Because People Matter June 26 th, 2006 Philip Roe BMG Research Because People Matter The National Employer Skills Survey 2005 Main findings for the South West Region

Because People Matter Main survey themes Demand for skills – vacancies Availability of skills – recruitment difficulty, skill shortages, and skill gaps Recruitment of young people Workforce development by employers

Because People Matter Demand for skills - vacancies 17% of SW employers had a vacancy at time of survey 2.9% of SW jobs were vacant

Because People Matter Vacancy concentrations SECTORS Retail, hospitality, financial services, construction, care SIZE OF ESTABLISHMENT Small establishments (<25 jobs) have 53% of vacancies but only a third of employment LOCATION No great variation but marginally higher in West of England

Because People Matter Occupational bias Intermediate and lower, not managerial/professional….

Because People Matter ‘High intensity’ vacancies Skilled trades and operators in engineering, general manufacturing, construction, food processing, and garages Sales staff in the retail sector Low grade staff in hospitality Care workers Technical staff in financial services and IT sector Teachers Nurses and technical staff in the health sector

Because People Matter Recruitment difficulty Under a third of all vacancies in the South West (31%) were hard-to-fill 55% of these were hard-to-fill for ‘skill shortage reasons’ – applicants lack required skills, experience, and/or qualifications Overall, 18% of vacancies were ‘skill shortage’ vacancies

Because People Matter Relation of recruitment difficulty to occupations

Because People Matter Top ten ‘hard-to-fill’ and ‘skill shortage’ vacancies Hard-to-fill Low skill hospitality staff Skilled construction trades Sales staff in retail Care assistants Chefs Admin/clerical in financial services Garage mechanics Skilled engineering trades Skilled retail trades (butchers, bakers, etc.) Skilled land-based workers Skill shortage Skilled construction trades Chefs Care assistants Garage mechanics Bus drivers Admin/clerical in financial services Skilled land-based workers Skilled retail trades Civil engineers HGV drivers

Because People Matter Trends in vacancies and recruitment difficulties, South WestEngland Vacancies- 16% Hard-to-fill vacancies - 44%- 25% Skill shortage vacancies - 14%+ 6%

Because People Matter South West compared with England, 2005 South WestEngland Vacancies as % of employment Hard-to-fill vacancies as % of vacancies 3135 Skill shortage vacancies as % of hard-to-fill vacancies 5770

Because People Matter Broad labour market changes in South West,

Because People Matter Skills gaps SWEnglandSWEngland % of establishments with skills gaps Skills gaps as % of employment

Because People Matter Location of skill gaps 108,000 people in SW identified as not fully proficient A third of total in retail and hospitality Construction, engineering and care next highest sectors Fairly evenly distributed across different sizes of establishment

Because People Matter Skills gaps in relation to occupations

Because People Matter Recruitment of young people Percent of employers recruiting …. South WestEngland 16 year old school leaver school/ College leaver 1211 New graduate99

Because People Matter Prepared for work? Percent of recruiting employers saying poor or very poorly prepared for work…. 16 year olds24% year olds19% New graduates10%

Because People MatterWhy? 16 year olds17-18 year oldsNew graduates Lack motivation/ work ethic Lack of life/work experience Poor education/ general knowledge Lack motivation/ work ethic Lack of job- specific skills Lack of life/work experience Lack motivation/ work ethic Lack of business/ practical experience Lack of job- specific skills

Because People Matter Training by employers Percent of employers supplying training…. Percent of employees trained is the same for SW and England – 35% off-the-job, 50% on-the-job (not additive) South West62%65% England59%65%

Because People Matter Pattern of training

Because People Matter Who gets trained and how?

Because People Matter Use of Further Education Colleges Fewer employers which supply training used FE Colleges in 2005 than in 2003 (30% down from 33%) More users satisfied with provision But…. –More significant dissatisfaction with construction and vehicle maintenance courses –Twice as many employers use private providers –Levels of satisfaction with private providers higher than for FE

Because People Matter Overview: lessening of pressure on skills Slowing of growth, in-migration, and skills development combining to reduce pressure on skills An opportunity to concentrate on improvements in supply in key area…. Which is technical/practical skills in construction, manufacturing, catering, retail

Because People Matter Overview: within-region disparities Evidence of weaker labour markets in South and West of the region…. –More vacancies –Less training –More recruits seen as de-motivated Supports the need for regional policy focus in least prosperous sub-regions

Because People Matter Overview: support to SMEs Small employers (with fewer than 25 staff) –Have disproportionate numbers of vacancies, hard-to-fill vacancies, and skill shortage vacancies –More frequently see young recruits as ill- prepared for work –More likely to say that skills problems cause loss of business –Less likely to train staff Supports the need for policy focus on small ‘hard to reach’ businesses

Because People Matter Overview: Further Education Some negative messages on FE…. –Falling proportion of training employers using FE –Significant dissatisfaction in some sectors –1 in 5 employers recruiting a year old are dissatisfied with them –Half of training employers say FE courses are not relevant Supports policy to make FE provision more clearly ‘demand-led’

Because People Matter For further information, please contact: Philip Roe, Account Director Tel No :