During the last 4 months we’ve been working on an important study, commissioned jointly by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Lochalsh & Skye Housing Association, SkyeConnect Tourist Destination Management Organisation and The Highland Council, which has sought to measure the impacts of the lack of affordable housing in Skye and Lochalsh on businesses, in particular their efforts to recruit staff.
The study has involved a mixture of approaches including an online survey of 143 businesses and ten one-to-one in depth consultations with a range of organisations operating in the area (including representatives from several larger private sector companies, the NHS and housing organisations).
The survey results were published earlier this month, revealing that the scale of the problem is significantly worse than public agencies had previously estimated. Headline findings from the research included the following:
Between 1300 and 1700 job vacancies are currently unfilled because of the lack of accommodation.
2 in 5 businesses are currently experiencing recruitment problems with the most significant issues amongst businesses with 5 employees or more
29% of businesses have offered a job to an individual who has decided not to take the role. Accommodation issues were mentioned in 50% of these cases
1 in 5 people employed in businesses in the area live outside Skye and Lochalsh and 1 in 4 don’t live in their own home
25% of businesses expect the number of positions they need to fill to increase over the next three years
65% expect recruitment of permanent posts to get harder and 58% expect the situation to worsen in relation to seasonal posts
Our report concluded that the housing shortage is already impacting on the local economy with many businesses forced to reduce the services they deliver or choosing to not invest in the growth of their business. Looking ahead, the chronic lack of supply of affordable housing is constraining economic growth and limiting the ability of businesses to respond to development opportunities across the area.
However, respondents to the study also highlighted that there are many potential solutions to the problems including more investment in all forms of affordable housing. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and government policy needs to be adaptive and sensitive to remote and island needs.
As shown below the release of the report has generated much interest in the press. Our clients for this project will now use the results from the survey to lobby Governments and other public and private sector agencies for the investment they feel is required to alleviate the housing crisis and protect the economy of Skye and Lochalsh.
We look forward to continuing to support our clients for this project in the sharing of results. If you would like to find out more about the research please get in touch.