Skills shortages ‘a serious problem’ for majority of EU SMEs

(BRUSSELS) – Skills shortages are one of the most serious problems for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the EU, according to a new Eurobarometer survey released on Tuesday.

The challenge of skills shortages has grown over the years and now encompasses all EU Member States and all sectors of the economy, says the Commission. “Overcoming skills shortages is a priority for the European economy,” said Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton: “The Commission is already working on addressing skills shortages in key strategic sectors like batteries or other net zero technologies.”

The survey helps to understand the impact of skills shortages on SMEs, and is expected to feed into the EU executive’s policy making. Among other things, it will inform the implementation of the SME relief package that was adopted in September 2023 and stipulates various actions to improve the skills situation for SMEs in the EU. The survey also complements another recently published Eurobarometer study which, among other things, focuses on the training and skilling activities of businesses.

Some of the key conclusions of the Eurobarometer study are:

• Skills shortages represent a serious problem from the smallest to mid-sized companies in Europe, being identified as such by 53% of micro companies (<10 employees), 65% of small companies (10-49 employees) and 68% of medium-sized companies (50-249 employees). Looking back over the preceding two years, 61% of micro companies and 80% of medium-sized companies found it difficult to find and hire staff with the right skills.
• SMEs are most frequently faced with a skills shortage for technically trained staff such as lab-workers, mechanics, or others. Almost a half (42%) of European SMEs indicated they faced shortages of qualified staff. This particularly problematic for SMEs in the industry sector and manufacturing, with 47% and 50% of SMEs claiming problems in hiring relevant technical staff.
• Skills shortages affect SMEs in various ways, leading to increased workload for existing staff, the loss of sales or sales opportunities as well as reduced profitability and growth.
• Only one in seven (14%) of SMEs report hiring staff from other EU Member States as a way of addressing skills shortages, although this percentage is higher for bigger SMEs. Language barriers and, to a lesser extent, administrative difficulties were identified as the main obstacles to increasing the recruitment of qualified staff across the EU.
• A majority of SMEs expressed relative satisfaction with the policy support they received in tackling skill shortages while indicating further room for improvement. When it comes to policies that best support their needs, micro companies mostly mention fiscal incentives (39%) and direct subsidies (28%), while 38% of medium sized companies highlight training for upskilling as most useful.

Eurobarometer 537 study on ‘SMEs and skills shortages’