Image: AbsolutVision
The opening sentence of Taran Uppal’s 2024 research for Pro Bono Economics “the social sector is hurtling towards a serious skills shortage” had a significant impact on my decision to do something about it. I was so frustrated reading about a charity skills’ gap yet knowing there are many people with experience that is not being put to good use.
Fast forward to autumn 2025 and we are witnessing the impact of increased employer National Insurance Contributions on charities. It’s being felt in staffing budgets, service planning, and long-term sustainability.
But it could also be a catalyst to rethink how the current structure of a workforce delivers an organisation’s mission. Does it need to be adapted?How do you reframe the skills needed to create efficiencies and deliver charitable objectives? Are you looking for skills in the right place?
The best corporate sector marketers take insights from data and create stories to change behaviour. They set targets, measure results, learn from what works and what doesn’t.
Some get to a point where they want to use this accumulated knowledge to make a difference in society.
Back to Taran Uppal who states “while many factors contribute to recruitment challenges, charities are clear that the leading issue is the lack of applicants with appropriate skills.”
There is a group of people outside the sector, looking for purposeful work, that I urge charities to consider. Lacking charity experience is a benefit, not a hindrance, because it allows for a fresh perspective.
As Nicci Russell, CEO at Waterwise wrote recently when reflecting on their placement through The Well Placed, “innovative approaches to recruitment could transform the charity sector”.
What could a 6-month injection of high calibre commercial marketing skills deliver for your charity?