DORSET’S voice of business is backing calls for vocational training for non-academic 14 to 19-year-olds.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofsted, recently called for more university technical colleges (UTCs) to create a skills revolution that would make the country more competitive after Brexit.

Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) says its members have repeatedly flagged up the shortage in skills needed to grow their businesses.

The chamber has more than 800 members representing 37,000 employers.

Sir Michael said recently that Britain needs a “skills revolution” and that he was in favour of UTCs for students aged 14-19.

DCCI chief executive Ian Girling said: “What Sir Michael said chimes very much with what the chamber is hearing at grass roots level from our members.

“There are simply not enough skills being taught locally to bring on the next generation of tradesmen and women, manufacturers, engineers, mechanics, technologists, construction specialists and scientists.

“If there is a post-Brexit restriction on the free movement of workers from the EU, we may face a shortage of workers, further compounding the problem.

“UTCs are very much about nurturing home-grown talent to create the skilled workforce Dorset needs to create regional prosperity and ensure the growth of local businesses in our towns, industrial parks and countryside.

“There is undoubtedly a swathe of school-age teenagers in Dorset who would prefer, and benefit, from a vocational education rather an academic one where they may well be struggling through no fault of their own.

“We would fully support any plans for a UTC here in Dorset. Furthermore, we will respond to Sir Michael’s clarion call through strategic action – by facilitating and strengthening local links between commerce and schools, colleges and universities.

“Sir Michael has thrown down the gauntlet to politicians to make UTCs a key part of the skills revolution that we so clearly need in order to remain globally competitive. We urge politicians in the region to give Sir Michael’s vision due consideration.”

Recruitment dilemmas and increased competition were among pressing issues facing businesses, according to the first Dorset Economic Survey, which feeds into the British Chambers of Commerce quarterly economic survey.