ONE in five Oxfordshire employers admit their staff are lacking key skills needed to do their job properly, according to a new report.

Now business leaders are urging private sector employers to invest in staff to grow their businesses and help find new roles for workers who lose jobs in the public sector .

Frank Nigriello, chairman of the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership, said: “The economy is dependent on businesses helping the country to trade its way out of the financial hole created by overspending in the public sector and exacerbated by the recession.

“Businesses in our county have a vital role in the nation’s economy, but without skilled people they will find it increasingly difficult to compete.

“We need to get business and colleges better connected.

“Against the backdrop of the Government’s spending review, it has become even more important the skills provided by our education establishments are aligned to meeting the needs of the local economy.

“But the skills gap does not start with colleges.

“It begins much earlier when schools fail to provide the critical skills of literacy, numeracy and basic IT. That needs to be addressed urgently.”

The Oxfordshire Employer Skills Survey compiled by the OEP and Oxford Brookes University interviewed more than 1,200 managers about their employees and staffing issues.

Skills gaps were found to be worst in the south of the county and in Oxford itself, with the greatest need being for people with sales and customer service skills.

Employers in key sectors such as manufacturing and science and technology are also finding it hard to recruit the right people, particularly among high-level professionals and skilled support staff.

Chris Lewis, managing director of Oxford alarms and CCTV supplier Chris Lewis Fire and Security, runs an apprenticeship scheme for staff, some of whom join the firm from school at age 16.

He said: “Where we have identified skills gaps, we have addressed this through training. It has often required significant investment but actually has had massive pay-back, often in a relatively short timeframe.

“People coming from craft apprenticeship backgrounds often become the managers and directors of tomorrow.

“The length of the training means apprentices have to be serious about their career choice but the rewards for them are well worth the commitment.

“The benefit for the business is that it builds a workforce of trusted, well-trained individuals fully ingrained in the company culture.”

Earlier this week Prime Minister and Witney MP David Cameron said the Government would invest £200m in the private sector to create a “new economic dynamism” to help offset cuts in the public sector.