The number of skilled workers has increased sharply according to a report by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

The LSC report found that the skills gap has fallen from 22% to 16% in the past few years.

David Way, director of LSC, says: “The report demonstrates that businesses recognise the critical importance of skills and are investing significantly in training and development to increase their productivity and secure competitive advantage.”

The survey spoke to 74,500 employers from across the UK.

However, the retail and hospitality sectors are still suffering because they find it difficult to recruit people with soft skills such as team working and customer service.