UK drops in workplace destination ranking

Businesses must invest in ambitious workforce development plans to prepare for Brexit-related uncertainty about their future skills requirements, experts have warned, after a global survey revealed that the UK has disappeared from the list of the top six countries European employees would chose to move to for work. People Management reports that accounting firm BDO Global’s 2017 report, which surveyed 10 000 people across 20 countries, showed that the UK had fallen out of the rankings. The UK also dropped a place in the overall world rankings of desirable work destinations for employers, taking third place, while Canada jumped to second, below the US. Gerwyn Davies, labour market adviser at the CIPD said this should be a wake-up call for employers to invest more in skills. But, he added: ‘The more fundamental recommendation is that organisations invest in a broader workforce development plan to ensure organisations are fit for the future, offsetting the risks of EU nationals leaving particular occupations in large numbers or the supply of EU nationals drying out, while simultaneously tackling the broader problems of a tight legal market, an ageing workforce and competitive recruitment.’