The lack of a skilled workforce is a significant constraint to business growth in the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) grouping of emerging market economies, 42% of business owners in these countries revealed in Grant Thornton’s 2011 ‘International Business Report’.

For the fifth consecutive year, the issue continued to be a challenge to South African business owners, with 37% concurring that it remained a major constraint.

Grant Thornton South Africa national chairperson Leonard Brehm said that Brics business owners were having difficulty in sourcing skilled individuals for their rapidly growing economies, especially now that demand for skills is increasing post the recession.

India was the most affected by the lack of a skilled work force, 51% of business owners pointed out, while Brazil is the most affected by regulatory issues, which 17% of business owners in Brics indicated as a constraint to growth.

Increasingly, global business owners were also starting to battle with the issue of a lack of a skilled workforce, 28% of business owners revealed in the report.

Brehm believed that a clamour for skilled people would result in an increase in wages, especially in countries such as Brazil, where they are nearing what is close to full employment. In February, Brazil’s unemployment was recorded at just 6%. This in turn would inflate selling prices and would narrow the competitive advantage in some emerging economies.

Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt said that in the long term, governments would need to address how to appropriately educate and skill people in order to support economic growth. “For now, however, analysts will concentrate on the actual inflationary pressures this will create.”

Meanwhile, the report also pointed to an overall improvement in perceptions in terms of access to finance for the international business community and the Brics economies, with 49% of South African business owners expecting finance to be more accessible in the next 12 months.

Also, 18% of business owners ranked a shortage of working capital as a constraint, and 13% ranked a shortage of long-term finance as lesser concerns for 2011.

The Grant Thornton International Business Report is a survey of the opinions of mid-cap listed and medium to large privately held businesses. The survey researched the opinions of over 5 700 businesses in the fourth quarter of 2010, with over 11 000 responses recorded yearly.