State of Rural Enterprise Report:
27 February 2024
Skills and labour shortages hinder rural business performance and growth
NICRE’s latest State of Rural Enterprise Report Labour and skills availability: impacts on rural enterprise finds more than half of rural businesses in the North East, South West and West Midlands find it difficult to recruit or retain suitably-skilled staff, with a high proportion of firms reporting losing business or orders as a result. The report, which has been welcomed by the British Chambers of Commerce, calls for a more integrated, collaborative approach to address common challenges and support skills development, and greater awareness of the knock-on economic impacts of inadequate infrastructure in rural areas.
