Ryan FowlerUK small and medium enterprises are placing greater emphasis on developing their existing teams in response to ongoing labour market pressures, new research from Shawbrook has found.
The study revealed that 48% of SME leaders intend to focus on upskilling staff over the remainder of 2025, making it the most common strategy. By comparison, 29% plan to expand their leadership teams and 25% intend to hire new staff.
The survey highlighted significant concerns about the availability of skilled workers, with 56% of SMEs stating they were worried about talent access in their industry and 19% describing themselves as very concerned. The findings come as the latest ONS data shows UK unemployment has reached a four-year high.
When asked what Government measures would help support growth, 34% of SME leaders called for more skills programmes, while 28% favoured making it easier to recruit skilled overseas workers.
For many firms, investment in current staff is already delivering results, with 27% citing workforce development as a key growth driver in 2024.
Neil Rudge, chief banking officer, commercial at Shawbrook, said: “The first half of 2025 has undoubtedly been filled with challenges for UK SMEs, with the current state of the labour market representing a significant barrier to growth in many cases.
“However, clearly SME leaders know that the core of any flourishing business is the people within it, and it is heartening to see so many make upskilling their team a key priority for the rest of the year.”
He added: “Our research shows that businesses who invest in their teams are the best primed for growth. Whilst the wider economic environment remains uncertain, specialist lenders are primed to help ambitious companies unlock the additional value needed to execute their growth plans, and turn that ambition into action.”
