The Great Skills Mismatch
Bryony Gibson looks at why the North East has thousands of jobs going spare and thousands of people looking for work, but the two can’t seem to find each other.
In recruitment, we often hear people, including myself, talking about the impact the cost-of-living has on the job market. It’s that, or people’s desire to work remotely, or the pace of change AI drives.
They are important issues, but there’s also another problem quietly sitting behind them. One that might be the biggest challenge we face in the North East. We have a major skills mismatch.
The fact is that what employers want and what candidates offer doesn’t align, and it’s only getting worse. In the North East, almost 60% of job vacancies are classified “hard to fill”. In more than a third of those, employers say it’s down to “a lack of the right skills or experience”.
It’s the same across the UK, where roughly 33% of vacancies are deemed “skills shortages”. So it’s not that there aren’t jobs. Or that there aren’t people. It’s that we’ve built an environment where the two don’t match.
In my world of practice accountancy, this plays out daily. Firms are desperate for talent, but can’t take just anyone. Entry is largely based on technical experience, but once through the door, it’s the softer skills that make the difference. Work placements and early career experiences can be invaluable, giving people exposure to real situations that help build competence and confidence. Firms need the right qualifications, but also people who can communicate effectively, are tech-savvy, and can build client relationships. What I see is that the problem isn’t always ability, it’s readiness. And it’s not unique to accounting.
What’s Going Wrong?
Partly, it’s how we prepare people for work. Education and training still focus on exams and theory, when employers want people who can solve problems, think on their feet, and cope with the complexity of the real world.
The recent Government changes to apprenticeship funding will make things even harder. The Level 7 apprenticeship is the route to ACA and ACCA qualifications and is now only funded for under-21s. That means graduates and career changers are no longer eligible for support, leaving firms to shoulder the full cost. Unsurprisingly, many can’t afford it. It’s a short-sighted policy that risks cutting off a vital pipeline of future accountants, right when we need them most.
There’s also a growing gap in expectations. Candidates value flexibility, balance, and purpose more than ever, but not every business has caught up. Those who keep rigid hours, outdated progression paths, and company cultures that don’t move with the times inevitably lose good people.
What Needs to Change
There’s no single fix, but there are a few things that I believe could make a difference:
Open up more pathways in - apprenticeships, trainee schemes, and work placements offer people a chance to build experience, not just qualifications. Companies need to embrace this more.
Keep skills current - employers can’t expect recruits to come ready-made and continuously upskill themselves. Investment in training has to be part of the deal.
Update perceptions - we need to talk more honestly about what modern jobs look like. When the perception hasn’t caught up with the way a role has evolved, people misunderstand what it entails, and that keeps potential talent away.
Final Thought
The “Great Skills Mismatch” isn’t just about hiring headaches. It’s about missed opportunities for businesses, people, and, especially, for places like the North East that have so much untapped potential.
There’s no shortage of ambition here, but we can’t fix the skills gap until we fix how people get the skills. Until we match what people can do, want to do, and what employers need, we’ll keep missing opportunities that are right in front of us.