Unlocking Innovation Talent: Insights from innovative businesses on their skills needs

Earlier this year, Innovate UK KTN facilitated three cross-sectoral roundtables with businesses, university representatives and policymakers to understand innovative businesses’ experiences when attracting, hiring and training talent.

Technology advancements and innovation are steadily changing our workforce needs – job roles, skills, and capabilities must be reimagined as our economy grows and develops.

The findings from these engagements have informed Innovate UK’s programme of activities in talent and skills. We are pleased to present the key insights from our conversations with innovative businesses:

1. Place can still be a barrier when it comes to accessing talent.
2. From schools to HR teams, we need to do more to have a truly diverse workforce in innovation.
3. The race to attract global talent is increasingly competitive.
4. More work experience during academic years to boost graduates’ workplace skills.
5. Closer communication between industry and education institutions to align skills provision and demand.
6. Our future economy requires cross-silos skills; provision should be adapted to this new reality.
7. Funding cycles influence SMEs and start-ups’ ability to train and upskill.
8. Apprenticeships and T-Levels are highly valued, but SMEs need more guidance.
9. Initiatives that allow for knowledge exchange between industry and academy yield positive results.

Read our interactive presentation below to find out more about what we heard. We have also  included useful resources from the Innovate UK ecosystem and beyond to support innovative businesses with their skills needs.

To view the presentation in full screen clink on the ‘…’ button at the bottom right of the frame, and then on the ‘full screen’ arrows.