Chamber of Commerce president Paul Luxon.
With full employment and a States policy for zero population growth, Chamber of Commerce president Paul Luxon considers the importance of training and development in the workplace.
IN THE world of property and property development we are all aware of the maxim location, location, location.
In the world of employee development, the key must be training, training, training.
In February 2007, the previous States assembly baulked when the critically strategic debate of population and immigration came before the House.
It was widely reported that too few deputies knew enough about the subject and indeed insufficient information was available on which to base any decisions.
A fudged solution of an annual 200-person cap on the net increase to Guernsey’s population was agreed, this in spite of the previous strategic policy, subsequently captured in the Government Business Plan and in the zero-10 fiscal plan, that the island would achieve future success through growth rather than just higher taxation.
This was not a glory moment in the history of our government. Big, difficult decisions cannot be ducked, brave foresight is required at these key times.
Some current facts.
- We have 61,000 residents, of which only 28,000 are economically active.
- There is no surplus labour pool.
- There are an estimated 800 job vacancies.
- Government policy depends on growth for future funding, but there is a tight cap on net immigration.
- The population as a whole is ageing fast and labour costs continue to rise to high levels.
What does this mean in terms of sustaining our economic well-being which, in turn, funds our community’s social requirements?
Well, in the absence of any policy improvements to the status quo, both employers and prospective start-ups will have to look to the existing labour pool to satisfy their needs, especially in relation to achieving value-added improvements in their business performance.
Chamber believes a ‘training, training, training’ emphasis is imperative. The execution of significant people development strategies will be key for all businesses, large, medium or small.
When companies find their revenues or margins being squeezed or when costs are spiralling up, it seems a harmless and easy decision to save money by cutting costs in the three key areas of investment, marketing and training.
This is an exceptionally short-sighted view which delays recovery and could damage some organisations in the longer term.
Guernsey employers have no choice other than to increase their focus and investment in developing their most valuable people resource, providing time and support to enhance competencies and skill sets for all colleagues.
In a small island with finite resources, businesses have no other choice. Government must review the problem, while employees must also commit to this process of self-development.
An additional option could be exploring how to welcome back into the workforce more of our 37,000 residents who currently are not economically active.
Within this pool may well be some mums with young children, those with a grown-up family and people over the standard retirement age, some of whom might actually aspire to enter the workplace but who may not know with certainty how to make the next step.
These people could contribute significantly while at the same time filling job vacancies which currently cannot be filled and which are frustrating growth opportunities.
Perhaps a project to deal with this problem could be initiated with the local branch of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, working with Guernsey’s wide range of recruitment specialists and the Guernsey Training Agency to develop an innovative back to work initiative, making it easy and encouraging for people to enter the workplace.
Chamber advocates ‘training, training, training’ as a key initiative for the future.
Article posted on 30th September, 2008 - 2.30pm
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