A GROWING skills gap in Scotland will leave businesses unable to recruit the employees they need over the next few years, they have claimed.

Almost two-thirds of firms north of the Border have voiced concerns about a lack of sufficiently skilled applicants coming through their doors, with many saying new employees fail to have the right attitude or “resilience” to succeed.

The shortage is being felt across many sectors.

including technology, construction, and hospitality, and business chiefs have warned of the need for “Scotland-specific” solutions to the problem as the country grapples with an ageing workforce.

A total of 120 companies in Scotland were questioned as part of a UK-wide survey by Pearson UK and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Just over three-quarters said they expect their need for “high-level skills” – including qualifications, employability skills and industry knowledge – to increase in the next three to five years. However, 59 per cent are concerned that candidates will not meet their requirements.

Most businesses were positive about graduate applicants’ basic skills and general readiness for employment, however just under half were not satisfied with their graduate hires’ business and customer awareness, while 33 per cent were dissatisfied with their attitude, behaviour and resilience.

Meanwhile, 28 per cent of employers were also dissatisfied with the amount of practical work experience their graduate recruits had gained prior to landing jobs with them.

John-Paul Toner, operations director at Contract Scotland, a construction industry recruitment specialist, said clients were reporting skills shortages, adding: “This shortage exists within a number of areas in the sector and was maybe hidden by the downturn."

He said that areas where recruitment could be difficult included design, engineering and construction and commercial support roles.

Mr Toner added: “In these area it’s sometimes not particularly easy to find the applicants our clients are looking for.

“It’s a problem that’s independent of Brexit. We have an ageing workforce and the numbers are not coming in to replace the numbers that are leaving or retiring.

“Construction has suffered from being stereotyped to a certain extent, and people just think it’s a job with dirty boots, high-viz vests and hard hats. That has maybe put people off joining the industry in the past, but it is something that a lot of effort has gone into changing and we’re beginning to see that bear fruit.”

Newell McGinness, managing director of Scotland’s electrical contracting industry trade association Select, said: “There’s undoubtedly a latent skills shortage in the electrical engineering industry because it recruited between 1,000 and 1,200 a year apprentices a year in the 1960s and 1970s .

“That generation is coming to the end of its working life and we’re not recruiting anything like that now. This year we’ll take on 750 apprentice electricians.”

Most firms said the quality of careers advice given to young people was not good enough, with 82 per cent stating they would be prepared to play a greater role in supporting schools and colleges in improving this service.

Roxanne Stockwell, principal of Pearson College London, said their study should be a “wake up call” for higher education She added: “There is clearly potential for the higher education sector and businesses to work more closely together and deliver degrees that are designed and delivered in partnership with the world of work in mind.”

Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, highlighted the importance of foundation apprenticeships to ensure a pipeline of young talent to enter the workforce, but more is needed to be done.