LACK of technology skills is hindering efforts to increase flexible working for Yorkshire firms, says a report.
Forecasting organisation The Centre for Future Studies said two-thirds of small and medium-sized firms in the region now claimed to offer employees some form of flexible working with the introduction of wireless and mobile technologies.
But the centre’s report, IT Skills for Flexible Working, showed that 62% of workers in Yorkshire said they lacked the necessary IT skills and training to exploit existing technology fully.
The report, backed by telecoms giant BT Business, offered definitions for three different types of flexible working.
The first definition involves time flexibility.
This offers part-time or short-term working to employees.
The second definition offers both flexi-hours and provides employees with technology, such as laptops and mobile phones to work on the move.
The third is where technology is fully integrated to create a “virtual” office, where employees can operate totally independently and have control over the way they manage and plan their work.
The report said many firms in the region had successfully adopted the first two, but few of them were using the third.
The report said improvements in training and a change in management thinking were needed to reflect changing work patterns and ensure staff had technical support.
The report found that 70% of small and medium-sized firms in the region did not provide specific IT training for remote workers.
Also 87% of managers had not received training on managing remote workers and were not familiar with the IT requirements.
About a third of employers were dissatisfied with the IT and technical skills of their employees.
A BT spokesman said: “Businesses of all sizes should work together to ensure that small and medium-sized firms are equipped with the correct skills to use technology to its full benefit.”
