Beswick, a renowned advisor on building innovative cultures believes that organisations need to radically change their approach to ensure they deal with the skills shortage currently facing the industry by taking a back to basics approach and focusing on supporting the development of business related skills during school/college years.

“The current situation dictates that if your looking and can’t find what you need, the solution could be to look further back down the education line and to communicate with talent at a much younger age. This won’t necessarily fill the current gap but it will create pipelines for the future. Failing that organisations need to invest in training potential candidates so they are business ready. The academic community must also take some responsibility here to help prepare people to be more business savvy earlier on,” explains Beswick.

Beswick believes more emphasis should be placed on entrepreneur academies, more business teaching in schools, as well as encouraging programmes like the ‘Tenner Tycoon’ lottery programme where school children are given entrepreneurial opportunities whilst still in full time education.

“The role of education is ultimately to prepare young people for the world of business but the reality is we don’t actually teach them enough about the subject that for most will dominate 50% of their lives! Our education system is also absolutely fantastic at stifling creativity and we’re taught that there is ‘an’ answer not different possibilities. We’re taught conformity not imagination and we’re taught that taking risks only really leads to making mistakes not learning. I would like nothing better than to see the UK back on top as one of the most creative, innovative and industrial countries in the world, but in order to achieve this, we need to put in the effort far earlier than we currently do,” explains Beswick.