The extent of staff cuts in the public sector will cause reforms to fail, according to the results of a new survey.
The report, published by Dods Research and totaljobs.com, found 82% of public sector staff believe reforms are under pressure due to staffing cuts, with one in six saying the reforms will fail altogether.
Leadership, IT and commercial management are the skills most lacking in colleagues, according to those surveyed, with 45% of staff saying the public sector does not have the skills it needs to deliver public services effectively.
Mike Fetters, public sector director at totaljobs.com, said: ‘The past three years have been a tumultuous time for those in the public sector, with huge cuts and reforms by Whitehall affecting everyone in local government, central government and the NHS.
‘Whilst there have been huge achievements, those in the public sector are clearly worried about their ability to continue to deliver services given skills shortages and staffing gaps. Many of the skills needed are those most associated with the private sector.’
The survey also found 34% of employees believe their managers missed an opportunity to let go of poor performers during the cuts, with one third saying employers had failed to retain highly skilled talent.
