the vital need for the UK Government to put plans in place to ensure that our future migration strategy recognises this key skill shortage and enables businesses to access individuals with the talents that they need both from domestic and international markets.”
Scotland’s Employability Minister Jamie Hepburn said the Markit report indicated that Scotland’s labour market “remains resilient despite the uncertainty created by the UK’s vote to leave the EU”, but he warned of tougher times ahead.
“Research by the Fraser of Allander Institute estimates that a hard Brexit, with the UK trading under World Trade Organisation rules, could result in 80,000 jobs lost in Scotland over a decade,” he said.
“The Scottish Government is pursuing all options to retain our relationship with Europe, our place in the single market, and all the advantages that brings.”
Meanwhile, Gerry Grimstone, chairman of Standard Life, warned the firm will no longer be able to service its 500,000 Austrian, German and Irish clients from the UK barring “something miraculous happening”.
The Edinburgh-based money manager, which is merging with Aberdeen Asset Management to create a £650 billion giant, is considering making Dublin its new hub inside the EU as it prepares for the UK losing easy access to the single market.
Standard Life can “passport” into the rest of the EU from the Republic of Ireland.
The firm would then “make the German business a branch of the Irish business”, said Mr Grimstone. “All of us are preparing road maps like that.”
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