# Uk Commission'S Employer Skills Survey 2013: Uk Results

Evidence Report 81 January 2014

# The Uk Commission'S Employer Skills Survey 2013: Uk Results

 Winterbotham M., Vivian D., Shury J. and Davies B. IFF Research Genna Kik Senior Research Manager UK Commission for Employment and Skills January 2014 

## Foreword

Employers in the UK today face many challenges, including on-going globalisation, technological change and changing consumer demands. After one of the harshest economic crises seen for a generation, UK productivity is still below the levels seen before the recession. Looking to the future, if we are to achieve sustained economic growth and global competitiveness, investment in the skills and talents of the UK workforce will be crucial.  
The UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey gives us reliable, timely and valuable insight into the skills issues being faced by employers and the action they are taking to address these. The survey provides a wealth of data on these issues and, for the first time, we can investigate change over time on a consistent basis right across the UK labour market. The Commission is very grateful to the more than 91,000 businesses, across all sectors, who participated in the research. So what do to findings tell us about how employers are behaving? In support of the economic turnaround, the survey highlights some positive trends. However, it also identifies some clear priorities for action. Today too many organisations find it hard to recruit the skilled people they need; this poses serious risks to the health and survival of businesses and to their bottom line performance. The survey reveals a sharp rise in skills shortages which may be holding back the UK's economic recovery. This is not a new phenomenon. Such deficiencies have persisted over time in some sectors and occupations indicating that there is a need to take decisive action.  
At the same time as a growing shortage of certain skills there is also evidence of a surplus and mismatch in other areas, with the survey finding that almost half of employers report having staff with skills and qualifications beyond those required for their current job. There are also indications of pressures on skills investment. For example, the amount spent on training has fallen by £2.5 billion since 2011. The survey also questions whether UK employers are being ambitious enough when it comes to both investing in their people and their broader business strategies. At the UK Commission for Employment and Skills we will continue to work with and through our partners to develop solutions to the skills challenges highlighted in this survey. As a social partnership led by Commissioners from large and small employers, trade unions and the voluntary sector, our aim is to improve the future of workforce skills in the UK by providing access to investment, world-class research and expert insight.  
I hope you find this report useful. It will be followed by evidence toolkits for each of the nations of the UK and local partners, as well as thematic reports exploring key issues within the survey.  
We are keen to make the data and analysis in this report as accessible as possible and to assist with its interpretation in the commentary provided. We would also welcome feedback on how we could make our research even more relevant. If you have any queries or comments on this report, or would just like to know more about the Commission's work, please e-mail info@ukces.org.uk, quoting the report title. Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chairman, John Lewis Partnership Chair, UK Commission for Employment and Skills 
 

## Acknowledgements

Many individuals and organisations have been involved in the design and execution of the UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2013. Particular thanks are given to the 91,000 businesses who responded to the questionnaire. As the lead contractor, we have been supported by the research agencies who conducted much of the fieldwork: BMG Research, GfK-NOP and Ipsos MORI. The project was supported by the four UK governments; a steering group was established to guide the direction of the project. Members attending this group were: Robin Elliot-Marshall, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS); Dominic Rice, BIS; Vikki McCauley, BIS; Kate Murphy, BIS; Stuart King, Scottish Government; Joanne Corke, Welsh Government; James Carey, Welsh Government; Victor Dukelow; Department for Employment and Learning Northern Ireland (DELNI); Graham Belshaw, DELNI; Tracy Power, DELNI; Alastair Yeo, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); Lewis Childs, DWP; Kate Lager, DWP; Ella Taylor, DWP; Anthony Clarke, Department for Education (DFE); Stuart Vickers, Skills Funding Agency; Carol Stanfield, UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES); and Vicki Belt, UKCES. Particular thanks are also due to staff at the UK Commission who supported the preparation of this report, including Vicki Belt, Rebecca Jones, Thomas Glynn, Charlotte McDonough, Angela Thompson, Marc Bayliss, and in particular to the project manager throughout the course of the survey, Genna Kik at the UK Commission.  

## Jan Shury Joint Managing Director, Iff Research Ltd.


## Table Of Graphs And Charts

Table 1.1 Survey response rates ................................................................................................. 18 
Figure 1.1  Headline information on the profile of UK establishments and employment 
...... 20 
Table 2.1  Incidence and density of vacancies by country ....................................................... 26 Table 2.2  Incidence and density of skill-shortage vacancies (SSVs) by country 
.................. 27 
Figure 2.1  Density and number of skill-shortage vacancies by occupation (2011 vs 2013) 29 Figure 2.2  Density of skill-shortage vacancies - occupation, occupation within sector, and by sector……………… 
................................................................................................................... 30 
Figure 2.3  Skills lacking among applicants (prompted) 
......................................................... 322 
Figure 2.4  Impact of skill-shortage vacancies (prompted) ...................................................... 34 Table 3.1: Incidence, number and density of skills gaps by country (2011 vs. 2013) 
............ 39 
Table 3.2:  Number and density of skills gaps by occupation (2011 vs. 2013) ....................... 40 Figure 3.1  Density of skills gaps by sector, occupation and occupation within sector 
....... 42 
Table 3.3:  Main causes of skills gaps (prompted), by nation .................................................. 44 Table 3.4  Skills lacking among staff with skills gaps followed up, by nation 
........................ 45 
Table 3.5  
Impact of skills gaps (prompted), by nation ....................................................... 47 
Figure 3.2:  Actions taken to overcome skills gaps (prompted) .............................................. 48 Table 3.6  Incidence, number and density of staff who are both over-qualified and overskilled by country (2011 vs. 2013) ............................................................................................... 50 Table 3.7: Whether expect employees will need to acquire new skills or knowledge in the next 12 months, and the reasons for this (prompted), by country .......................................... 52 Figure 3.3  Single occupation most affected by the need for upskilling 
................................. 53 
Figure 3.4  Skills which need improving or updating in the next 12 months (prompted) 
...... 54 
Figure 4.1  Training provision over the last 12 months............................................................. 58 
Figure 4.2: Employer interest in undertaking more training over the last 12 months than 
they were able to provide ............................................................................................................. 62 Figure 4.3  Types of training provided over the last 12 months by employers that train (prompted)…. .................................................................................................................... ………..63 Table 4.1  Number of staff trained over the last 12 months and the proportion of staff trained by establishment size and country ................................................................................ 65 Figure 4.4  Proportion of staff trained over the last 12 months by occupation 2013 vs. 2011………….. ................................................................................................................................ 66 Table 4.2  Total training and development days, and days per person trained and per employee (2011 vs. 2013) ............................................................................................................. 68 Table 4.3  Training to nationally recognised qualifications over the previous 12 months 
.... 70 
Table 4.4  Total training expenditure and spend per person trained and per employee (2011 vs. 2013)……… 
............................................................................................................................... 72 
Table 4.5  Total training expenditure broken down by individual components (2011 vs. 2013)………… 
................................................................................................................................. 74 
Table 4.6: Training expenditure by country and size, the proportion spent on off-the-job elements, and the breakdown of total training expenditure (both on-the-job and off-the-job) by key elements 
............................................................................................................................. 75 
Figure 5.1  Employer recruitment of young people - summary 
................................................ 80 
 
Table 5.1  Incidence of recruitment of education leavers into their first jobs by country 
(2011 vs. 2013) ............................................................................................................................... 82 
Figure 5.2  Incidence of recruitment in the last 2-3 years of education leavers into their first jobs by size of establishment ...................................................................................................... 83 Table 5.2  Sector patterns of recruitment of education leavers ............................................... 84 Figure 5.3  Work-readiness of those recruited straight from education ................................. 86 
Table 5.3  Skills and attributes lacking in education leavers ................................................... 88 Figure 5.4  Reasons why some recruiting employers do not recruit young people .............. 90 Table 5.4  Skills deficiencies and training activity among employers who recruit young people and education leavers ...................................................................................................... 92 Figure 6.1  Employer adoption of High Performance Working Practices................................ 97 Figure 6.2  Incidence and density of vacancies, hard-to-fill vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies by HPW classification and size ................................................................................. 99 
Table 6.1  Incidence, volume and density of skills gaps by HPW classification .................... 99 Figure 6.3  Product Market Strategy positions 
......................................................................... 101 
Table 6.2  Overall composite Product Market Strategy scores .............................................. 102 Table 6.3  Overall composite Product Market Strategy scores by size ................................. 103 Figure 6.4  Incidence of vacancies, hard-to-fill vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies by Product Market Strategy classification 
..................................................................................... 104 
Figure 6.5  Proportion of all vacancies that were hard-to-fill and that were skill-shortage vacancies by Product Market Strategy classification ............................................................. 105 Table 6.4  Incidence, volume and density of skills gaps by Product Market Strategy classification ……………………………………………………………………………………………106 Table 6.5  Main causes of skills gaps (prompted), by Product Market Strategy................... 107 Figure 6.6  Incidence of training by Product Market Strategy classification ........................ 108 

## Glossary

This glossary gives a short guide to the key terms used in this report:  

A single location of an organisation with people working at it.  
Establishment (also referred to as workplace, business, employer, site) 
Vacancy density 
The number of vacancies as a proportion of all employment. 
Hard-to-fill vacancies 
Vacancies which are proving difficult to fill, as defined by the establishment (from question: "Are any of these vacancies proving hard-to-fill?"). The number of hard-to-fill vacancies as a proportion 
Hard-to-fill vacancy density 
of all vacancies. Vacancies which are proving difficult to fill due to 
Skill-shortage vacancies (SSVs) 
the establishment not being able to find applicants 
with the appropriate skills, qualifications or experience. The number of skill-shortage vacancies as a 
Skill-shortage vacancy density 
proportion of all vacancies 
Skills gaps 
A "skills gap" is where an employee is not fully 
proficient, i.e. is not able to do their job to the required level. See Annex H. 

 

Skills gap density 
The number of staff reported as being not fully proficient as a proportion of all employment. 
Under-use of skills 
An employee is "under-used" if the employer reports they have both more skills and more qualifications than are required to perform the job role they are currently in. 
Upskilling 
A need for employees to gain new skills, beyond the 
requirements of their current job role, in order to perform their role in future. 
An establishment's PMS score is worked out from 
Product Market Strategy (PMS)  
the combined answers of four questions: 
 
How customised their output is; 
 
How price dependent their offering is; 
 
How innovative the establishment is; 
 
Whether outputs are premium or basic quality. 
A high PMS score would indicate outputs are customised, not price-dependent, premium quality and the establishment often leads the way in product development. 
Qualifications at or above Level 4 on the National 
Level 4 and above qualifications 
Qualifications Framework. Includes HNDs, HNCs, foundation degrees and degrees, postgraduate degrees, and some vocational and professional qualifications. 
Sector 
For definitions of the different sector groupings used in this report please refer to Annex C. 
Occupations 
For definitions of the occupational groups used in this report please refer to Annex D. 


## Key Findings

| Vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies                     |
|------------------------------------------------------------|
| % of establishments with any vacancies                     |
| 14%                                                        |
| 15%                                                        |
| % of establishments with any hard-to-fill vacancies        |
| 4%                                                         |
| 5%                                                         |
| % with SSVs                                                |
| 3%                                                         |
| 4%                                                         |
| % of all vacancies which are SSVs                          |
| 16%                                                        |
| 22%                                                        |
| Number of vacancies                                        |
| 586,500                                                    |
| 655,000                                                    |
| Number of skill-shortage vacancies                         |
| 91,400                                                     |
| 146,200                                                    |
| Skills gaps                                                |
|                                                            |
|                                                            |
| % of establishments with any staff not fully proficient    |
| 17%                                                        |
| 15%                                                        |
| Number of skills gaps                                      |
| 1,485,500                                                  |
| 1,409,900                                                  |
| Number of staff not fully proficient as a % of employment  |
| 6%                                                         |
| 5%                                                         |
| Training                                                   |
|                                                            |
|                                                            |
| % of establishments training staff over the last 12 months |
| 65%                                                        |
| 66%                                                        |
| % of establishments providing off-the-job training in the  |
| last 12 months                                             |
| 47%                                                        |
| 49%                                                        |
| % of workforce trained                                     |
| 55%                                                        |
| 62%                                                        |
| Total days training                                        |
| 115m                                                       |
| 113m                                                       |
| Total training expenditure                                 |
| £45.3bn                                                    |
| £42.9bn                                                    |

Vacancies, skill-shortage vacancies and skills gaps rounded to the nearest 100. 2011 data has been reweighted to be comparable to 2013 data.  For details see Annex J of this report, and the Technical Report that accompanies this volume. 

## Executive Summary Executive Summary

The UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey is the definitive source of intelligence on employer investment in skills in the UK. The survey was first conducted at UK wide level in 2011, developing from a series of legacy surveys conducted in each of the countries of the UK during the 1990s and the 2000s. The 2013 survey represents the second edition in the combined UK series. It explores the skills challenges that employers face both within their existing workforces and in terms of bringing in new skilled labour, the levels and nature of training investment, recruitment of young people and education leavers and the relationship between skills challenges, training activity and business strategy. 

Like its predecessor, the study reports on the experiences of employers at the establishment level, rather than at the enterprise level. Sole traders and establishments with just one employee and no working proprietors were excluded from the survey population. The survey constitutes a powerful data source: this report presents an initial cut of findings. Accompanying the report are also data tabulations and a data file which can be found here: www.ukces.org.uk/ourwork/employer-skills-survey . Further reports looking at the survey in more depth from different perspectives will follow throughout 2014. 

## Skill Shortages The Survey Supports A Picture Of A Uk Economy Which Is Moving Towards Recovery.

The number of employers reporting vacancies at the time of the survey (March to July 
2013) was higher than at the equivalent time in 2011 (up from 14 per cent to 15 per cent), as was the number of vacancies that they reported (655,000 in 2013, a rise of 12% from 2011). Within England vacancies are back to pre-recession levels, employers reported a total of 559,600 job vacancies, a rise of 45% per cent from 2009. While the more recent macroeconomic data are more encouraging, signs of recovery were less clear in Northern Ireland, where the proportion of employers reporting vacancies has remained consistently behind the UK average (and unchanged at ten per cent in 2011 and 2013).  

Economic growth and recovery may be constrained by skill shortages as the labour market responds to employer requirements. While in most cases demand for skills is met through successful recruitment, almost three in ten vacancies are reported to be hard-to-fill, and shortages in suitably skilled, qualified and/or experienced workers are the main reason for this. Overall, such skill-shortage vacancies represent more than one in five of all vacancies (22 per cent), up from one in six in 2011 (16 per cent).  
The picture of skill shortages across the UK varies by country as does the change in available skills since 2011. The largest shortfall is reported in Scotland where a quarter of all vacancies are hard-to-fill because of a shortage in available skills, up from 15 per cent in 2011. Within England, the longer time series available shows the number of skill-shortages has nearly doubled since 2009, increasing from 63,100 to 124,800.   
Skill shortages differ by occupation and pockets of shortages remain largely unchanged since 2011. Skilled Trades roles remain the most common occupation where skill shortages are likely to be encountered when employers recruit for these roles. In 2011, managerial roles were the next most challenged by shortages in available skills; since then, the challenge has shifted towards Professionals, Associate Professionals, Caring, Leisure and Other services staff and Machine Operatives. There appears to have been an increased difficulty finding appropriate oral and written communication, literacy and numeracy skills. These core generic skills were all cited as lacking by greater proportions of employers reporting skill-shortage vacancies than in 2011. 

## Skill Gaps

Most employers report that they have a proficient workforce with no skill gaps: 15 
per cent report that some of their staff are not fully proficient, and these skills gaps represent only one in 20 employees (five per cent). This represents a slight fall in the proportion of workplaces with proficiency challenges since 2011 (when the figures stood at 17 per cent), but a broadly consistent picture in terms of the proportion of the workforce which is affected. A larger proportion of employers face skills gaps in Scotland (19 per cent) than elsewhere in the UK, although this figure has fallen since 2011 when it stood at 21 per cent. Proficiency problems affect a slightly larger proportion of employees in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales than in 2011; in England a smaller proportion of the workforce has skills gaps than was the case in 2011, and skills gaps are now at their lowest level in a decade.  

In most cases (three-quarters of all skills gaps), proficiency problems are due at 

## Least In Part To Employees Being New In Their Roles And/Or Still In Training For Their

roles. These factors are both (predominantly) transient: that is to say one would expect skills gaps resulting from these causes to be eliminated once staff have settled into their new roles and/or existing training has been completed. Job roles where (internal) skills gaps are most prominent tend to be ones in which there are relatively few (external) skill shortages. The occupations where skills gaps are most acute are Sales and Customer Services staff and Elementary staff, which are two of the occupations with the lowest density of skill shortages (alongside Administration roles). Conversely, the occupations in which skill shortages were the most acute, Associate Professionals and Machine Operatives, present average levels of skills gaps, while skills gaps are relatively uncommon among Professional and Caring, Leisure and Other Services staff. In the eyes of employers, skills gaps affect Managers less than other occupations. Employers tend to be challenged either in terms of having inadequate skills among some of their existing workforce or struggling to find new recruits with the skills that the vacant positions require. It is very rare for employers to be challenged from both directions; just one per cent of all employers experienced both skill-shortage vacancies and skills gaps. It is more commonly the case that employers are not fully utilising their workforces' skills.  
Half of UK employers (48 per cent) report skills under-use, and 4.3 million workers (16 per cent of the total UK workforce) are reported as being over-skilled and overqualified for the jobs that they are currently doing. Employers in the devolved administrations were more likely than those in England to report that any of their staff were over-skilled and over-qualified. Employers in the Hotels and Restaurants sector were particularly likely to report this to be the case, and those in the Public Administration and Manufacturing sectors are least likely. An even greater proportion of employers (71 per cent) predict that their skills requirements will change over the next 12 months. The occupational groups most likely to be affected are Professional occupations and Caring, Leisure and Other occupations; the skills of staff currently employed in these roles tend to stand up quite well against employer need (low density of skills gaps), but they are both occupations in which it is relatively more difficult to find suitably skilled candidates for new positions (high density of skill-shortage vacancies). 

 
 
Most employers fund or arrange training for their staff: two-thirds had done so over the previous 12 months (66 per cent), a figure in line with 2011 (65 per cent). While most employers could be described as being in 'training equilibrium' having been able to provide all the training that they wanted over the previous 12 months, over two-fifths of all employers (42 per cent, including non-trainers that had not delivered any) wanted to provide more training than they had been able to do. By far the most common reason that employers do not provide training is that they believe all their staff to be fully proficient in their roles. There have been some notable changes since 2011 in the nature of training activity conducted. There is evidence of more employers providing off-the-job training, and training being more widely offered across the workforce. More employers have arranged any off-the-job training (49 per cent compared to 47 per cent in 2011) and fewer have only offered on-job training (17 per cent compared to 19 per cent in 2011); and the proportion of staff trained over the previous 12 months has risen substantially from 55 per cent to 62 per cent.  
On the other hand, there is evidence of less training being provided on an individual basis. Each person trained received fewer days training over the last 12 
months in 2013 than in 2011 (an average of 6.7 days compared with 7.8 days in 2011) meaning that the total number of training days employers had provided over the previous 12 months has decreased slightly since 2011 (from 115 million to 113 million days).  
Moreover, total employer investment in training decreased by five per cent in the period 2011 to 2013 (from £45.3bn to £42.9bn). Training investment per person trained fell by 17 per cent, from around £3,075 in 2011 to £2,550 in 2013 although this was in the context of a large increase in the number of staff being trained. In the context of tightened economic circumstances, it is not unreasonable for employers to seek to invest more widely in training. Although training spend and the numbers of days spent training are slightly down across the UK as a whole, this has been achieved in combination with an increase in the number of staff trained, an increase in the ratio of offthe-job to on-the-job training (a crude measure of the quality of training) and an increase in the proportion of training that leads to a recognised qualification. This could suggest a more efficient allocation of resource to partially offset a relatively modest cut in the level of overall spend. 

 
There is some variation in training activity by country: Employers in Scotland were the most likely to have funded or arranged any training in the previous 12 months (70 per cent) and those in Wales the least likely (62 per cent). Employers in Scotland also trained a greater proportion of their workforce (65 per cent) than employers elsewhere in the UK 
(as was the case in 2011 also); employers in Northern Ireland trained the lowest proportion of their workforce (59 per cent). 

## Recruitment Of Young People

Most "recruiting employers" (by which we mean employers who recruited anyone over the previous two to three years) **recruited at least one young person**: overall 44 per cent of all employers recruited a young person in the two to three years preceding the survey. Around a quarter of employers recruited at least one education leaver in that period. Around one in five employers only recruited young people not entering their first job out of education, and did not recruit any education leavers. 

## The Main Obstacle To (More) Young People Getting New Jobs Is Competition In The Market Place. Half Of Recruiting Employers Who Had Not Recruited Young Job Applicants

had opted instead for older candidates who were better placed; in this instance young people who applied for these jobs may have been suitable, but the recruiters opted for a candidate over the age of 25 to fill the role. Where young applicants were not considered to meet the requirements of the role, the main reasons cited were lack of skills and experience, and sometimes both. Three in five recruiting employers (61 per cent) who had not recruited a young person said they had had no applications from young people. 

The reasons why some young people were not successful in their job applications mirrored the reasons why some employers were disappointed with the preparedness of recruits entering the job market in their first roles since leaving education. Most employers find the education leavers they take on to be well or very well prepared for work, although as many as four in ten employers taking on school leavers at 16 from schools in England, Northern Ireland or Wales described the recruits as poorly prepared (as do three in ten employers in Scotland taking new recruits from Scottish schools between the ages of 16 and 18). 

## High Performance Working Practices And Product Market Strategies

High Performance Working (HPW) is defined by the UK Commission as 'a general approach to managing organisations that aims to stimulate more effective employee involvement and commitment in order to achieve high levels of performance' (UKCES 2009).  
 
The survey identifies a minority of employers - 12 per cent - who are *"HPW employers"* 
in the sense that they adopt a number of HPW practices.  
Such employers are considerably more active in the recruitment market than average: twice as many have a vacancy as non-HPW employers (29 per cent compared to 13 per cent). The evidence suggests that they find it easier to fill the vacancies they have than non-HPW employers: under a quarter of HPW employers' vacancies were proving hard-to-fill (22 per cent) compared to a third among non-HPW employers. Similarly a smaller proportion of HPW employers' vacancies are skill-shortage vacancies (19 per cent, compared to 25 per cent among non-HPW employers). HPW employers are also considerably more likely to experience skill gaps than non-HPW 
employers (23 per cent compared to 14 per cent), although the proportion of their workforce that lacks proficiency is in line with the national average (five per cent). HPW employers are more likely to train and train a higher proportion of their workforce. Product Market Strategies (PMS) are defined within the survey by aggregating responses to a series of questions exploring pricing strategies, approaches to innovation and the nature of the product market (the extent to which the market attracts a "premium" and the extent of customisation of products and services in the market). Aggregating these responses classifies two in five private sector employers in the UK as having a high or very high product market strategy indicating that their competitive success is not dependent on price, they pursue innovation, they compete on quality and/or that they offer customised goods or services. 

Employers with a higher composite PMS score are more likely to have a vacancy, hardto-fill vacancy or skill-shortage vacancy than employers with a lower score. However, the evidence suggests that the recruitment challenge is greater for employers with a low composite PMS score in the sense that a greater proportion of their vacancies are reported to be hard-to-fill than is the case among employers with a high composite PMS. Similarly, employers with a high composite PMS score are more likely to identify skill gaps than employers with a low score, but the proportion of their workforce that lacks proficiency is no higher. In a similar vein, employers with a higher composite PMS score are more likely to fund or arrange training for their staff. 


## 1 Introduction 1.1 The Uk-Wide Employer Skills Survey

This report presents the headline findings from the UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2013 (UKCESS 2013), the latest in a series of research studies designed by the UK Commission to provide a definitive picture of the skills challenges faced by employers across the UK. The 2013 survey represents the second in the UKCESS series, with 2011 the first year the UK-wide survey was run. Previously each nation of the UK conducted its own survey. These were similar in style but varied in the employer population they covered and the timescales in which they were conducted, meaning it was not possible to fully compare results across nations. The 2011 survey brought these separate entities together into one survey, which means that whilst time series data on the skills measures does not now go back further than 20111, we are able to look at the picture across the UK as a whole and have scope to compare between the constituent nations. The Employer Skills Survey is designed to complement and supplement the UK Commission's Employer Perspectives Survey series (UKCEPS) which explores how employers go about meeting their skills needs, particularly looking at their recruitment processes, their use of external skills services, and their engagement with vocational qualifications. The latest edition of UKCEPS (UKCEPS 2012) presented evidence that showed that employers are more likely to use private sector training firms than public providers in further and higher education to deliver external training, raising questions about the availability / suitability of public training provision; UKCESS 2013 explores employers' training spend in these public sector markets to continue this line of investigation. Based on over 91,000 interviews with employers in every sector, the UKCESS 2013 provides an opportunity to assess how skills deficiencies might be impacting on business performance. It measures the prevalence, nature and impact of skills challenges, and details the nature and extent of employer investment in skills. This evidence report represents an initial overview of the survey's findings, in which we: 

 
Present findings across the UK, including time series analysis comparing 2013 
results with 20112; 
 
 
Compare experiences and behaviours between employers across the countries of 
the UK both in 2013 and in terms of trends over time; 
 
Examine the interrelationship between the key UKCESS measures - skills gaps, 
skills shortages and workforce development activity.  
As well as written commentary, the appendices to this report include abridged data tabulations detailing key survey measures. Full UK data tabulations have also been published alongside this report and are available here: www.ukces.org.uk/ourwork/employer-skills-survey   

## 1.2 Methodological Overview

Like its predecessors, UKCESS 2013 was carried out in two parts: a core survey of UK employers, and a follow-up survey of workplaces which had funded or arranged training for employees in the 12 months preceding the survey, to look at the investment they had made in this training (the "Investment in Training Survey"); both surveys were conducted by telephone. This section briefly summarises the key features of the methodology adopted across both surveys. Further detail can be found in the separate technical report which accompanies this report (www.ukces.org.uk/ourwork/employer-skills-survey). 

## 1.2.1 Survey Sampling

Sampling for the survey covered establishments (as opposed to enterprises) in the UK with at least two staff (including both employees and working proprietors). Sole traders and establishments with just one employee and no working proprietors were excluded from the survey population. The survey encompasses establishments across the full geographical spread of the UK, in all sectors of the economy (across the commercial, public and charitable spheres). The profile of this population was established through the Office for National Statistics (ONS) based on data from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) March 2012 statistics. 

Contact details for employers were sourced from Experian's commercial database of establishments, supplemented by some records supplied directly through the IDBR (in order to ensure full representation of establishments in certain non-commercial sectors in particular). 

 
In addition to the geography, sector and size of establishments, the Investment in Training follow-up survey also ensures robust coverage by the nature of the training the establishment provides (whether it is on-the-job training only, off-the-job training only, or a combination of the two). All of the employers interviewed for the Investment in Training Survey had been interviewed as part of the core survey and had given their permission to be contacted for this follow-up research. 

## 1.2.2 Survey Questionnaire

The core survey questionnaire was based largely on that used in the 2011 survey. In order to minimise the burden placed on employers, a number of questions were dropped from the survey. On the other hand, a small number of new questions were introduced covering topics of particular policy interest. In overall terms, the average length of interview was reduced by two minutes, to 22 minutes. The need to maintain comparability and address all the areas of interest whilst reducing the length from the 2011 survey placed considerable pressures on the questionnaire. In order to tackle these issues, as in 2011, a modularised questionnaire design was developed where certain sections were only asked of half of the respondents. The report makes clear where questions were split in this way; further details are provided in the Technical Report. The questionnaire administered for the previous UK Investment in Training Survey in 2011 was used again in 2013, with two additional questions on the amount spent with different types of training providers. 

## 1.2.3 Survey Fieldwork

Fieldwork for the core survey was undertaken between March and July 2013, and involved over 91,000 interviews. Fieldwork for the follow-up Investment in Training Survey was undertaken in May to July 2013, and involved more than 13,000 interviews with employers who had taken part in the first survey. An overall response rate of 44 per cent was achieved for the core survey; this represents a slight improvement on the 2011 survey, which achieved an overall response rate of 39 per cent. Response in 2013 was highest in Scotland (51 per cent) and lowest in England (43 per cent). 

 
For the Investment in Training follow-up, respondents were already engaged with the survey so a much higher response rate of 71 per cent was achieved; this ranged from 76 per cent in Northern Ireland to 65 per cent in Wales. 

 
UK 
England 
Northern 
Ireland 
Scotland 
Wales 
Core survey 


Interviews 
91,279 
75,255 
4,014 
6,014 
5,996 
Response rate 
44% 
43% 
47% 
51% 
45% 
Investment in Training follow up 
Interviews 
13,138 
9,140 
1,070 
1,496 
1,432 
Response rate 
71% 
70% 
76% 
75% 
65% 

## 1.2.4 Data Weighting

Findings from the core survey have been weighted and grossed up to accurately represent the total population of UK establishments in which at least two people work. This has been done on a size, sector and regional basis. Separate weights have been generated which allow findings to be presented (a) based on the number of workplaces reporting a particular experience, and (b) based on the number of employees and/or job roles affected by different challenges. 

Findings from the Investment in Training survey have been weighted and grossed up to reflect the population of training employers as generated by the weighted Wave 1 findings.  

## 1.3 The Nature Of Uk Establishments: Describing The Survey Population

In order to give some context to the findings that are presented throughout this report, and to facilitate understanding of the differences in employers' experiences and practices, this section describes some of the key characteristics of the UK employer population. It is important to note that the statistics presented in this section of the report are variously based on official counts of establishments provided by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and on weighted survey findings; the footnotes on each table or chart detail the source. 

 
ONS figures show there were around 1.7 million "in-scope" establishments in the UK in March 2012, with around 27 million people were working in them3 (see Table A.1.1 in Annex A).  
Figure 1.1 summarises key information on the profile of establishments and employment across the UK, based on ONS data. This reveals that while most establishments (52 per cent) are small and employ fewer than five staff, these very small employers account for just nine per cent of all employment. In contrast, sites with 100 or more staff make up just two per cent of the employer population, but account for two-fifths (42 per cent) of total employment. Public sector employers are much larger than average: they account for four per cent of all establishments but 17 per cent of all employment (see Table A.1.2 in Annex A).  

## 1.4 Structure Of This Report

This report has been structured into five key sections followed by a chapter drawing out conclusions. 

 
Chapter 2: Employers' experience of skill shortages  
This chapter looks at employer recruitment activity, measuring the extent, causes and impacts of recruitment difficulties, with a particular focus on skill shortages within the labour market and the impact such labour market failure has on establishments. 

 
Chapter 3: The internal skills challenge 
This chapter explores the proficiency of establishments' existing workforces, and describes these skills gaps in detail, for example examining the skills lacking by occupation. It covers employers' predictions of the need for new skills among their staff ("upskilling") and also looks at the under-utilisation of skills where establishments report that employees have more skills and qualifications than required for their current job role. 

 
Chapter 4: Employer investment in training and skills 
The fourth chapter explores in detail the extent and nature of employer training and workforce development, including the investment made in training. It examines the number of staff provided with training over the previous 12 months, the type and duration of this training, the extent to which employers would have liked to provide more training and development than they did, and the barriers that prevented increased training activity. 

 
Chapter 5: Recruitment of young people 
This chapter looks at the recruitment of young people, including those recruited directly from education, and examines employer perceptions of how well prepared they are for work. 

 
Chapter 6: Working practices and product market strategies  
Chapter six explores the working practices being adopted by employers in regard to how they manage, develop, engage with and incentivise their staff, and seeks to assess the prevalence of High Performance Working (HPW) practices. It also explores the Product Market Strategies (PMS) of employers, and whether this impacts on their skill needs and training practices. 

 
Chapter 7: Conclusions  
The final chapter revisits the key stories emerging from the different strands of the survey, bringing them together and considering their implications.  

## 1.5 Reporting Conventions

The survey was carried out at an establishment level. The terms "establishment", 
"employer", "workplace" and "business unit" are used for this interchangeably throughout this report to avoid excessive repetition and to aid reading. 

Throughout the report unweighted base figures are shown on tables and charts to give an indication of the statistical reliability of the figures. These figures are always based on the number of *establishments* answering a question, as this is the information required to determine statistical reliability. This means, for example, that where percentages are based on "all vacancies" (such as the percentage of all vacancies which are hard-to-fill because of a lack of the required skills among applicants) the base figure quoted is the unweighted number of establishments with vacancies. In tables, "zero" is denoted as a dash ("-"); and an asterisk is used ("*") if the figure is larger than zero but smaller than 0.5 per cent. Throughout the report, figures with a base size of fewer than 25 establishments are not reported (a double asterisk, "**", is displayed instead), and figures with a base size of 25 to 49 are italicised and should be treated with caution. The scale and scope of data collected by the UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2013 means that it is a valuable research resource supporting detailed and complex statistical analysis of the inter-relationships between employer characteristics, and their practices and experiences. The findings presented in this report reflect a descriptive exploration of the data; however, it should be noted that in all cases where differences by nation are commented on they are statistically significant at the 95 per cent level. Further statistical information can be found in Annex E. 


## 2 Employers' Experience Of Skill Shortages 2.1 Chapter Summary

The survey supports a picture of a UK economy which is moving towards recovery. 

The number of employers reporting vacancies at the time of the survey (March to July 2013) was higher than at the equivalent time in 2011 (up from 14 per cent to 15 per cent), as was the number of vacancies that they reported (655,000 in 2013, a rise of 12% from 2011). Within England vacancies are back to pre-recession levels, employers reported a total of 559,600 job vacancies, a rise of 45% per cent from 2009.  Signs of recovery were less clear in Northern Ireland, where the proportion of employers reporting vacancies has remained consistently behind the UK average (and unchanged at ten per cent of employers in both 2011 and 2013). 

## Economic Growth And Recovery May Be Constrained By Skill Shortages As The Labour Market Responds To Employer Requirements. While In Most Cases Demand For

skills is met through successful recruitment, almost three in ten vacancies are reported to be hard-to-fill, and shortages in suitably skilled, qualified and/or experienced workers are the main reason for this. Overall, such skill-shortage vacancies represent more than one in five of all vacancies (22 per cent), up from one in six in 2011 (16 per cent).  

## The Picture Of Skill Shortages Across The Uk Varies By Country As Does The Change

in available skills since 2011. The largest shortfall is reported in Scotland where a quarter of all vacancies are hard-to-fill because of a shortage in available skills, up from 15 per cent in 2011. Within England, the longer time series available shows the number of skill-shortages has nearly doubled since 2009, increasing from 63,100 to 124,800. 

## Skill Shortages Differ By Occupation And Pockets Of Shortages Remain Largely Unchanged Since 2011. Skilled Trades Roles Remain The Most Common Occupation

where skill shortages are likely to be encountered when employers recruit for these roles. In 2011, managerial roles were the next most challenged by shortages in available skills; since then, the challenge has shifted towards Professionals, Associate Professionals, Caring, Leisure and Other services staff and Machine Operatives. There appears to have been an increased difficulty finding appropriate oral and written communication, literacy and numeracy skills. These core generic skills were all cited as lacking by greater proportions of employers reporting skill-shortage vacancies than in 2011. 

 

## 2.2 Introduction

At a macro level recruitment tends to signify a healthy labour market and is an indicator of growth and a burgeoning economy. Indeed, in recent years, against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and difficulty, employer skills surveys have generally reported depressed levels of recruitment activity. At an individual employer level there can be various reasons for having vacancies. Depending on the context, they can be a positive indicator of growth or more negative if they signify a loss of key personnel or high staff turnover levels. The outcomes of having vacancies are less ambiguous. Either the labour market is able to meet employer requirements (the most common scenario) or it isn't. Typically where employers do struggle to fill their vacancies this is due to a lack of skills, qualifications or experience amongst applicants. Collectively these are known as "skill-shortage vacancies". Vacancies can also prove '*hard-to-fill'* for other, non skills-related reasons, principally a lack of applicants to the role, issues with applicants' attitude, personality or motivation, or specific issues related to the job role (e.g. poor terms and conditions or unsociable hours) or the organisation recruiting (e.g. remote location or poor transport links). The UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2013 provides us with a detailed understanding of the level and nature of employer demand for new staff and the ability of the market to meet such demand. This sets the context for then exploring imbalances and mismatches in the labour market that result from a lack of skills. The key measures used in this chapter are as follows: 
 
Following a brief analysis of vacancies, this chapter focuses specifically on skill-shortage vacancies (those vacancies that employers find difficult to fill specifically as a result of a lack of applicants in the labour market with the required skills, qualifications and/or experience). The chapter examines their incidence, volume and profile, before exploring the specific skills that employers find lacking and the impact that this has. It closes with a brief discussion of the extent of wider recruitment challenges that employers face beyond skills deficiencies. Time series for the headline measures by country can be found in Annex B. 

## 2.3 Vacancies

Most employers have recent experience of recruitment. The latest version of the UK 
Commission's Employer Perspectives Survey (UKCES, 2012b) reported that around  half of employers had at least one vacancy over the 12 months prior to the survey, while almost two-thirds reported recruiting in the previous two to three years. However, at any one point in time, the majority of establishments are not looking to recruit new staff; 15 
per cent had a *current* vacancy at the time of UKCESS 2013 fieldwork. Although most employers reported having no current vacancies, there has been an increase in recruitment activity since the 2011 survey when 14 per cent of establishments reported having a vacancy. This is also an increase from when the previous skills surveys were conducted in the individual countries of the UK4.  
In total, there were around 655,000 vacancies across the UK at the time of the survey (equivalent to 2.4 per cent of total employment). This is an increase of 12 per cent compared to 2011 when there were around 587,000 vacancies (equivalent of 2.2 per cent of total employment). As shown in Table 2.1, evidence of a recovery in the labour market can be seen across England, Scotland and Wales, though not in Northern Ireland (although more recent macroeconomic data are suggesting that the recovery is taking root there too). 


|                          |                | % of establishments    | Vacancies as a % of    |
|--------------------------|----------------|------------------------|------------------------|
|                          | with a vacancy | employment             |                        |
| (incidence)              |                |                        |                        |
|                          |                |                        |                        |
| (density)                |                |                        |                        |
|                          |                |                        |                        |
|                          |                |                        |                        |
| Unweighted base          |                |                        |                        |
|                          |                |                        |                        |
| 2011                     | 2013           | 2011                   | 2013                   |
|                          |                |                        |                        |
| 2011                     | 2013           |                        |                        |
| %                        | %              | %                      | %                      |
| UK                       |                |                        |                        |
| 86,522                   |                |                        |                        |
|                          |                |                        |                        |
| 91,279                   |                |                        |                        |
| 14                       | 15             | 2.2                    | 2.4                    |
| Country                  |                |                        |                        |
|                          |                |                        |                        |
|                          |                |                        |                        |
| England                  |                |                        |                        |
| 74,156                   | 75,255         |                        |                        |
| 14                       | 15             | 2.2                    | 2.5                    |
| Northern Ireland         |                |                        |                        |
| 3,921                    | 4,014          |                        |                        |
| 10                       | 10             | 2.4                    | 2.1                    |
| Scotland                 |                |                        |                        |
| 2,487                    | 6,014          |                        |                        |
| 14                       | 15             | 1.9                    | 2.4                    |
| Wales                    |                |                        |                        |
| 5,958                    | 5,996          |                        |                        |
| 12                       | 14             | 1.9                    | 2.2                    |
| Base: All establishments |                |                        |                        |

Percentages in the final two columns are shown as a proportion of all employment. 

There is substantial variation in the extent and pattern of recruitment activity by size of establishment and by sector. Whilst the proportion of establishments reporting vacancies increases with the size of establishment, the density of vacancies is larger among the smaller establishments. By sector, the proportion of establishments reporting vacancies ranges from five per cent in Agriculture to 29 per cent in Education while density of vacancies ranges from 1.4 per cent of total employment in Agriculture to 3.7 per cent in Hotels and Restaurants and Community, Social & Personal Service Activities.  
The survey also identifies the occupational groups and jobs where vacancies exist5. As in 
2011, there is a particularly high level of demand for Associate Professional roles, with six vacancies for every 100 people working in these roles; this is also the occupation for which employers were most likely to report vacancies (19 per cent of employers with vacancies do so). Tables A.2.1 and A.2.2 in Annex A provide a detailed breakdown of recruitment activity by country, size of establishment, sector and occupation. 


                                                

## 2.4 Skill-Shortage Vacancies

While recruitment activity has increased, the labour market typically appears able to meet employer requirements with approaching three-quarters of vacancies across the UK (71 
per cent) reported as not difficult to fill6. However, the majority of vacancies that are difficult for employers to fill are, at least in part, a result of a lack of skills, qualifications or experience amongst applicants (77 per cent of all vacancies that are hard-to-fill)7. The rest of this section explores these *skill-shortage vacancies* in more detail. 

## 2.4.1 The Incidence, Volume And Density Of Skill-Shortage Vacancies

For the vast majority of establishments, demand for skills is met through successful recruitment (or through their current workforce, as will be explored in the next chapter). 

Only four per cent of establishments reported having vacancies at the time of the survey that they were having difficulties filling due to a lack of skills, qualifications or experience in applicants for the role. While it is relatively uncommon for employers to report such skills shortages, this represents an increase from the three per cent reported in 2011, with employers across all countries more likely to report skill-shortage vacancies.  Moreover, the proportion of all vacancies that employers found hard-to-fill at least in part due to a shortage of skills in the labour market (often referred to as skill-shortage vacancy *density)* has increased from 16 per cent to 22 per cent.  

% of vacancies which 


% of establishments 
with an SSV (incidence) 
are SSVs (density) 
 
Unwtd base 
2011 
2013 
2011 
2013 
 
 2011 
 2013 
% 
% 
% 
% 
UK 
86,522 
91,279 
3 
4 
16 
22 
Country 

 
  
  
  
England 
74,156 
75,255 
3 
4 
15 
22 
Northern Ireland 
3,921 
4,014 
2 
3 
21 
19 
Scotland 
2,487 
6,014 
3 
4 
15 
25 
Wales 
5,958 
5,996 
3 
4 
18 
20 

Base: Columns 1 and 2 All establishments; Columns 3 and 4 All establishments with vacancies Percentages in Columns 3 and 4 are shown as a proportion of all vacancies. Note: the 2013 "% of vacancies which are SSVs" figure for Northern Ireland has been updated since this report was first published (updated July 2014). 

 
In volume terms there were around 146,000 skill-shortage vacancies reported in the UK 
at the time of the survey. This is an increase of 60 per cent compared to 2011 when there were just over 91,000; therefore growth in the number of skill-shortage vacancies has outpaced the 12 per cent growth in the number of vacancies over the same period.  
It is in Scotland and England where the greatest proportion of vacancies were hard-to-fill due to lack of skills, qualifications or experience in applicants for the role. This reverses the pattern seen in 2011 where the density of skill-shortage vacancies was highest in Wales and Northern Ireland. Within England, the number of skill-shortage vacancies are higher than pre-recession levels seen in 2009 (see Annex B). As in 2011, vacancies in smaller establishments were more likely to be hard-to-fill due to the difficulties in finding applicants with appropriate skills, qualifications or experience. Approaching a third of all vacancies in establishments with fewer than five staff were hard-to-fill as a result of a lack of skills, qualifications or experience compared to 15 per cent in the largest establishments. There has been an increase in skill-shortage vacancy density across all size bands since 2011. By sector, the proportion of vacancies reported as hard-to-fill as a result of a lack of skills, qualifications or experience ranges from 10 per cent in Financial Services to 30 per cent in Manufacturing. In line with the increase seen in England and Scotland and across all size bands, most sectors have experienced an increase in skill-shortage vacancy density with Public Administration and Health and Social Work seeing their density more than double. It is in the Manufacturing and Agriculture sectors where skills deficiencies when recruiting are most concentrated and persistent - these sectors reported the highest skillshortage vacancy density in both 2011 and 2013. However, other sectors are closing the gap and are now facing similar levels of skills deficiencies, in particular Business Services and Transport and Communication. The Financial Services sector bucks the general trend with a reduction in density from 17 per cent to 10 per cent. Tables A.2.3 and A.2.4 in Annex A provide a detailed breakdown of skill-shortage vacancies by country, size of establishment and sector. As seen in 2011, as well as in all previous skills surveys conducted in the individual countries of the UK, it is amongst Skilled Trades where the greatest proportion of vacancies were hard-to-fill because of skills deficiencies in the available labour market (39 per cent). This compares to an average of 22 per cent across all occupations.  
 
Since 2011, the density of skill-shortage vacancies has increased across all occupational groups with the exception of Managers (which had stayed at the same level). The pattern is broadly the same as 2011, although there has been a heightened challenge regarding recruiting suitably skilled Caring, Leisure and Other Services, Professionals, Associate Professionals and Machine Operative staff. Skill-shortage vacancies for Administrative, Sales and Elementary roles remain comparatively less pronounced. 

| 2011 SSV density      |
|-----------------------|
| Number of SSVs (2013) |
10,100
2011:
(987)
(3,025)
(3,179)
(2,648)
(2,219)
(2,556)
(2,275)
(1,129)
(2,844)
2013:
(1,168)
(3,594)
(3,406)
(2,760)
(2,600)
(3,232)
(2,578)
(1,197)
(3,171)

 
Although care should be taken to not over-extrapolate because of the small base sizes in places, exploring occupations *within* specific sectors where a large proportion of vacancies are proving hard-to-fill as a result of skills deficiencies in the labour market provides a more detailed and nuanced picture of employers' demand for skills and the ability of the market to meet these needs. Figure 2.2 shows the pattern of skill-shortage vacancy density by occupation, sector and occupation within sectors. It highlights in orange those occupations, sectors and occupations within sector where skill-shortage vacancy density is at least 30 per cent.  


A number of these pockets of deficiency have proved to be persistent over time. Certainly, the much higher than average density of skill-shortage vacancies for Skilled Trades occupations has been evident across a number of sectors for a number of years, while skill shortages have persistently hampered recruitment to Professionals roles in Manufacturing, Business Services and Public Administration. 

However, there are also a number of emerging pockets of skills deficiency. These include: 

 
Professionals in Health and Social Work 
 
Associate Professionals in Business Services 
 
Machine Operatives in Business Services and Construction 
 
Caring, Leisure and Other Services roles in Public Administration 
Conversely, while skill-shortage vacancy density has increased across all occupations (except Managers) and across most sectors, there are a handful of specific occupations within sectors where skills-related recruitment difficulties have eased. This includes Professionals in the Construction sector and Managers in the Health and Social Work sector. 

Tables A.2.5 and A.2.5a in Annex A provide a full and detailed breakdown of skillshortage vacancy density by occupation *within* sector. 

## 2.4.2 Skills Lacking In The Available Labour Market

Employers who reported having vacancies that were difficult to fill because of skill shortages were read a list of types of skills and asked, for each occupation in which they reported skill-shortage vacancies, which skills were lacking. Figure 2.3 shows results based on the total number of skill-shortage vacancies (as opposed to establishments with skill-shortage vacancies). Almost two-thirds of all skill-shortage vacancies were ascribed to a lack of technical, practical or job-specific skills.  
Generic or "softer" skills such as planning and organisation, customer handling, problem solving and team working were each cited in connection with between one-third and twofifths of skill-shortage vacancies. This is a broadly similar pattern to 2011 although there has been an increase in the proportion of skill-shortage vacancies resulting from a lack of communication skills, particularly oral communication (41 per cent, up from 37 per cent in 2011), as well as a lack of literacy (34 per cent up from 28 per cent in 2011) and numeracy skills (26 per cent, up from 24 per cent)8. 

Technical, practical or job specific skills
Planning and Organisation skills
Oral communication skills
Customer handling skills
Written communication skills
Problem solving skills
Literacy skills
Team working skills
Strategic Management skills
Numeracy skills
Advanced IT or software skills

 
Table A.2.6 in Annex A provides a picture of the skills lacking in the available labour market in each of the countries. Although care should be taken when interpreting these findings due to the relative low base sizes outside England, a number of the softer skills (e.g. team working and problem solving) were reported as being particularly hard to find in Northern Ireland.  
Table A.2.7 in Annex A provides a breakdown of skills lacking by occupation. A lack of technical, practical or job-specific skills was particularly likely to affect Skilled Trades, Associate Professionals, Professionals and Process, Plant and Machine Operative occupations. Softer skills were more frequently reported to be lacking among Sales and Customer Service, Administrative / Clerical and Elementary applicants. 


## 2.4.3 The Impact Of Skill-Shortage Vacancies On Employers

Although skill-shortage vacancies are only reported by a small minority of employers (four per cent), for those that have them the impact can be significant. In total, 95 per cent of employers that had difficulty filling their vacancies *solely* as a result of skill shortages9 
reported that these were having an impact on the establishment. Most commonly the impact was felt on other staff with 84 per cent of these employers reporting that they result in an increased workload for other staff. Approaching half of employers that had difficulty filling their vacancies *solely* as a result of skill shortages reported that they were having a more direct impact on the organisation in terms of causing difficulties in meeting customer service objectives (49 per cent), delays developing new products or services (44 per cent), a loss of business or orders to competitors (42 per cent) or increased operating costs (42 per cent). The landscape has changed very little since 2011 in terms of the impact of skill-shortage vacancies and the relative prevalence of each of the impacts. 


## 2.5 Wider Recruitment Challenges And Hard-To-Fill Vacancies

As discussed earlier, while recruitment difficulties are most commonly a result of skill shortages in the available labour market, employers can face other recruitment challenges and have difficulty filling their vacancies for *non skills-related* reasons. These include a lack of applicants to the role, issues with the job role, terms, hours or location, or issues with applicants' attitude, personality or motivation. Often there can be a number of underlying factors and they can be inter-related (e.g. a lack of applicants as a result of the poor pay on offer). The proportion of all vacancies that employers found hard-to-fill at least in part due to a shortage of skills in the labour market was 22 per cent, an increase from 16 per cent in 2011. A further seven per cent of vacancies have proved difficult to fill exclusively for reasons not related to skills, similar to the proportion reported in 2011.  
Table A.2.8 in the annex provides further detail by country, size of establishment, sector and occupation on the ratio of skill-shortage vacancies compared to vacancies that employers are having difficulty filling for entirely non-skills related reasons. The very largest employers (those with 250 employees or more) and those in Manufacturing and Business Services sectors stand out as those where recruitment challenges are particularly centred on skills deficiencies. 

## 2.6 Conclusions

Indicative of a move towards economic recovery, the survey findings reveal increased employer recruitment activity in 2013 compared with 2011. More employers had vacancies at the time of the interview, and the number of vacancies (as a proportion of the workforce) had increased. While few establishments (four per cent) reported having skills-related recruitment difficulties at the time of the study, this is an increase compared with 2011. Moreover, the proportion of vacancies in the UK that employers found hard-to-fill due to skill shortages has increased markedly from 16 per cent in 2011 to 22 per cent in 2013; within England this is the first rise seen since 2005. This suggests increased employer competition and demand for skills, and highlights the potential for skill shortages in the labour market to act as a brake on economic recovery. Continuing longer term trends, skill shortages in the labour market are concentrated in particular sectors and occupations, and are particularly likely to be found in Manufacturing, and where employers are recruiting for Skilled Trades and Professional roles. There have been noticeable increases in the difficulty recruiting suitably skilled Caring, Leisure and Other Services, Professionals, Associate Professionals and Machine Operative staff compared with 2011, suggesting these are areas where the labour market is facing growing challenges in meeting employer demand. 


## 3 The Internal Skills Challenge 3.1 Summary

Most employers say they have a proficient workforce with no skills gaps: 15 per cent report that some of their staff are not fully proficient, and these skills gaps represent one in 20 employees (five per cent). This represents a slight fall in the proportion of workplaces with proficiency challenges since 2011 (when the figures stood at 17 per cent), but a broadly consistent picture in terms of the proportion of the workforce which is affected. A larger proportion of employers face skills gaps in Scotland (19 per cent) than elsewhere in the UK, although this figure has fallen 2011 (21 per cent). Proficiency problems affect a slightly larger proportion of employees in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales than in 2011; in England a smaller proportion of the workforce has skills gaps than was the case in 2011, taking skills gaps to their lowest level in a decade. In most cases (three-quarters of all skills gaps), proficiency problems are due at least in part to employees being new in their roles and/or still in training for their roles. These factors are both (predominantly) transient: that is to say one would expect skills gaps resulting from these causes to be eliminated once staff have settled into their new roles and/or existing training has been completed. Job roles where (internal) skills gaps are most prominent tend to be ones in which there are relatively few (external) skill shortages. The occupations where skills gaps are most acute are Sales and Customer Services staff and Elementary staff, which are two of the occupations with the lowest density of skill shortages (alongside Administration roles). 

Conversely, the occupations in which skill shortages were the most acute, Associate Professionals and Machine Operatives, present average levels of skills gaps, while skills gaps are relatively uncommon among Professional and Caring, Leisure and Other Services staff. In the eyes of employers, skills gaps affect Managers less than other occupations10. 

 
Employers tend to be challenged either in terms of having inadequate skills among some of their existing workforce or struggling to find new recruits with the skills that the vacant positions require. It is very rare for employers to be challenged from both directions; just one per cent of all employers experienced both skill-shortage vacancies and skills gaps. It is more commonly the case that employers are not fully utilising their workforces' skills. Half of UK employers (48 per cent) report that they have staff whose skills are not being under used and who are over-qualified for their job role; some 4.3 million workers (16 per cent of the total UK workforce) are reported as being over-skilled and having skills that are under-used. An even greater proportion of employers (71 per cent) predict that their skills requirements will change over the next 12 months. The occupational groups most likely to be affected are Professional occupations and Caring, Leisure and Other occupations; the skills of staff currently employed in these roles tend to stand up quite well against employer need, but they are both occupations in which it is relatively more difficult to find suitably skilled candidates for new positions. 

## 3.2 Introduction

In the previous chapter we looked at the extent to which employers are challenged in sourcing the skilled labour that they require, and the impact that shortages in the available labour market can have on delivery or profitability (either directly or through the knock-on impact on the existing workforce). In this chapter we look at skills challenges from an internal perspective, identifying and describing workplaces and job roles within which there is a mismatch. A 'skills mismatch' can occur as a result of either under- or over-skilling: some employees lack the skills required to be fully proficient in their job roles (a "skills gap"), whereas others do not fully utilise their existing skill set. The former may hinder establishments' ability to function efficiently, which in turn may then impact negatively on productivity; the latter suggests a 'missed opportunity' for the employer to get the most out of their staff. The chapter focuses predominantly on skills gaps, that is, where employees are regarded as lacking the requisite skills for their current job roles. It explores the prevalence, volume, profile and causes of such skills gaps, before considering the specific skills that employers report as lacking, the impact of these skills deficiencies and the actions taken in an attempt to overcome them. The chapter then turns to the prevalence of skills under-use in the workplace. 

 
Finally, the chapter explores the extent to which employers anticipate that staff will need to acquire new skills, the reasons underlying these upskilling needs, and the occupations where the need to upskill are likely to be most acutely felt. 

The main measures used in this chapter are as follows: 
Time series for skills gaps by country can be found in Annex B. 

## 3.2.1 The Prevalence Of Skills Gaps

The vast majority of establishments (85 per cent) consider their entire workforce to be fully proficient. The remaining 15 per cent of employers identify at least some skills gaps amongst their employees: a total of 1.4 million employees are deemed *not* to be fully proficient in their job roles, equating to 5.2 per cent of the total UK workforce. Since 2011, there has been a small fall in the proportion of employers reporting skills gaps across the UK (from 17 per cent to 15 per cent); the proportion of employees identified as not being fully proficient has remained broadly consistent, however in 2011, 5.5 per cent of the total UK workforce was identified as having skills gaps compared to 5.2 per cent in 2013. This consistency across the UK masks considerable variation across the countries. Employers in England buck the UK trend in that they report a lower skill gap density than in 2011, and density is now at its lowest since 2003; employers in all the other nations of the UK report a considerably higher density of skill gaps than in 2011. 


Number of staff 
 
 
Number of staff not 
% of establishments 
with a skills gap as 
fully proficient 
 
with any skills gap 
a percentage of 
(skills gaps) 
employment  
Unwtd. 
Unwtd. 
2011 
2013 
2011 
2013 
2011  
2013  
Row percentages 
base 
2011 
base 
2013 
UK 
86,522 
91,279 
17 
15 
1,485,500 
1,409,900 
5.5 
5.2 
Country 


England 
74,156 
75,255 
17 
15 
1,276,400 
1,169,700 
5.6 
5.1 
Northern Ireland 
3,921 
4,014 
13 
14 
34,100 
37,700 
4.4 
5.2 
Scotland 
2,487 
6,014 
21 
19 
121,000 
135,100 
5.2 
5.9 
Wales 
5,958 
5,996 
16 
16 
53,900 
67,400 
4.6 
5.8 

Base: All establishments Percentages results are based on all employment, rather than all establishments; figures therefore show the number of skills gaps as a proportion of all employment in each country. Note: The number of employees not fully proficient has been rounded to the nearest 100. 

Larger employers are far more likely to experience skills gaps than smaller ones (from seven per cent of those with 2-4 employees to 48 per cent of those with 250 or more employees). This is more a reflection of the size of their workforce than of the quality / capability of their workforces per se; indeed, the proportion of staff described as having a skills gap is broadly consistent across sizebands, with the very smallest establishments being the only exception: just three per cent of the workforce employed by establishments with fewer than five staff were described as not being fully proficient (compared with five to six per cent for all other sizebands). Sectoral patterns are largely similar to 2011. As previously, skills gaps are particularly prevalent in the Hotels and Restaurants industry (21 per cent of employers in this sector report skills gaps and nine per cent of staff are deemed not fully proficient), whilst those operating in the Agriculture sector are the least likely to face internal skills deficiencies (nine per cent of employers). The sector where there has been the most notable change is the Financial Services sector, where the proportion of staff described as lacking proficiency has doubled from four per cent to eight per cent. At the same time, there has been a slight fall in the proportion of employers in this sector reporting skills gaps, from 21 per cent in 2011 to 19 per cent in 2013. As such, where Financial Services employers do now experience skills gaps, they are considerably more concentrated than previously. Table A.3.1 in Annex A provides a detailed breakdown of the incidence, number and density of skills gaps by size of establishment and sector. 

## 3.2.2 The Occupational Distribution Of Skills Gaps

At an overall level, trends by occupation are very similar to in 2011, with skills gaps continuing to be concentrated in specific pockets. People employed in what are traditionally described as unskilled or semi-skilled occupations, namely those in Elementary and Sales and Customer Service positions, remain the most likely to have skills gaps. As shown in Table 3.2, eight per cent of staff in Sales and Customer Services occupations and seven per cent of those in Elementary positions are reported as lacking full proficiency (these patterns are in line with the findings in 2011) Conversely, those in the most highly skilled occupations, namely Managers and Professionals, are the least likely to be described as having skills gaps (three per cent and almost four per cent respectively), again closely mirroring the occupational picture in 2011. 

| % of staff reported       |                  |        |
|---------------------------|------------------|--------|
| Number of staff not fully |                  |        |
|                           | as having skills |        |
| proficient (skills gaps)  |                  |        |
| gaps                      |                  |        |
|                           |                  |        |
|                           |                  |        |
| 2011                      | 2013             | 2011   |
| Unwtd                     | Unwtd            |        |
| Row percentages           |                  |        |
|                           |                  |        |
| %                         | %                |        |
| base                      |                  |        |
| 2013                      |                  |        |
| base                      |                  |        |
| 2011                      |                  |        |
| UK                        |                  |        |
| 86,522                    | 91,279           |        |
| 1,485,500                 | 1,409,900        |    5.5 |
| Occupation                |                  |        |
|                           |                  |        |
|                           |                  |        |
|                           |                  |        |
|                           |                  |        |
|                           |                  |        |
| Managers                  |                  |        |
| 82,426                    | 87,946           |        |
| 161,300                   | 146,200          |    3.2 |
| Professionals             |                  |        |
| 16,337                    | 17,407           |        |
| 129,800                   | 120,700          |    4.2 |
| Associate Professionals   |                  |        |
| 13,731                    | 12,577           |        |
| 89,900                    | 83,400           |    4.9 |
| Administrative and        |                  |        |
| Clerical                  |                  |        |
| 50,656                    | 53,759           |        |
| 169,100                   | 165,500          |    4.9 |
| Skilled Trades            |                  |        |
| 20,507                    | 23,644           |        |
| 101,300                   | 105,600          |    5.4 |
| Caring, Leisure and       |                  |        |
| Other services            |                  |        |
| 12,712                    | 14,017           |        |
| 124,500                   | 133,300          |    5.4 |
| Sales and Customer        |                  |        |
| Service                   |                  |        |
| 26,739                    | 27,417           |        |
| 289,500                   | 283,000          |    8.3 |
| Machine Operatives        |                  |        |
| 13,369                    | 14,059           |        |
| 115,500                   | 99,600           |    6   |
| Elementary occupations    |                  |        |
| 30,609                    | 32,192           |        |
| 304,500                   | 272,600          |    7.6 |

Base: All establishments with staff in each occupation. Percentages are based on all employment, rather than all establishments; figures therefore show the number of skills gaps as a proportion of all employment in each occupation. Note: The number of employees not fully proficient has been rounded to the nearest 100. 

 
Drilling down to occupations *within* specific sectors where a large proportion of skills gaps exist yields a more detailed picture of employers' experience of skills lacking. Figure 3.1 shows skills gap density by sector, occupation, and occupations *within* sectors. 

Highlighted in blue are occupations within a sector where skills gaps density is at least 10 per cent. As witnessed previously, pockets of deficiency are most acute in "lower level" occupations. Two sectors also stand out as experiencing high skills gap densities across multiple occupations, namely: 

 
Hotels and Restaurants: Sales and Customer Services, Machine Operatives and Elementary occupations; and 
 
Financial Services - Sales and Customer Services and Elementary occupations. 

## 3.3 The Causes Of Skills Gaps

Skills gaps most commonly result from staff being new to the role (either because they have recently started the job or have been promoted to a higher level role) and, related to this, training only being partially completed. Respectively, 62 per cent and 57 per cent of all skills gaps are attributed, at least in part, to these reasons. These factors are both (predominantly) transient, that is to say you would expect skills gaps resulting from these causes to be eliminated once staff have settled into their new roles and/or existing training has been completed. Three-quarters (75 per cent) of all skills gaps are attributed, at least partially11, to one of these causes; but only four per cent of employers with skill gaps report that all of these gaps are transient gaps, wholly and solely attributable to one of these factors. 

Two other factors relating to training, namely training proving ineffective and staff not receiving the appropriate training, are also relatively common causes, attributed to 39 per cent and 29 per cent of skills gaps respectively. A perceived lack of staff motivation is reported by employers to be an underlying factor for around two in five skills gaps (42 per cent), rising to 61 per cent in Northern Ireland and 52 per cent in Wales. Around a quarter of skills gaps (26 per cent) result from an inability to recruit appropriately skilled individuals (rising to 31 per cent in Northern Ireland and 35 per cent in Wales), and approaching one in five (18 per cent) arise from retention difficulties (rising to 24 per cent in Wales). Table A.3.9 in Annex A details the proportion of employers who reported having either a skill-shortage vacancy or skills gaps amongst their present workforce. 

The main causes of staff not being fully proficient by nation are presented in Table 3.3. The figures show what proportions of skills gaps are caused by the various factors reported by employers. Respondents could give more than one cause for skills gaps within each occupation. 


 
UK 
England 
Northern 
Ireland 
Scotland 
Wales 
Unweighted base 
20,228 
16,563 
733 
1,713 
1,219 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Staff are new to the role 
62 
62 
64 
60 
63 
Their training is currently only partially completed 
57 
58 
49 
56 
47 
Staff lack motivation 
42 
41 
61 
39 
52 
39 
38 
54 
39 
47 
They have been on training but their performance has not improved sufficiently The introduction of new 
working practices 
32 
31 
48 
34 
29 
Staff have not received the appropriate training 
29 
29 
29 
27 
27 
Unable to recruit staff with the required skills 
26 
25 
31 
27 
35 
The development of new products and services 
21 
20 
30 
22 
21 
The introduction of new technology 
20 
20 
27 
24 
20 
Problems retaining staff 
18 
17 
17 
17 
24 
Summary: New to role and/or training incomplete 
75 
75 
78 
76 
74 

Base: All establishments with skills gaps; up to two skills gaps followed up. Percentages shown as a proportion of all skills gaps followed up rather than all establishments with skills gaps. Figures therefore show the proportion of skills gaps in each nation caused by each stated reason.  
Table A.3.4 in Annex A provides a breakdown of skills gaps causes by occupation. Of particular note, skills gaps are most likely to be attributed to staff not receiving the appropriate training among Managers (34 per cent, compared with 22 to 27 per cent in all other occupations). 

## 3.4 Skills Lacking Internally

Employers reporting skills gaps were read a list of types of skills and asked, for each occupation where they reported that some staff lacked full proficiency, which skills were lacking. Table 3.4 again shows results based on the total number of skills gaps (as opposed to establishments). Close to three in five employees (58 per cent) described by their employers as not fully proficient were reported to be lacking the requisite technical, practical or job-specific skills. These were also the most commonly cited skills lacking in 2011. 

Although the hierarchy of skills lacking is broadly similar to in 2011, it should be noted that the distance has narrowed between technical/practical/job-specific skills and a number of other key skills such as planning and organisation, team working and customer handling. Indeed, in Wales, for example, planning/organisation and team working skills are more likely to be reported as lacking (57 and 56 per cent respectively) than technical/practical/job-specific skills (48 per cent)12.  

|                           | UK     | England    |
|---------------------------|--------|------------|
| Northern                  |        |            |
| Ireland                   |        |            |
| Scotland                  | Wales  |            |
| Unweighted base           | 20,228 | 16,563     |
|                           |        |            |
| %                         | %      | %          |
| Technical, practical or   |        |            |
| job-specific              |        |            |
| 58                        | 57     | 64         |
| Planning and organisation | 57     | 57         |
| Team working              | 54     | 53         |
| Customer handling         | 50     | 52         |
| Problem solving           | 49     | 49         |
| Oral communication        | 47     | 48         |
| Written communication     | 36     | 36         |
| Basic computer literacy / |        |            |
| using IT                  |        |            |
| 26                        | 25     | 30         |
| Strategic Management      | 25     | 25         |
| Literacy                  | 25     | 24         |
| Advanced IT or software   | 23     | 22         |
| Numeracy                  | 23     | 23         |
| Foreign language          | 12     | 12         |
| Oral Welsh language       |        |            |
| skills                    |        |            |
| n/a                       | n/a    | n/a        |
|                           |        |            |
| n/a                       |        |            |
|                           |        |            |
| 28                        |        |            |
| Written Welsh Language    |        |            |
| Skills                    |        |            |
| n/a                       | n/a    | n/a        |
|                           |        |            |
| n/a                       |        |            |
|                           |        |            |
| 27                        |        |            |

Base: All establishments with skills gaps; up to two skills gaps followed up Percentages shown as a proportion of all skills gaps followed up rather than all establishments with skills gaps. Figures therefore show the proportion of skills gaps in each nation caused by each stated reason. Questions about Welsh Language skills were not asked in England, Northern Ireland or Scotland. 

                                                 
Table A.3.5 in Annex A provides an occupational breakdown of skills lacking among staff with skills gaps. The two skills most frequently cited as lacking are common across most occupational groups (technical/practical/job-specific and planning/organisation skills respectively affect 42 to 69 per cent and 44 to 63 per cent of non-proficient staff in each occupation). As would be expected though, certain other skills are more acutely associated with a single occupational group. One example is strategic management skills being a particular issue for Managers, lacking in 54 per cent of Managers that have skills gaps in contrast to between 15 and 29 per cent for other occupations. Another is, a lack of team working skills, which is most commonly attributed to Caring, Leisure and Other services staff and Elementary occupations (64 per cent and 60 per cent respectively, compared with 40 to 56 per cent across all other occupations). 

## 3.5 The Impact Of Skills Gaps

Around two in five employers with skills gaps (37 per cent) report these having no tangible impact on the establishment's performance; a slightly lower proportion reported this being the case than in 2011 (39 per cent). However, 16 per cent of employers with skills gaps said these have a *major* impact on performance, with approximately half (48 per cent) feeling it has a *minor* impact. These figures are also in line with 2011, when 15 per cent of employers with skills gaps reported that these had a *major* impact and 46 per cent a *minor* impact. Overall, 63 per cent of employers with skills gaps report these impacting upon performance (rising to 69 per cent in Northern Ireland). This equates to 10 per cent of all employers having skills gaps at the time of the interview which were negatively affecting their business performance. 

The four per cent of employers with skill gaps who report having *solely* 'transient' skills gaps (i.e. skills gaps resulting from staff being new to the role and/or training only being partially completed) are significantly less likely to report that skills gaps have an impact on performance: two in five of them (41 per cent) state that these have an effect on how the establishment performs. In contrast, seven in ten employers (69 per cent) citing other reasons for skills gaps13 report that these impact on business performance. 

Just as skill-shortage vacancies most commonly impact on other, existing staff, so do skills gaps. Approximately half of employers with skills gaps (53 per cent) report that these result in an increased workload for others in the workforce; this is a higher proportion than in 2011 (49 per cent). There is relatively little variation by nation (ranging from 52 to 56 per cent).  This proportion falls to 30 per cent among those solely reporting transient skills gaps.  
 
While it is sometimes possible for an increased workload to be absorbed by other staff, some employers will need to pay for overtime or bring in temporary staff to cover the work. Overall 26 per cent of employers with skills gaps reported that these had resulted in increased operating costs (broadly in line with the 28 per cent of employers reporting this in 2011). Difficulties in meeting quality standards or introducing new working practices were each adverse consequences for around a quarter of employers reporting internal skills deficiencies (26 per cent and 25 per cent respectively). Around a fifth of those with skills gaps (21 per cent) reported that they had lost business or orders to competitors as a consequence of experiencing these skills gaps. 

|                                   | UK     | England    |
|-----------------------------------|--------|------------|
| Northern                          |        |            |
| Ireland                           |        |            |
| Scotland                          | Wales  |            |
| Unweighted base                   | 20,228 | 16,563     |
|                                   |        |            |
| %                                 | %      | %          |
| Increased workload for other      |        |            |
| staff                             |        |            |
| 53                                | 52     | 56         |
| Have higher operating costs       | 26     | 26         |
| Have difficulties meeting quality |        |            |
| standards                         |        |            |
| 26                                | 26     | 29         |
| Have difficulties introducing new |        |            |
| working practices                 |        |            |
| 25                                | 24     | 30         |
| Lose business or order to         |        |            |
| competitors                       |        |            |
| 21                                | 21     | 19         |
| Delay developing new products     |        |            |
| or services                       |        |            |
| 17                                | 16     | 20         |
| Outsource work                    | 10     | 10         |
| No impact                         | 37     | 37         |
| Any impact                        | 63     | 63         |

Base: All establishments with skills gaps 

## 3.6 Employer Response To Skills Gaps

The majority of employers (86 per cent) identifying skills gaps among their workforce have taken measures to improve the proficiency of these employees, with a further six per cent planning to do so in the future. For around one in twelve (eight per cent), however, no action has been taken and no plans are in place to tackle these issues. Encouragingly, since 2011, there has been a marked rise in the proportion of employers with skills gaps that have taken action to tackle the issue (86 per cent in 2013 in contrast to 76 per cent in 2011). 

 
Approximately two-thirds of employers with skills gaps among their workforce have either increased the amount of training they provide or increased the amount they spend on training (68 per cent). 

The next most common responses to skills gaps involve increasing supervision (60 per cent), reviews and/or mentoring (51 per cent), thereby broadly using the experience of existing staff to oversee and assist those lacking skills. The hierarchy of actions taken remains the same as in 2011, though the proportion of employers undertaking each has increased and there is a suggestion that employers are looking to other responses than training to resolve skill gaps, perhaps reflecting pressures to constrain spending.  
 
 
Table A.3.6 in Annex A provides a breakdown of actions taken to tackle skills gaps by country. Of particular note here is that employers in Northern Ireland with skills gaps are less likely to have taken any action, 77 per cent have done so in comparison with the UK average of 86 per cent. Employers in Northern Ireland are also considerably less likely to have increased training-related activities more specifically (58 per cent in contrast with the UK average of 68 per cent). 


## 3.7 Skills Deficiencies Among Existing Staff And When Recruiting

The previous chapter examined skill shortages encountered when recruiting and this one has explored skills gaps among the existing workforce.  
The reality of the labour market is that there may be a good deal of substitution between these two measures of labour market deficiency. Some employers when faced with inadequate applicants will leave the vacancy unfilled, in which case the issue reveals itself as a skill-shortage vacancy, other employers may feel it is better to recruit someone who is not appropriately skilled; in which case the deficiency will reveal itself as a skills gap. Overall, 18 per cent of establishments were suffering from *either* form of skills deficiency 
(compared with 19 per cent in 2011), including one per cent suffering from *both* (the same proportion as in 2011). As previously, establishments that experience both are more likely to be larger and reporting a larger number of vacancies. 

## 3.8 Under-Use Of Skills

As well as shortages of skills in the available labour market and/or among the existing workforce, employers can experience a skills imbalance when the skills held by individuals are not fully deployed in the workplace. We refer to this in this report as 'under-use of skills' (though the phenomenon is sometimes referred to elsewhere as 'over-skilling', 'over-qualification' and/or 'under-employment').  In UKCESS 2013, 'underuse of skills' was measured by asking employers how many staff, if any, had *both* qualifications and skills that are more advanced than required for their current job role. 

## 3.8.1 The Prevalence Of Under-Use Of Skills

Across the UK, approaching half of all establishments (48 per cent) report having some employees with *both* qualifications *and* skills that are more advanced than required for their current job role. In volume terms, 4.3 million workers or 16 per cent of the workforce have under-utilised skills. That is to say, the under-use of skills affects a considerably larger proportion of employers and of the workforce than skills deficiencies do. As Table 3.6 illustrates, these figures are virtually unchanged at the UK level since 2011 when 48 per cent of establishments reported skills under-use and there were 4.2 million workers with *both* qualifications *and* skills at a more advanced level than demanded by their job role (15 per cent of the workforce). Employers in England are less likely to report that their employees skills are under-used than employers in the rest of the UK, and there was no change in the figures between 2011 and 2013.  
 
Outside of England, among employers based in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland there has been considerable movement. In the former two nations, there has been a marked increase in both the proportion of employers reporting under-use of skills and in the proportion of the workforce which is underused. In Scotland, there has been a marked decrease in the proportion of employers reporting that some staff are under-used, although the proportion of the workforce affected has remained the same.  

% of staff reported as 
 
 
% of establishments 
being over-qualified and 
 
reporting skills under-use 
over-skilled 
Unwtd 
Unwtd 
Row percentages 
2011 
2013 
2011 
2013 
base 
2011 
base 
2013 
UK 
86,522 
45,644 
48 
48 
15 
16 
Country 


England 
74,156 
37,559 
47 
47 
15 
15 
Northern Ireland 
3,921 
2,015 
44 
49 
15 
18 
Scotland 
2,487 
3,044 
57 
51 
17 
17 
Wales 
5,958 
3,026 
45 
50 
13 
21 

Base: Columns one and two all establishments; columns three and four all employment. 

Reflecting patterns witnessed in 2011, the incidence of skills under-use is broadly consistent by establishment size. However, the proportion of staff described as being over-qualified and over-skilled is considerably higher amongst smaller establishments, notably those with 2-4 employees, where 30 per cent of staff are considered over-skilled and over-qualified. This is likely to reflect the more 'hands-on' roles that many senior staff take on in smaller establishments and fewer formal opportunities for progression and promotion, as well as a greater awareness of qualifications and skills levels in establishments with fewer staff. On a sectoral basis, as in 2011, incidence and density of skills under-use are greatest in the Hotels and Restaurants sector (60 per cent and 24 per cent respectively), a sector typically characterised by lower skills requirements though employing relatively large numbers of people with higher-level qualifications. Conversely, in the Public Administration and Manufacturing sectors, staff are considerably less likely to be considered over-skilled and over-qualified (nine per cent and 10 per cent respectively). 

 
Table A.3.7 in Annex A provides a detailed breakdown of the incidence, number and density of staff who are both over-qualified and over-skilled by size of establishment and by sector. 

## 3.9 Upskilling

Having considered the under-use of skills, this chapter now turns to the notion of 
'upskilling', that is to say where employers anticipate that staff will need to acquire new skills over the coming year, as a result of a variety of internal and external factors14.  

## 3.9.1 The Prevalence Of Upskilling Needs

Seven in ten employers (71 per cent) expect that at least some of their staff will need to acquire new skills or knowledge over the next twelve months. Although in some cases this is likely to reflect a dynamic environment of fast-changing skills needs (i.e. while current skill levels may be sufficient, over the next 12 months these skills will become outdated), it is often likely to reflect that, for many employers, staff that they classify as proficient still have plenty of scope to add to their skill set. The larger the establishment the more likely they are to anticipate an upskilling need over the next 12 months, rising from two-thirds (65 per cent) of those with fewer than five staff to nine in ten employers (90 per cent) of those with at least 250 employees. Employers reporting current skills gaps are more likely than average to expect that some of their staff will need to acquire new skills or knowledge over the coming year (83 per cent), though still 69 per cent of those who report that all their staff are fully proficient anticipate an upskilling need. Between two in five and half of all employers reported a need to upskill because of new legislative or regulatory requirements (46 per cent), the introduction of new technologies/equipment (44 per cent), the development of new products and services (43 per cent), and/or the introduction of new working practices (42 per cent). Approaching a third also felt that the need to upskill would arise as a result of competitive pressure (31 per cent). As illustrated in Table 3.7, there are relatively few differences by country, though employers in Scotland and Wales are slightly more likely to attribute upskilling needs to new legislative or regulatory requirements (51 per cent in each case) than those in England and Northern Ireland (45 per cent and 47 per cent respectively). 

|                           | UK     | England    |
|---------------------------|--------|------------|
| Northern                  |        |            |
| Ireland                   |        |            |
| Scotland                  | Wales  |            |
| Unweighted base:          | 45,644 | 37,559     |
|                           | %      | %          |
| 71                        | 70     | 72         |
| Expect employees to       |        |            |
| need to acquire new       |        |            |
| skills / knowledge        |        |            |
| New legislative or        |        |            |
| regulatory requirements   |        |            |
| 46                        | 45     | 47         |
| The introduction of new   |        |            |
| technologies or equipment |        |            |
| 44                        | 44     | 47         |
| The development of new    |        |            |
| products and services     |        |            |
| 43                        | 43     | 40         |
| The introduction of new   |        |            |
| working practices         |        |            |
| 42                        | 42     | 43         |
| Increased competitive     |        |            |
| pressure                  |        |            |
| 31                        | 31     | 32         |

Base: All establishments in Module 2  

## 3.9.2 Occupations Most Affected By The Need For Upskilling

Employers anticipating the need for staff to acquire new skills or knowledge were asked which single occupation would be most affected. Four in ten establishments that employ staff in Professional occupations (40 per cent) anticipate these staff being their priority in terms of the need to acquire new skills in the next 12 months, and a similar proportion (37 per cent) anticipate the need for their Caring, Leisure and Other services staff to acquire new skills. In contrast, just 12 per cent of establishments employing Administrative and Clerical staff and 14 per cent employing Elementary staff foresee a priority need for these staff to acquire new skills or knowledge in the coming year. Tables A.3.10 and A.3.10a in Annex A provide a comparison of this measure by country.  

## 3.9.3 Upskilling: Skills That Need Improving Or Updating

Across all occupational groups, the skills that are most likely to need improving or updating are technical, practical and job-specific skills: this was identified by 57 per cent of employers who said that they needed to upskill over the next 12 months. 

Following technical, practical and job-specific skills, planning and organisation skills were reported by 44 per cent of employers needing to upskill staff over the coming year. A number of other skill areas were then mentioned by around a third: problem solving skills (35 per cent), advanced IT skills (34 per cent), team working skills (32 per cent) customer handling skills (31 per cent), and strategic management skills (31 per cent). Broadly speaking the order of the skills needing improving over the coming 12 months is similar to that for where employers report existing skill gaps (see Table 3.4). It is notably however that improving advanced IT skills appears a particular priority for the coming 12 months in the sense of it being one of the most commonly mentioned priorities for the coming year, but a relatively infrequently mentioned existing skills gap.  
Base: All establishments who anticipate a need to upskill staff in next 12 months excluding those where main occupation is not known (32,630)
 
Table A.3.8 in Annex A provides an occupational breakdown of the skills cited in connection with upskilling needs. 


## 3.10 Conclusions

Although the vast majority of establishments consider their entire workforce to be proficient, 1.4 million employees are nonetheless regarded as not being fully proficient in their job roles, equating to 5.2 per cent of the total UK workforce. 

As with skill-shortage vacancies, skills gaps continue to be concentrated in certain pockets of the economy. People employed in what are traditionally described as unskilled or semi-skilled occupations - namely those in Elementary and Sales and Customer Service positions - remain the most likely to have skills gaps. Sectorally, skills gaps are particularly prevalent in the Hotels and Restaurants industry. Encouragingly, since 2011, there has been a marked rise in the proportion of employers with skills gaps that have taken action to tackle them, though there is still scope for more widespread, targeted responses to address these issues. At the same time, 4.3 million workers (16 per cent of the workforce) are reported as having *under-used* skills; harnessing these latent capabilities could clearly yield wideranging benefits for some employers. Looking to future skills needs, establishments that employ staff in Professional and Caring and Leisure occupations anticipate these staff being their priority in terms of the need to acquire new skills. This presents a particular challenge, however, insofar as these are both occupations in which it is relatively more difficult for employers to find suitably skilled candidates for new positions. As such, this puts an onus on training to develop the skills of existing staff (rather than recruitment of new employees) as the most appropriate and effective solution. 


## 4 Training And Workforce Development 4.1 Summary

Most employers fund or arrange training for their staff: two-thirds had done so over the previous 12 months (66 per cent), a figure in line with 2011 (65 per cent). While most employers could be described as being in 'training equilibrium' having been able to provide all the training that they wanted over the previous 12 months, over two-fifths of all employers (42 per cent, including non-trainers that had not delivered any) wanted to provide more training than they had been able to do. By far the most common reason that some employers do not provide training is that they believe all their staff to be fully proficient in their roles.  
There have been some notable changes since 2011 in the nature of training activity conducted. There is evidence of more employers providing off-the-job training, and training being more widely offered across the workforce. More employers have arranged any off-the-job training (49 per cent compared to 47 per cent in 2011) and fewer have only offered on-job training (17 per cent compared to 19 per cent in 2011); and the proportion of staff trained over the previous 12 months has risen substantially from 55 per cent to 62 per cent. On the other hand, each person trained received fewer days training over the last 12 months in 2013 than in 2011 (an average of 6.7 days compared with 7.8 days in 2011), meaning that the total number of training days employers had provided over the previous 12 months has decreased slightly since 2011 (from 115 million to 113 million days). Moreover, total employer investment in training decreased by around five per cent or just short of £2½ billion in the period 2011 to 2013 (from £45.3bn to £42.9bn). Training investment per person trained fell by 17 per cent from around £3,075 in 2011 to £2,550 in 2013, although this was in the context of a significant increase in the number of employees receiving training. In the context of tightened economic circumstances, it is not unreasonable for employers to seek to invest more widely in training. Although training spend and the numbers of days spent training are slightly down across the UK as a whole, this has been achieved in combination with an increase in the number of staff trained, an increase in the ratio of offthe-job to on-the-job training (a crude measure of the quality of training) and an increase in the proportion of training that leads to a recognised qualification. This could suggest a more efficient allocation of resource to partially offset a relatively modest cut in the level of overall spend. 

 
There is some variation in training activity by country: Employers in Scotland were the most likely to have funded or arranged any training in the previous 12 months (70 per cent) and those in Wales the least likely (62 per cent). Employers in Scotland also trained a greater proportion of their workforce (65 per cent) than employers elsewhere in the UK 
(this was the case in 2011 also); employers in Northern Ireland trained the lowest proportion of their workforce (59 per cent).  

## 4.2 Introduction

Training is widely recognised as a key means to improving skills and thereby to maintaining and improving competitiveness and stimulating economic growth. Indeed in the previous chapter, we saw that increasing training activity was the most common employer response to attempt to tackle skill gaps among their workforce. This chapter examines trends in employer training activity since 2011. It examines which employers fund or arrange training and development for their employees, the types of training provided and which employees they provide it for. It also explores the reasons employers give for not providing training and development for their staff, and the barriers to employers providing more training than they currently do. The final section of the chapter looks at employer expenditure on training: results for this aspect of the research are derived from the Investment in Training follow-up study with a proportion of the UKCESS 2013 sample (see the accompanying Technical Report for details of the methodology). Throughout the chapter we discuss the training or development provided by employers in terms of: 

 
Off-the-job training or development: training undertaken away from the individual's 
immediate work position, whether on the employer's premises or elsewhere; 
 
On-the-job or informal training and development: activities that would be 
recognised as training by staff, and not the sort of learning by experience which could take place all the time. 
Time series for the headline training measures by country can be found in Annex B. 

## 4.3 Incidence Of Training And Workforce Development

Two-thirds of employers (66 per cent) had arranged or funded off- or on-the-job training or development for any of their staff in the previous 12 months. Similar proportions had provided off-the-job as on-the-job training (49 per cent and 52 per cent respectively), with just over a third providing both (35 per cent of all employers).  
 
While the proportion providing any training or development is in line with results in 2011 
(65 per cent), there has been an increase in the proportion providing any off-the-job training over the previous 12 months (49 per cent from 47 per cent in 2011) and a fall in the proportion providing any on-the-job (52 per cent in 2013 compared with 53 per cent in 
2011) and *only* providing on-the-job training (17 per cent from 19 per cent in 2011). 

 
Employers in Scotland were the most likely to report having funded or arranged any training in the previous 12 months (70 per cent) and those in Wales and Northern Ireland the least likely (62 per cent and 63 per cent respectively). Despite employers in Scotland being the most likely to have provided training in the 2013 survey (as they were in 2011), the proportion providing training over the last 12 months was lower than in 2011 (73 per cent). The likelihood of providing training increases with employer size, and is almost universal in establishments with 25 or more staff (93 per cent among those with 25-99 staff and 97 per cent among those with 100 or more employees). Among the very smallest sites employing 2-4 staff just over half had provided any training (52 per cent), rising to threequarters (77 per cent) among those with 5 to 24 staff. 

 
As in 2011, employers in Education, Public Administration, and Health and Social Work were the most likely to provide any training (92, 90 and 89 per cent respectively), and those in Agriculture the least likely (50 per cent). 

More data on the incidence of training, and how this varies by country, size and sector, and between 2011 and 2013, can be found in Table A.4.1 in Annex A. Among employers that funded or arranged any training over the last 12 months threequarters (74 per cent) provided off-the-job training. While overall a quarter of employers that train provided only on-the-job training (26 per cent), this was much higher among the smallest employers (31 per cent of trainers with 2-4 staff), and those operating in Wholesale and Retail (34 per cent) and Hotels and Restaurants (37 per cent). 

## 4.4 Other Wider Activity To Aid The Development Of Staff

In addition to 'formal' on- or off-the-job training, employers can develop their staff in more informal ways. Employers were asked whether they had undertaken three specific activities in the last 12 months to aid the development of employees: supervision to guide employees through their job role; providing staff with opportunities to spend time learning through watching others perform their role; and allowing staff to perform tasks that go beyond their strict job role and providing feedback on how well they have done. The vast majority of employers (85 per cent) had provided at least one of these wider development opportunities for their staff in the last 12 months (markedly lower at 76 per cent among the smallest sites with fewer than five staff, but above nine in ten for all other size of employer). A majority of employers had undertaken each of the three development activities, indicating that employers generally use a suite of activities to meet their development needs. The likelihood of providing wider development activities closely matches the pattern for providing training and development, and is higher than average among employers in Scotland, larger employers, and those in Education, Public Administration and Health and Social Work. Data on how provision of wider development activities differs by country, sector and size of employer both in 2013 and 2011, and the nature of the development activity, is provided in Table A.4.2 in Annex A. While most of the employers providing any of these wider development opportunities also deliver more formal training, almost a quarter of all employers (23 per cent) did not provide formal training but did provide some of these wider development opportunities. Overall almost nine in ten employers (89 per cent) either funded or arranged on- or offthe-job training or provided wider development opportunities. 

 
One in nine employers (11 per cent) neither train nor offer any of the wider development opportunities discussed in the survey. The vast majority of these are small employers with fewer than five staff: among employers of this size 18 per cent neither train nor offer these development opportunities. Employers in Agriculture and Construction were also more likely than average to neither train nor offer these wider development opportunities (24 per cent and 18 per cent respectively). Although there has been no change in the incidence of training in 2013 compared to 2011, the proportion offering any of the three wider development activities in 2013 (85 per cent) has increased compared to 2011 (82 per cent), particularly for supervision guiding employees through their job role over time (up five percentage points from 2011 to 2013). 

## 4.5 Barriers And Limits On Training

Some employers choose not to provide any workforce development for their staff. This section explores the extent to which such decisions relate to demand (such as there being no perceived need) and the extent to which they reflect issues of supply (pricing, availability, accessibility etc.). From this perspective, employers who had not funded or arranged any training were asked why they had not done so. By far the main reason for employers not providing any training over the previous 12 months is low perceived demand, particularly the view that all their staff are fully proficient (69 per cent). Low demand is also reflected in non-trainers saying training is not or has not been a priority for the organisation (seven per cent). Managers being too busy to organise training (three per cent), and employees being too busy to attend training (two per cent) or to deliver training (two per cent) were also responses indicative of low demand to the extent that training is clearly treated as a lower priority than more pressing day-to-day issues. One in ten non-trainers said the reason for not training was their having no money available for training (10 per cent, rising to 17 per cent among non-trainers in the charity / voluntary sector). Perceived poor supply of training was infrequently given as the reason for not training: 

 
Five per cent of non-trainers said training was not available in the subject area they wanted; 
 
Two per cent described training as too expensive; 
 
One per cent of non-trainers said the courses they were interested in were not available locally. 
 
More data on the reasons for not providing training can be found in Table A.4.3 in Annex A. Approaching half of employers (47 per cent) that train would have liked to provide more training over the last 12 months than they were able to fund or arrange. The larger the size of the training employer, the more likely they were to have been limited in the amount of training that they were able to provide (57 per cent of trainers with 100 or more staff, compared with 44 per cent of those with fewer than five staff). Employers in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales that trained were more likely than average to have felt limited in the training they could provide (53, 52 and 50 per cent, respectively). The reasons these employers give for being unable to deliver the amount of training they would have liked generally relate to internal issues, in particular not having the funds to provide more training (mentioned by 60 per cent of these employers) or not being able to spare the time for staff to have more time training (48 per cent, rising to 56 per cent among those in Scotland). Of course, both statements *could* be read as relating to the supply of training in the sense that less expensive, better value training or training requiring less time away from the workplace would lead to more training being undertaken. Issues explicitly relating to the supply of training were infrequently mentioned as barriers to further training. The most commonly mentioned were a difficulty finding training providers that can deliver training where or when they want it, and a lack of appropriate training / qualifications in the subject areas needed (each mentioned by four per cent of trainers that would have liked to deliver more training over the previous 12 months). More data on the proportion of training employers that would have liked to provide more training over the previous 12 months, and the main barriers preventing them doing so, can be found in Table A.4.4 in Annex A. 

 
Figure 4.2 summarises results on the proportion of all employers that would have liked to have undertaken more or, in the case of non-trainers any training, over the previous 12 
months15 compared with the proportion that are in 'training equilibrium' (having no wish to have undertaken more training). Overall just over two-fifths of all employers (42 per cent) 
would have liked to have undertaken more training over the previous 12 months than they were able to provide. The likelihood of not being in 'training equilibrium' (i.e. wanting to have undertaken more training over the previous 12 months) increases with establishment size (from 36 per cent among those with 2-4 staff, to around half for those with 5 to 99 staff, to 60 per cent among those with 100 or more staff). It was also higher among employers in Scotland (47 per cent, compared with 42 per cent among employers in England, 43 per cent among those in Wales and 45 per cent among those in Northern Ireland). 

 

Base: all establishments 91,279; establishments that train 69,842; establishments not providing training over 
the last 12 months 21,437. 
 

                                                 

## 4.6 Types Of Training Provided

Job-specific training aimed at developing the skills of a particular occupation or job role was the most common type of training provided by employers (arranged by 85 per cent of those that train). A majority of trainers had also funded or arranged health and safety training including first aid (74 per cent) and / or induction training (58 per cent). The types of training provided by employers for the 2013 survey were very similar to 2011 (all within one percentage point). 

There was quite wide variation by sector in the types of training provided over the last 12 months. Among employers that provided training: 

 
Those in Education and Public Administration were more likely than average to have provided each type of training. In both these sectors the majority had provided each type of training other than supervisory training. 
 
There was particularly wide variation in the proportion providing management training.  
o It was higher in: Education (60 per cent), Public Administration (54 per 
cent), Health and Social Work (45 per cent), Mining and Quarrying (44 per cent), Financial Services (44 per cent), Wholesale and Retail (42 per cent), and Hotels and Restaurants (42 per cent).  
o Provision of any management training in the last 12 months was far lower 
than average in Agriculture (14 per cent), Construction (22 per cent), Transport and Communications (26 per cent) and Manufacturing (26 per cent)..  
More details of results by sector, as well as country and establishment size, are provided in Table A.4.5 in Annex A. 

## 4.7 Numbers Trained

Although the proportion of employers providing training was largely unchanged from 2011 to 2013, the number of staff receiving training has increased significantly. Around 16.8m staff were trained over the last 12 months, equivalent to 62 per cent of the workforce,16 up from 55 per cent in the 2011 survey. Most of the increase in 2013 has come about through larger employers training more of their staff than they did in 2011. The change is particularly marked among employers with 250 or more employees: in 2011 the number of staff trained over the previous 12 months in these large establishments was equivalent to 54 per cent of the total workforce employed in this size of site. In 2013 this had increased to 71 per cent. The increase across the UK from 2011 to 2013 in the proportion of staff trained over the previous 12 months has occurred across each country, though to a much lesser extent in Northern Ireland, as shown in Table 4.1. Staff in Scotland were more likely than elsewhere in the UK to have received any training in the previous 12 months (65 per cent). Looking further back over time in England, the share of the workforce trained (62%) is now higher than the pre-recession level seen in 2009 (56%), and back to similar levels seen in 2005 and 2007 (Annex B). 


 
2011 
 
2013 
Unwtd 
Number 
% of staff 
Number 
% of staff 
 
Unwtd 
Base 
Base 
trained 
trained 
trained 
trained 
UK 
86,522 
14.7m 
55 
91,279 
16.8m 
62 
Country 


England 
74,156 
12.3m 
54 
75,255 
14.1m 
62 
Northern Ireland 
3,921 
0.4m 
56 
4,014 
0.4m 
59 
Scotland 
2,487 
1.4m 
58 
6,014 
1.5m 
65 
Wales 
5,958 
0.7m 
56 
5,996 
0.7m 
62 
Size 


2-4 
17,905 
1.0m 
40 
19,058 
1.0m 
41 
5 to 24 
47,770 
3.4m 
53 
51,565 
3.5m 
54 
25-49 
9,416 
2.0m 
59 
10,123 
2.1m 
63 
50-99 
5,416 
2.0m 
59 
5,315 
2.3m 
66 
100-249 
3,270 
2.4m 
60 
2,938 
2.7m 
68 
250+ 
1,626 
4.0m 
54 
1,187 
5.2m 
71 

Base: All establishments. Percentages are based on all employment rather than all establishments, figures therefore show the proportion of all staff within each subgroup trained over the last 12 months. 

 
There were wide differences in the proportion of staff trained by sector. Employers in Health and Social Work and Education trained the highest proportion of staff (80 per cent and 76 per cent respectively; these two sectors also trained the highest proportion of staff in 2011, although at much lower levels). Employers in Agriculture trained the lowest proportion (41 per cent; again this sector trained the lowest proportion in 2011). Results for the number and proportion of staff trained by sector, both in 2013 and 2011, are provided in Table A.4.6 in Annex A. By occupation, staff in Caring, Leisure and Other Services roles were the most likely to receive training (81 per cent of all staff in these roles were trained in the last 12 months). The proportion was also higher than average among Professionals and Associate Professionals (70 per cent and 65 per cent respectively). Those employed as Managers and Senior Officials were the least likely occupational group to receive training in the previous 12 months (50 per cent).  
 
We have seen that for the 2013 survey, more staff had been trained over the previous 12 
months than was the case in 2011. As shown in Figure 4.4 this increase has occurred across all occupational groups, and was particularly marked for those employed in Caring, Leisure and Other Services roles and those working as Machine Operatives. As reported in chapter two, these were the two occupations with particularly large increases compared with 2011 in the density of skill-shortage vacancies. One hypothesis may be that difficulties in finding suitable recruits in these occupations have led to an increase in the training of existing staff in these roles. 

## 4.8 Training Days

Employers varied quite widely in terms of the average number of days training they provided. One in eight employers that trained (12 per cent) said on average each member of staff trained received one day or less training over the previous 12 months, while one in twelve (eight per cent) said the typical person trained received more than 20 days. Results are similar to those found in 2011, though with fewer in 2013 providing 11 or more days training for the average person trained (18 per cent compared with 20 per cent in 2011). 

 
The average number of training days differed relatively little by country: the main variation of note was employers that train in Northern Ireland were less likely than average to have provided substantial training of 11 or more days on average per person trained (15 per cent compared with a UK average of 18 per cent). 

There was a clear pattern by size of establishment: as in 2011, the larger the establishment the *less* likely they were to provide substantial training of 11 days or more on average per person trained. Among training establishments with fewer than five staff, 19 per cent said that on average each person trained received 11 days training or more, and the figure was similar for those with 5 to 24 staff (18 per cent); in comparison among those with 250 or more staff it fell to eight per cent. 

Table A.4.7 in Annex A provides detailed findings on the range of days training provided by country, size and sector of employer. Overall the average number of days training provided to each person trained has fallen from just under eight days in 2011 to just under seven days in 2013. This is shown in Table 4.2. We have seen that a similar proportion of employers provided any training in 2013 as 2011, more staff in 2013 received training in the previous 12 months, but the average number of training days provided to each person trained has fallen. The net effect is that the overall number of training days reported by employers is slightly lower in 2013 than 2011: 113.2m training days compared with 114.6m in 2011. There are some country-based nuances to this aggregate picture:  

 
In England the total number of training days has fallen compared with 2011 (from c. 97m to c. 95m, a 2.3 per cent fall). This is a result of fewer days training being provided to each person trained (6.7 days from 7.9 days in 2011) since the number of people trained actually increased (from 12.3m in 2011 to 14.1m in 2013).  
 
In Wales, there has been an increase in the total number of training days provided over the last 12 months by employers in 2013 compared with 2011 (5.6m days up from 4.9m in 2011).  
 
In Northern Ireland the total number of training days provided by employers has not changed since 2011, and as in 2011 those trained in Northern Ireland receive the fewest days training per annum (an average of 6.3 days, equivalent to 3.7 days per employee).  
 
 
In Scotland, the total number of training days is almost unchanged (10.0m days in 
2013 compared with 9.9m in 2011), though there has been a fall in the number of days provided per person trained (from 7.3 in 2011 to 6.7 in 2013, a figure exactly matching the UK average). 

employee (2011 vs. 2013) 
 
 
2011 
 
2013 
Days 
Total 
Days per 
Total 
Days per 
per 
Days per 
training 
training 
 
employee 
employee 
Unwtd 
Unwtd 
days 
person 
trained 
days 
person 
trained 
Base 
Base 
UK 
66,439 
114.6m 
7.8 
4.2 
69,842 
113.2m 
6.7 
4.2 
Country 


England 
56,713 
97.1m 
7.9 
4.3 
57,787 
94.9m 
6.7 
4.2 
Northern Ireland 
2,903 
2.7m 
6.3 
3.5 
2,894 
2.7m 
6.3 
3.7 
Scotland 
2,170 
9.9m 
7.3 
4.2 
4,884 
10.0m 
6.7 
4.3 
Wales 
4,653 
4.9m 
7.5 
4.2 
4,277 
5.6m 
7.7 
4.8 
Size 


2-4 
9,121 
10.0m 
10.5 
4.2 
9,580 
10.6m 
10.7 
4.4 
5-24 
37,758 
30.3m 
9.0 
4.7 
40,801 
29.1m 
8.3 
4.5 
25-49 
9,416 
16.7m 
8.4 
4.9 
10,123 
15.2m 
7.3 
4.6 
50-99 
5,416 
16.2m 
8.1 
4.8 
5,315 
15.1m 
6.7 
4.4 
100-249 
3,150 
16.1m 
6.6 
4.0 
2,864 
17.4m 
6.3 
4.3 
250+ 
1,578 
25.3m 
6.4 
3.4 
1,159 
25.8m 
5.0 
3.5 

Base: All establishments that train (though 'days per employee' is based upon employment across all establishments). There is a distinctive pattern by size of establishment. 

 
The larger the site, the fewer days training are provided to each person trained; 
 
When total annual training days is converted to a 'days per employee' figure, this is 
lowest in the very largest sites with 250 or more employees (3.5 days), but similar for smaller size bands (4.3 to 4.5 days training per employee per annum).  
Results by sector for the total number of training and development days, and days per person trained and per employee for 2013 and 2011 can be found in Table A.4.8 in Annex A. These reveal: 

 
A fall in the total number of training days provided in Manufacturing (6.2m from 8.9m in 2011) and in Public Administration (7.4m from 9.4m in 2011); 
 
An increase in the total number of training days provided among Business Services employers (19.2m, up from 15.2m in 2011).  
 
 
The number of days training provided to each person trained was highest, as in 2011, 
in the Hotels and Restaurants sector (an average of 9.1 days, though this is lower than the 11.4 days found in 2011). 
It is worth noting that the fall from 2011 to 2013 in the number of days training per annum provided to each person trained echoes findings reported in 'Training in Recession: the impact of the 2008-2009 recession on training at work' (published in September 2013)17. 

This report presented data from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey showing that intensity of training (as measured by the hours of training in a given reference week among those that were trained) had fallen in the 2005 - 2010 period18, and that this was part of a longer term fall in training duration dating back to 1995. 

## 4.9 Training To Qualifications

As well as enabling an assessment of the quantity of training provided (the number receiving any training and the number of days provided), the survey also provides an assessment of the quality of the training being provided, in particular whether the training provided by employers is leading to nationally recognised qualifications. Just under half of employers that trained over the last 12 months had funded or arranged any training intended to lead to a nationally recognised qualification (47 per cent, equivalent to 31 per cent of all employers). The figure is slightly higher than in 2011 (when 46 per cent of employers that trained had arranged any training leading to nationally recognised qualifications). As in 2011 trainers in Northern Ireland were the least likely to have trained any staff towards nationally recognised qualifications (45 per cent), while those in Wales were the most likely (53 per cent). Results are shown on Table 4.3. 

Size is a key determinant of whether or not employers that train use nationally recognised qualifications. Just over a third of the smallest employers (with 2-4 staff) do so (36 per cent), rising to half among trainers with 5-24 staff (50 per cent), around two-thirds of those with 25-49 staff (63 per cent) or 50-99 staff (69 per cent) and three-quarters of those with 100 or more staff (76 per cent). 

                                                 
 
Relatively few employers trained any staff to Level 1 qualifications over the last 12 
months (nine per cent of those that train, equivalent to six per cent of all employers). In comparison, use of Level 2, 3 and 4 and above qualifications was more common (among employers that train 17 per cent, 18 per cent and 15 per cent respectively  had used each, equivalent to 11, 12 and 10  per cent respectively of all employers). More employers in 2013 reported training to Level 4 qualifications or higher (10 per cent of all employers) than in 2011 (eight per cent). Employers in Wales were more likely to have trained any staff to each individual Level than employers elsewhere in the UK, and more likely to have trained staff to any nationally recognised qualifications in the last 12 months (53 per cent compared with 47 per cent in England and Scotland, and 45 per cent among employers in Northern Ireland). 

 
2011 
2013 
 
 
2013 


All employers: 
Employers that train: 
 
UK 
UK 
UK 
England 
Northern 
Ireland 
Scotland 
Wales 
Unweighted Base: 
86,522 
91,279 
69,842 
57,787 
2,894 
4,884 
4,277 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Establishments training any staff to a qualification 
30 
31 
47 
47 
45 
47 
53 
Trained any to Level 1 
6 
6 
9 
9 
10 
11 
12 
Trained any to Level 2 
10 
11 
17 
18 
15 
11 
21 
Trained any to Level 3 
11 
12 
18 
18 
15 
13 
22 
Trained any to Level 4 or above 
8 
10 
15 
15 
15 
15 
17 


Number trained to a qualification 
3.3m 
3.6m 
3.6m 
3.0m 
0.1m 
0.3m 
0.2m 


22% 
21% 
21% 
21% 
18% 
20% 
30% 
Of staff trained, the % trained to a qualification 
over the last 12 months 


12% 
13% 
13% 
13% 
10% 
13% 
18% 
Of all employees, % trained to a qualification 
over the last 12 months 

Base: Columns 1 and 2 'All establishments', columns 3 to 7 'Establishments that train'; Note: The row 'number trained to a qualification' shows how many individuals were undertaking training leading to nationally recognised qualifications in the 12 months prior to interview, not how many staff had achieved these qualifications. Note also in the final row the base for the number of employees is all employers not just employers that train. 

 
Overall 3.6m staff benefited from training aimed at achieving a nationally recognised qualification over the last 12 months. This is slightly higher than in 2011 (3.3m). A fifth (21 per cent) of staff trained in 2012-13 received training intended to lead to a nationally recognised qualification, equivalent to 13 per cent of all employees. These percentages are within one percentage point of those found in 2011, and therefore suggest that the increase in the volume of training leading to qualifications is more to do with an increase in the number of staff being trained than any change in the proportion of those trained receiving this kind of training. As on a number of training measures, results on training to nationally recognised qualifications were below the UK average in Northern Ireland, and above average in Wales. For example, 18 per cent of all employees in Wales were trained to a nationally recognised qualification in the last 12 months, compared with 10 per cent in Northern Ireland. Findings on the incidence and extent of provision of training leading to qualifications by size and sector can be found in Table A.4.9 in Annex A. This shows that although larger employers that train were more likely to have trained any staff to a nationally recognised qualification over the previous 12 months, the proportion of all employees trained to a qualification varied relatively little by size of establishment. By sector, Health and Social Work employers that trained were the most likely to have trained any staff to a qualification (65 per cent), and trained the highest proportion of their workforce to nationally recognised qualifications (24 per cent, compared to the UK average of 13 per cent). 

## 4.10 Investment In Training

Employer expenditure on training and development over the previous 12 months was £42.9bn, equivalent to around £2,550 per person trained and just under £1,600 per employee. (This expenditure includes the wages of staff while being trained, and of staff delivering training; Table 4.5 provides a breakdown of total expenditure into constituent parts.) The pattern of training spend per person trained and per employee is inversely correlated with establishment size: the larger the employer the less is spent (Table 4.4). This appears to reflect economies of scale for larger employers. Although the smallest employers with fewer than five staff provide approximately twice as many training days per person trained as those with 100 or more employees (10.7 days per annum compared with 5.5 days respectively), they spend more than three and a half times as much per person trained per annum (£5,630 per person trained, compared with £1,570 among employers with 100 or more staff (£1,570).  
Results are shown on Table 4.4, with comparisons with 2011. It is worth noting that here, and throughout this chapter, training expenditure figures for 2011 were as reported at the time of the 2011 survey and have not been adjusted for inflation. 

vs. 2013) 
 
 
2011 
 
 
2013 
Spend 
Spend per 
 
 
per 
Spend per 
Spend per 
Unwtd 
Unwtd 
Total 
Total 
 
employee 
employee 
Base 
Base 
person trained 
person trained 
UK 
11,027 
£45.3bn £3,080 
£1,680 
12,522 
£42.9bn 
£2,550 
£1,590 
Country 


England 
7,872 
£38.6bn £3,140 
£1,700 
8,704 
£36bn 
£2,550 
£1,580 
Northern Ireland 
990 
£1.2bn 
£2,810 
£1,570 
1,028 
£1.1bn 
£2,540 
£1,490 
Scotland 
682 
£4bn 
£2,920 
£1,690 
1,429 
£4.2bn 
£2,800 
£1,810 
Wales 
1,483 
£1.5bn 
£2,280 
£1,280 
1,361 
£1.6bn 
£2,200 
£1,350 
Size 


2-4 
1,774 
£5.5bn 
£5,740 
£2,310 
2,317 
£5.5bn 
£5,630 
£2,320 
5-24 
6,542 
£11.9bn £3,550 
£1,860 
6,953 
£12.8bn 
£3,650 
£1,980 
25-49 
1,452 
£5.6bn 
£2,810 
£1,650 
1,722 
£6.5bn 
£3,080 
£1,940 
50-99 
708 
£5.9bn 
£2,930 
£1,730 
928 
£5.6bn 
£2,480 
£1,630 
100+ 
551 
£16.4bn £2,560 
£1,440 
602 
£12.5bn 
£1,570 
£1,100 

Base: Establishments completing the Investment in Training study. Note: The figures for spend per person trained and per employee have been rounded to the nearest £10. 

 
There is evidence of **decreasing** employer financial investment in training since 2011 
both in terms of total spend and spend per trainee19. In 2011 total employer investment in training among those with employment of two plus staff was £45.3bn20. The fall in total training expenditure from 2011 to 2013 is driven mainly by a fall in expenditure among: 

 
Employers in England (from £38.6bn in 2011 to £36.0bn). In contrast expenditure has increased slightly in nominal terms in Scotland and Wales (by £0.2bn and £0.1bn respectively). 
 
Large employers with 100 or more staff (from £16.4bn in 2011 to £12.5bn).  
employee and no working proprietors. Hence to make valid comparisons between 2011 and 2013, data from 2011 was rerun excluding these establishments, and the data re-weighted. This applies to all 2011 data in this report. Second, a figure updated subsequent to the 2011 survey, and the data presented here uses this revised figure. The revision relates to the figure for wages and salaries as a percentage of total labour costs, which is used to upweight wage/salary responses to the full costs of employing labour either being trained or providing training. At the time of the 2011 survey Eurostat was showing this percentage for the UK as 80.51%, but this has subsequently been revised to 85.9%. This lowers the upweight factor and hence lowers the total investment in training figure. 

 
 
Employers in Public Administration (from £3.8bn to £2.2bn) and in Education (from 
£6.2bn to £5.3bn in 2013). This is likely to reflect tight budgetary constraints in the broadly defined public sector in recent years. 
Data on total investment in training, spend per person trained and spend per employee by sector for both 2011 and 2013 can be found in Table A.4.10 of Annex A. As shown in the Table 4.5, the fall in total training expenditure is also predominantly the result of lower expenditure on on-the-job training (from £23.6bn in 2011 to £21.6bn in 2013), while off-the-job spending has fallen only slightly since 2011 (£21.3bn from £21.7bn). This has led to a slight change in the composition of overall training expenditure. In 2011, on-the-job training accounted for just over half of overall training expenditure (52 per cent). In 2013 there was an exactly even split in expenditure between on- and off-the-job training. The fact that off-the-job training accounts for a larger proportion of total investment in training in 2013 than in 2011 reflects the increase in the incidence of employers providing off-the-job training and a fall in the proportion providing on-the-job training discussed earlier in the chapter. 


 
2011 
2013 
Unweighted Base: 
11,027 
 
12,522 
 
 
£bn 
% 
£bn 
% 
Total training expenditure 
£45.3bn 
100 
£42.9bn 
100 
Off-the-job training: total 
£21.7bn 
48 
£21.3bn 
50 


Off-the-job training: Course-related: total 
£18.1bn 
40 
£17.9bn 
42 
Trainee labour costs 
£5.1bn 
11 
£5.2bn 
12 
Fees to external providers 
£2.9bn 
6 
£2.4bn 
6 
On-site training centre 
£2.8bn 
6 
£2.7bn 
6 
Off-site training centre (in the same 
company) 
£0.6bn 
1 
£0.5bn 
1 
Training management 
£6.1bn 
13 
£6.5bn 
15 
Non-training centre equipment and materials 
£0.4bn 
1 
£0.4bn 
1 
Travel and subsistence 
£0.4bn 
1 
£0.4bn 
1 
Levies minus grants 
-£0.2bn 
-1 
-£0.2bn 
-1 
Off-the-job training: other (seminars, workshops etc.): total 
£3.6bn 
8 
£3.4bn 
8 
Trainee labour costs 
£2.5bn 
6 
£2.5bn 
6 
Fees to external providers 
£1.1bn 
2 
£0.9bn 
2 
On-the-job training: Total 
£23.6bn 
52 
£21.6bn 
50 
Trainee labour costs 
£14.8bn 
33 
£13.9bn 
32 
Trainers' labour costs 
£8.9bn 
20 
£7.7bn 
18 

Base: Establishments completing the Investment in Training study 
 
A large component of the overall training expenditure figure presented in the table above is the wages of staff being trained; indeed this accounts for half (50 per cent) of all training expenditure (similar to the 49 per cent in 2011). The wages / salaries of those providing on-the-job training also account for around a fifth (18 per cent) of all training expenditure. In comparison relatively little is spent on payments to external training providers (eight per cent of total investment in training, similar to the nine per cent in 2011).  

| % spent on      | Wages    | Fees to    |
|-----------------|----------|------------|
| Expenditure     |          |            |
|                 |          |            |
| Wages of        |          |            |
| Row percentages |          |            |
| Unwtd           |          |            |
| off-the-job     | of       | external   |
| Base            |          |            |
|                 |          |            |
| on training     | trainees |            |
| training        | trainers | providers  |
| UK              |          |            |
| 12,522          |          |            |
| £42.9bn         | 50       | %          |
| Country         |          |            |
|                 |          |            |
|                 |          |            |
| England         |          |            |
| 8,704           |          |            |
| £36.0bn         | 49       | %          |
| Northern        |          |            |
| Ireland         |          |            |
| 1,028           |          |            |
| £1.1bn          | 53       | %          |
| Scotland        |          |            |
| 1,429           |          |            |
| £4.2bn          | 50       | %          |
| Wales           |          |            |
| 1,361           |          |            |
| £1.6bn          | 51       | %          |
| Size            |          |            |
|                 |          |            |
|                 |          |            |
| 2-4             |          |            |
| 2,317           |          |            |
| £5.5bn          | 55       | %          |
| 5-24            |          |            |
| 6,953           |          |            |
| £12.8bn         | 53       | %          |
| 25-49           |          |            |
| 1,722           |          |            |
| £6.5bn          | 50       | %          |
| 50-99           |          |            |
| 928             |          |            |
| £5.6bn          | 46       | %          |
| 100+            |          |            |
| 602             |          |            |
| £12.5bn         | 46       | %          |

Base: Establishments completing the Investment in Training study. The column 'other' includes such items as expenditure on training centres and on training management. 

As the size of establishment increases the proportion of total training expenditure spent on off-the-job training decreases. Further, as the size of establishment increases so the proportion of spend towards the wages/salaries of people being trained increases, while that towards the labour costs of trainers falls. The proportion of training expenditure spent on off-the-job training was higher in Northern Ireland than elsewhere in the UK (53 per cent). The proportion of training expenditure spent on off-the-job training also varies widely by sector, as follows:  

 
It was higher than average in Electricity, Gas and Water (63 per cent), Education (62 per cent), Health and Social Work (58 per cent), Agriculture (58 per cent) and Community, Social and Personal Services (55 per cent); and  
 
It was much lower than average in Hotels and Restaurants (36 per cent), Wholesale and Retail (41 per cent), Financial Services (43 per cent) and Manufacturing (43 per cent). 
There is also wide variation by sector in the proportion of total training expenditure accounted for by the wages/salaries of people being trained. This was highest in Public Administration (59 per cent), and lowest in Electricity, Gas and Water (35 per cent) and in Agriculture (43 per cent). 

 
Details of total training expenditure by sector and how this breaks down by individual key elements is shown in Table A.4.11 in Annex A. The proportion of total training expenditure spent on fees to external training providers varied relatively little by establishment size, country and sector (see Table 4.6 and Table A.4.11). A new question for the 2013 survey asked respondents what proportion of their fees to external providers were paid to FE (Further Education) colleges or to Universities or other Higher Education institutions. Results suggest that around £0.4bn was spent by employers in the previous 12 months on fees to FE colleges and HEIs, equivalent to 13 per cent of total fees to external providers. Results differed relatively little by country and size. By sector, a higher than average proportion of fees to external providers was spent on FE colleges and HEIs in Manufacturing (17 per cent), Business Services (16 per cent) 
and Agriculture (16 per cent). Details of fees paid to FE colleges or to Universities or other Higher Education institutions for training is shown in Table A.4.12 in Annex A. 

## 4.11 Conclusions

Although the proportion of employers providing any training to staff over the last 12 months has changed little since 2011, with two-thirds doing so, there have been a number of quite marked changes in the extent and nature of training provision between 2011 and 2013. In particular: 

 
There has been a marked increase in the proportion of staff trained over the last 12 months; 
 
At the same time there has been a marked fall in the average number of training days 
provided to each person trained; 
 
The net effect is a slight fall compared against 2011 in the total number of training days funded or arranged by UK employers. 
There has also been a fall in total training expenditure, driven mainly by a fall in expenditure: 

 
Among employers in England; 
 
Large employers with 100 or more staff; 
 
Employers in Public Administration and in Education; and 
 
In regard to on-the-job training. 
 
These findings appear to support other research which suggests that the recession has led to employers 'training smarter' and 'doing more for less', with increased emphasis on in-house training, training employees as trainers, reduced use of external providers and enhanced use of e-learning21. 


## 5 Recruitment Of Young People 5.1 Summary

Most "recruiting employers" (by which we mean employers who recruited anyone over the previous two to three years) recruited at least one young person during this time; overall, 44 per cent of all employers recruited a young person in the two to three years preceding the survey. Around a quarter of employers (27 per cent) recruited at least one education leaver in that period. This represents a fall on 2011, when the figure stood at 29 per cent, despite there having been an increase in recruitment activity since 2011. Around one in five employers only recruited young people not entering their first job out of education, and did not recruit any education leavers. Among employers hiring new staff, the main obstacle to (more) young people getting new jobs is competition in the labour market. Half of recruiting employers who had not recruited young job applicants had opted instead for older candidates who were seen to be better placed; in such cases, young people who applied for these jobs may have been suitable but the recruiters opted for a candidate over the age of 25 to fill the role. Where young applicants were not considered to meet the requirements of the role, the main reasons cited were lack of skills and experience, and sometimes both. Of recruiting employers who had not recruited a young person, three in five (61 per cent) said they had not received any applications from young people. The reasons why some young people were not successful in their job applications mirrored the reasons why some employers were disappointed with the preparedness of recruits entering the job market in their first roles since leaving education. Most employers find the education leavers they take on to be either well or very well prepared for work, although around 36 per cent of employers taking on school leavers at 16 from schools in England, Northern Ireland or Wales described the recruits as poorly prepared (as do three in ten employers in Scotland taking new recruits from Scottish schools between the ages of 16 and 18). Perceptions of the preparedness of education leavers are very much in line with those reported in 2011 (see Table A.5.5 in Annex A). 


## 5.2 Introduction

Youth unemployment is a major social and economic issue for the UK, and has been on the increase consistently over the last decade.  It is widely considered that young adults have suffered disproportionately in the labour market as a result of the downturn (The Youth Employment Challenge, UKCES 2012b). This report contributes to the understanding of the nature and scale of the youth unemployment challenge by measuring how many employers recruit young people and identifying key characteristics of these businesses; exploring how well prepared new labour market entrants are for the world of work; and investigating what barriers stand in the way of more employers recruiting young people. 

Like its predecessor, UKCESS 2013 explores recruitment of young people into their first job as they leave education at specific points: at 16, at 17 or 18 (whether from a school or a Further Education college) and at the end of Higher Education22. 

In a new area of investigation, it also looks separately at more general recruitment of young people (aged under 25) i.e. recruitment of young people for whom the position was not their first job on leaving school, college or university. Figure 5.1 summarises recruitment of young people in these two groups across the UK. It shows that: 

 
Most employers who have recruited in the last two to three years have 
recruited at least one young person aged under 25 (70 per cent of recruiting 
employers, equating to 44 per cent of all employers) 
 
Most employers who have recruited a young person have recruited at least 
one education leaver: 58 per cent of employers who have recruited young 
people in the last two to three years have recruited directly from education, 
equating to 25 per cent of all employers.  
 

 While a quarter of establishments hired education-leavers under the age of 
25, more employers recruit young people who are not entering their first job 
after leaving education (whether this be young people who are going into their 
second or third job, or young people who are still in education23): in the last two to 
three years a third of employers (32 per cent) recruited young people under the age of 25 who were not entering their first job after education. Enhanced competition for jobs means employers are in a position to be able to select from a wider pool of candidates, including those education-leavers who have secured additional work experience. 
                                                 

## 5.3 Recruitment Of Education Leavers

Just over a quarter of establishments (27 per cent) had recruited someone directly into their first job after leaving education in the past 2-3 years. The vast majority of these (25 per cent) had recruited an education leaver aged under 25; a further one per cent had recruited an HEI leaver aged 25 or over24. 

By and large, patterns of recruitment of education leavers followed patterns of recruitment of young people more generally: 

 Employers in Northern Ireland were less likely to recruit education leavers 
compared to elsewhere in the UK (22 per cent in Northern Ireland compared with 27 per cent in England and Wales and 29 per cent in Scotland). 
 Larger employers were more likely to have recruited education leavers into their 
first job than smaller employers. Across all countries, the majority of employers with 25 or more employees have recruited an education leaver over the last two to three years, rising to over three-quarters of employers with 100 or more employees. 
 Employers in the Education sector were by far the most likely to have recruited 
education leavers into their first job (50 per cent had done so), followed by 35 per cent in the Hotels and Restaurants. Employers in the Agriculture and the Construction sectors were by far the least likely (13 per cent and 18 per cent respectively).  
In overall terms these figures represent a decrease in recruitment of education leavers since 2011, when 29 per cent of employers across the UK said they had recruited an education leaver in the previous two to three years. The reduction is particularly marked: 

 
in Northern Ireland, which previously recorded levels of recruitment of education 
leavers close to the UK average at 28 per cent 
 
among the smallest employers: in 2011, 17 per cent of employers with fewer 
than five employees had recruited an education leaver, falling to 13 per cent in 2013. Conversely, the proportion of medium sized and larger employers who recruited education leavers increased between 2011 to 2013.  
 
within the Agriculture and Construction sectors, where recruitment of 
education leavers fell, respectively, from 20 per cent to 13 per cent and from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. (Recruitment of young people fell across all sectors, although to a less marked extent elsewhere). 
                                                 

## 5.3.1 Recruitment From Different Stages Of Education

Young people leave education and enter the job market at a number of different stages and from different types of institution.  
The survey asked employers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales whether they had recruited people: at age 16 from school, at age 17-18 from school, at age 17-18 from an FE college or from an HEI (at whatever age). After initially being asked whether they had taken on education leavers, employers in Scotland were asked a slightly different set of follow-up questions. They were asked about school leavers per se (rather than separating out those leaving at 16 from those leaving at 17 to 18) and they were asked about their recruitment of leavers from *Scottish* 
education institutions specifically. This was to ensure consistency with UKCESS 2011 and the historical Scottish Employer Skills Survey series. Table 5.1 presents findings for both sets of questions and for employers across the UK, for 2011 as well as for 2013.  

 
England 
Northern 
Ireland 
Wales 
Scotland 
 
2011 
2013 
2011 
2013 
2011 
2013 
2011 
2013 
Unweighted base 
74,156 
72,255 
3,921 
4,014 
5,958 
5,996 
2,487 
6,014 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Recruited any education leaver 
29 
27 
28 
22 
28 
27 
30 
29 
Recruited any school leaver 
16 
14 
15 
11 
14 
15 
17 
17 
 16 year old school leaver 
9 
8 
7 
6 
9 
8 
N/A 
    17-18 year old school leaver 
11 
11 
10 
9 
10 
11 
Recruited college leaver 
10 
12 
9 
8 
11 
11 
10 
11 
Recruited HEI leaver 
12 
14 
13 
12 
12 
13 
11 
12 

Base: All establishments NB: The overall "any education leaver" figure shown here is the proportion who had recruited any education leaver regardless of location for all countries. The figures broken down by education level differ between the countries: employers in Scotland were responding to questions about their recruitment of people leaving Scottish educational establishments, whereas the location of the establishment was not referenced in the questions to English, Northern Irish or Welsh employers. Note the 2011 "Recruited any education leaver" figure for Scotland has been updated since this report was first published (updated July 2014). 

 
In England, Northern Ireland and Wales the patterns of recruitment from different phases of education are very similar: employers are least likely to recruit 16 year olds from school, and most likely to recruit graduates. Employers in Northern Ireland are less likely than their counterparts in England and Wales to recruit any of the groups of education leaver. See Table A.5.1 in Annex A for a breakdown by size and sector. It is difficult to make firm comparison between employers in Scotland and those in the rest of the UK because the questions asked were slightly different, but the indications are that patterns are broadly similar, in particular in respect of recruitment of college and HEI leavers. See Table A.5.2 in Annex A for a breakdown by size and sector. In the main, findings in 2013 are very similar to in 2011, with the notable exception of decreased recruitment of young people from schools in Northern Ireland. As with recruitment activity in general, the larger the establishment the more likely they are to recruit an education leaver from each of the groups into their first job. Figure 5.2 shows that across all countries, the majority of employers with more than 100 employees recruited at least one graduate into their first job on leaving HE.  
 
There is considerable variation in rates of recruitment of education leavers across the different sectors of the economy. Full detail is shown in Table A.5.3 in Annex A; Table 5.2 below picks out some of the most marked differences and patterns. 

## High Levels Of Recruitment Low Levels Of Recruitment School Further Education Colleges Higher Education Institutions

 
Education employers have a high propensity to recruit education leavers at all levels; 
employers in Hotels and Restaurants are frequent recruiters of education leavers from schools or colleges; and employers in the Health and Social Work sector are frequent recruiters of college leavers and of graduates. 

It is rare for employers in the Agriculture sector to recruit education leavers at any level; Construction employers are highly unlikely to recruit graduates or college leavers. Financial Services employers and those in Business Services rarely recruit from school or college but are among the most likely to recruit graduates. 

## 5.4 Perceived Work Readiness Of Education Leavers

It is often argued that the UK's education system does not do enough to prepare young people for the world of work. UKCESS 2013 asked employers directly how well prepared for work they had found the young people they had recruited from education. In line with 2011 findings, the majority of employers found the majority of education leavers at each educational stage to be well prepared. In England, Northern Ireland and Wales, 59 per cent of employers felt 16 year old school leavers they had recruited were very well or well prepared. Two-thirds (66 per cent) of employers felt that 17-18 year olds recruited from school were well / very well prepared and three-quarters (74 per cent) agreed that new recruits from FE colleges employed into their first jobs were very well or well prepared. The highest level was found among those taking on HE graduates where 83 per cent said their recruits were well / very well prepared. For Scottish employers who recruited education leavers a similar pattern emerges, with 65 per cent considering Scottish secondary school leavers to be prepared, rising to 78 per cent amongst those employing recruits from FE colleges and to 85 per cent for recruiters of Scottish HE graduates. Further detail is included in Tables A.5.4 and A.5.4(i) in Annex A. These figures are consistent with the 2011 Employer Skills Survey and reflect that employers generally consider investment in education to pay off in delivering new recruits who are increasingly prepared for the world of work the further they have pursued education (see Table A.5.5 in Annex A).  

In 2011 there was a clear pattern whereby smaller establishments were less likely to find education leavers at each level to be well prepared than larger establishments.  Although less marked, this pattern persisted in 2013 in respect of HE leavers (75 per cent of employers with 2-4 employees said their recruits from HE were well or very well prepared but this figure rose to 86 per cent amongst employers with more than 250 staff). 

However, it was not replicated amongst school leavers where there was little difference in perceptions of preparedness by size band. As detailed in Tables A.5.5(i) and A.5.5(ii) in Annex A, there were also some patterns evident by sector including amongst establishments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the proportions considering new recruits to be well prepared for work: 

 
Amongst employers who had recruited 16 year old school leavers, those in  
Wholesale and Retail and Agriculture were more likely to feel they were prepared well (63 per cent and 67 per cent respectively), with those in Financial Services (53 per cent) and Manufacturing (54 per cent) the least likely compared to the UK average (59 per cent);  
 
Wholesale and Retail and Education employers were highly likely to feel 17-18 
school leavers were well prepared (both 71 per cent) whilst sectors where employers were less likely to report this included Manufacturing (59 per cent) and Electricity, Gas and Water (58 per cent) than the economy average (66 per cent);  
 
Among establishments taking on 17-18 year old FE College leavers, those in 
Wholesale and Retail (78 per cent) and Education (78 per cent) were the most likely to consider their recruits well prepared. Fewer employers in Transport and Communications (64 per cent) and Electricity, Gas and Water (62 per cent) felt new recruits were well prepared compared to the all-sector average (74 per cent); 
 
In terms of the graduate recruitment market, Education employers (again) were 
most likely to describe graduate recruits (91 per cent) as well prepared. Public Administration employers also reported higher figures (88 per cent) than average (83 per cent). Those in Business Services and Transport and Communications were the least likely to consider their HE recruits as well prepared (79 and 75 per cent).  

## 5.5 Skills And Attributes Lacking In Education Leavers

Where establishments had signalled that their new recruits were poorly prepared for work, employers were asked to indicate what specific skills or attributes their education leavers were lacking.  Findings are summarised for all nations in Table 5.3.  

 
Unwtd 
Row percentages 
base 
UK 


School Leavers 
19,597 
% 
22 
18 
10 
5 
4 
3 
FE College Leavers 
16,530 
% 
13 
10 
7 
3 
2 
1 
University/HE Leavers 
19,028 
% 
7 
4 
5 
2 
1 
1 
England 


School Leavers 
16,301 
% 
22 
18 
10 
6 
4 
3 
FE College Leavers 
14,039 
% 
14 
11 
7 
3 
2 
1 
University/HE Leavers 
15,968 
% 
8 
5 
5 
2 
1 
1 
Northern Ireland 


School Leavers 
608 
% 
22 
16 
14 
6 
3 
2 
FE College Leavers 
483 
% 
13 
9 
7 
2 
2 
1 
University/HE Leavers 
722 
% 
6 
4 
5 
1 
1 
1 
Wales 


School Leavers 
1,174 
% 
23 
20 
11 
5 
4 
3 
FE College Leavers 
913 
% 
13 
11 
9 
3 
3 
1 
University/HE Leavers 
1,080 
% 
10 
7 
5 
2 
* 
* 
Scotland 


School Leavers 
1,514 
% 
21 
14 
9 
2 
3 
1 
FE College Leavers 
1,095 
% 
9 
7 
9 
4 
1 
1 
University/HE Leavers 
1,258 
% 
6 
3 
4 
* 
* 
* 
Base: Establishments who had recruited each type of education leaver 

'*' denotes a figure larger than zero but smaller than 0.5% 
 
The most commonly cited reason for education leavers of all types being poorly prepared for work was that the new recruits lacked experience of the working world or experience of life in general. This was mentioned in higher proportions amongst those recruiting younger leavers (22 per cent of establishments who recruited school leavers) than older cohorts (seven per cent for those recruiting HE leavers). In England, Northern Ireland and Wales a distinction was made between 17-18 year old school leavers and FE College leavers; lack of experience of the working world and life in general was notably more likely to be cited by those recruiting school leavers of this age (18 per cent) compared to those taking on their counterparts from FE (14 per cent). The second most common area employers highlighted when they described education leavers as poorly prepared was a lack of motivation and/or a poor attitude to work in general. This was the case for almost one in five employers who had recruited a school leaver (18 per cent) and for one in ten establishments who had recruited an FE College leaver; lack of motivation or poor attitude among HE graduates was reported among just five per cent of recruiting establishments. Just under one in ten establishments who had recruited a school or college leaver of any age perceived their new recruits to lack the required skills or technical competencies necessary for the job. Only five per cent of those taking on HE graduates felt this way. 

## 5.6 Recruitment Of Young People

Overall, 44 per cent of employers across the UK had recruited a young person under the age of 25 in the two to three years prior to their interview. Employers in England, Scotland and Wales were equally likely to have recruited young people (45 per cent, 46 per cent and 45 per cent respectively); employers in Northern Ireland were considerably less likely to have done so (35 per cent). This pattern of lower rates of recruitment of young people in Northern Ireland than in the rest of the UK is in line with that reported in UKCEPS 2012 which measured recruitment of young people between Spring 2011 and Spring 2012. As one would expect, there is considerable variance by size of employer. A quarter of establishments with 2-4 employees (25 per cent) taking on staff have recruited a young person in the past 2 to 3 years, compared to 94 per cent of establishments with 250 or more employees. This reflects not only that larger employers are more likely to recruit, but also that they recruit in greater numbers (with an enhanced likelihood that some of their recruits are young people). 

 
Rates of recruitment of young people vary considerably between sectors. On one hand, three in five establishments in the Education sector (62 per cent) and a similar proportion in the Hotels and Restaurants sector (59 per cent) had recruited a young person over the last 2 to 3 years. On the other hand, a minority of employers in the Agriculture and Construction sectors had recruited a young person in that time (23 per cent and 30 per cent respectively) 

## 5.7 Barriers To Recruiting Young People

In a new question area developed for the 2013 survey, the 30 per cent of employers who recruited over the last two to three years but who had not taken on a young person (equivalent to 19 per cent of all employers) were asked why they had not done so. They were first asked whether it was because they had not received applications from young people or because they had made a choice not to recruit young applicants. In the latter case, employers were asked if this was simply a case of competition for jobs or if the young applicants exhibited shortcomings which stopped them being recruited. Figure 5.4 represents their responses. 

 
In the majority of cases, no young people had been taken on for the simple reason that none had applied. Almost two-thirds of recruiting employers (61 per cent) who had not recruited young people reported this to be the case. This figure was higher in England and Northern Ireland (both 62 per cent) than in Scotland (58 per cent) and Wales (55 per cent). Where employers had not taken on any young people who had applied, there were two main explanations. Most commonly, it was a case of competition with other (presumably older, more experienced) applicants being preferred over young applicant(s) who had the required skills and experience to do the job: 53 per cent of establishments who had not recruited any of their young applicants explained their choices in this way. A further small group of employers (seven per cent of those receiving, but not taking on any young applicants) said that the applications were speculative and that there were no vacant posts for the young person to take at the time they applied. In a very small proportion of cases (two per cent of employers who had not taken on young applicants) it was in fact the young person who had turned down the offer of the job, rather than the employer turning them down. A large minority of employers (46 per cent) who had not taken on a young applicant(s) said that this was because the young applicant(s) did not meet their requirements. Employers in Scotland were less likely to state this (38 per cent) than those in England (47 per cent) and Wales (45 per cent), although it was in Northern Ireland that this view was most commonly expressed (51 per cent). Employers in Transport and Communications (62 per cent) were particularly likely to have had this experience compared to the economy-wide average (46 per cent).  
Where employers considered young applicants not to meet requirements, the majority (63 per cent) said they lacked the necessary skills and 61 per cent relevant work experience. Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) said they lacked both. Employers in Northern Ireland who reported that young applicants did not meet requirements were particularly likely to question their skills levels: 75 per cent said that they lacked the necessary skills. A lack of work experience was particularly likely to be given as a reason for failing to employ young people by employers in the Health and Social Work, Financial Services and Transport and Communication sectors (71 per cent, 70 per cent and 72 per cent respectively). 

 
Other less frequently mentioned reasons for not employing a young person included where the employers felt that candidates lacked a professional or hardworking attitude or the motivation that they typically look for (this was the case for 38 per cent of establishments where young applicants did not meet the employer's requirements). A 
third of employers (33 per cent) felt that the young person had not communicated their employability well enough either through their CV, covering letter, application form or at interview. Finally, slightly lower proportions (29 per cent) said the candidates lacked the necessary qualifications they look for in a suitable employee.   

## 5.8 Skills Deficiencies And Training Among Employers Who Recruit Young People

In this final section of the chapter we look briefly at the extent to which employers who recruit young people experience skills deficiencies and at the extent of their workforce development activity. Table 5.4 highlights differences between employers who have recruited young people, those who have recruited education leavers, and recruiting employers who have not recruited a young person in terms of some of the key UKCESS measures: the prevalence of vacancies and skills gaps, and the extent of training activity. 

Recruited 
Recruited a 
Recruited 
Recruited 
but not a 
Young 
school 
 
FEC leaver 
Recruited 
HE leaver 
Young 
Person 
leaver 
Person 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Unweighted base 
27,067 
19,597 
16,530 
19,028 
7,867 


Have vacancies 
24 
28 
31 
34 
14 
Have skill-shortage vacancies  
7 
8 
9 
10 
4 
22 
21 
21 
21 
25 


Skill-shortage 
vacancies as % of 
all vacancies  
78 
78 
80 
82 
76 
Skill-shortage vacancies as % of all hard-to-fill 
vacancies 


Have skill gaps 
27 
34 
33 
31 
14 
Skills gap density 
6 
7 
7 
6 
4 


Train at all 
81 
85 
87 
88 
74 
% of staff trained 
65 
68 
71 
71 
55 

Base: Establishments who had recruited each type of individual(s) 
 
This analysis evidences some quite substantial differences between employers who had recruited young people, including education leavers, and recruiting employers who had not recruited from these groups.  
Employers who had recruited young people and/or education leavers over the past two to three years were around twice as likely to have vacancies, hard-to-fill vacancies and skillshortage vacancies as recruiting employers who didn't recruit from these groups. This suggests that they continue to have a greater demand for (new) labour. It was not the case, however, that a larger proportion of their vacancies were proving to be hard-to-fill, or indeed that a greater proportion of their hard-to-fill vacancies were skillshortage vacancies. So although they have a greater demand for (new) labour, they do not appear to be more challenged in the labour market. Employers who had recruited young people and/or education leavers over the past two to three years were considerably more likely to have staff who were not fully proficient than other recruiting employers, and a larger proportion of their workforce lacked proficiency. They were also much more likely to fund or arrange training for their staff than those that had not, and they funded and arranged training for a larger proportion of their workforce. 

## 5.9 Conclusions

Although there has been an increase in recruitment activity since the 2011 survey, and although most recruiting employers have recruited at least one young person over the last two to three years, there has been a fall in the proportion of employers recruiting young people from education.  
Around a quarter of employers recruited at least one education leaver in that period (27 per cent, down from 29 per cent in 2011). Most of them found these recruits to be well or very well prepared for work, although as many as four in ten employers taking on school leavers at 16 from schools in England, Northern Ireland or Wales described the recruits as poorly prepared (as do three in ten employers in Scotland taking new recruits from Scottish schools between the ages of 16 and 18). The main obstacle to (more) young people getting new jobs is competition in the market place rather than perceptions that young applicants do not have the capability to perform in the job role. Where it was felt a young applicant did not meet requirements for the role, the main reasons cited were a lack of skills and experience, and sometimes both. Three in five recruiting employers (61 per cent) who had not recruited a young person said they had had no applications from young people. 

 
Employers who had recruited young people and/or education leavers over the past two to three years appeared to have a greater demand for (new) labour than other employers, being around twice as likely to have vacancies. It was not the case, however, that a larger proportion of their vacancies were proving to be hard-to-fill, or indeed that a greater proportion of their hard-to-fill vacancies were skill-shortage vacancies. So although they have a greater demand for (new) labour, they do not appear to be more challenged in the labour market. They are more challenged by skills in their existing workforce: they are more likely to have staff who were not fully proficient than other recruiting employers, and a larger proportion of their workforce lack proficiency. They are also more likely to train, and they fund and arrange training for a larger proportion of their workforce. 

This raises a number of questions including: 

 
Whether these employers train more because they need to as a reflection of the 
make-up of their workforce (for example the very fact that they have taken on young people who need training); or whether their confidence in their training structures makes the recruitment of young people / education leavers a less risky choice for them; 
 
Whether they train more because they have more skills gaps or whether they 
recognise more skills gaps because they train more, and more assiduously; 
 
Whether these employers take on young people because that is the only way for 
them to satisfy their demand for labour, or whether their choice to recruit young people is a more positive one that reflects the nature of their business operations 
and the way in which they pursue them. 
 Further investigation will be required in order to develop answers to these questions. 


## 6 High Performance Working Practices And Product Market Strategies 6.1 Chapter Summary

High Performance Working (HPW) is defined by the UK Commission as 'a general approach to managing organisations that aims to stimulate more effective employee involvement and commitment in order to achieve high levels of performance' (UKCES 2009). The survey identifies a minority of employers - 12 per cent - who are "High Performance Working employers" in the sense that they adopt a number of specific work practices. Such employers are considerably more active in the recruitment market than average: twice as many have a vacancy as non-HPW employers (29 per cent compared to 13 per cent). The evidence suggests that they find it easier to fill the vacancies they have than non-HPW employers do: under a quarter of HPW employers' vacancies were proving hard-to-fill (22 per cent) compared to a third among non-HPW employers. Similarly a smaller proportion of HPW employers' vacancies are skill-shortage vacancies (19 per cent, compared to 25 per cent among non-HPW employers). HPW employers are also considerably more likely to experience skill gaps than non-HPW employers (23 per cent compared to 14 per cent), although the proportion of their workforce that lacks proficiency is in line with the national average (five per cent). HPW employers are more likely to train and to train a higher proportion of their workforce. 

Product Market Strategies (PMS) are defined within UKCESS 2013 by aggregating responses to a series of questions exploring pricing strategies, approaches to innovation and the nature of the product market (the extent to which the market attracts a "premium" 
and the extent of customisation of products and services in the market). Aggregating these responses classifies two in five private sector employers in the UK as having a high or very high product market strategy indicating that their competitive success is not dependent on price, they pursue innovation, they compete on quality and/or that they offer customised goods or services. 

 
The higher an employer's composite PMS score, the more likely it is that they will have a vacancy, hard-to-fill vacancy or skill-shortage vacancy. On the other hand, recruitment difficulties are broadly more pronounced among employers with a lower composite score than among those with a higher PMS score, in the sense that a greater proportion of their vacancies are hard-to-fill. Similarly, employers with a high composite PMS score are more likely to identify skill gaps than employers with a low score, but the proportion of their workforce that lacks proficiency is no higher. And in similar vein, employers with a higher composite PMS score are more likely to fund or arrange training for their staff. 

## 6.2 Introduction

In previous chapters, this report has looked at employers' practice in funding and arranging training and at their experience of skills deficiencies (both skill shortages in the available labour market and gaps between the skills employers require and those which their employees currently possess), considering how these challenges affect employers in different parts of the UK, of different sizes and in different business sectors differently. There are of course other ways of grouping employers to understand commonalities and differences between them; and in this chapter we use two categorisations based on combinations of responses to a number of survey questions to try to better understand what might underlie or influence employers' experiences of skill shortages and what drives them to fund and arrange training for their employees. These two categorisations are: 

 
Whether or not the employers are High Performance Working (HPW) employers 
 
The **Product Market Strategies (PMS)** that employers adopt   

## 6.3 High Performance Working

High Performance Working (HPW) is defined by the UK Commission as 'a general approach to managing organisations that aims to stimulate more effective employee involvement and commitment in order to achieve high levels of performance' (UKCES, 2009). There exists a considerable body of evidence showing that wider adoption of HPW practices can deliver improved business productivity and enhanced competitiveness; reflecting this evidence, the wider adoption of HPW practices has been encouraged by government and by labour market and business theorists as a means of augmenting economic growth (Stone et al., 2012). 

UKCESS 2013 included a series of questions relating to a set of recognised HPW 
practices. These practices are illustrated in Figure 6.1 which shows the proportion of employers who adopt each practice (the bar chart on the left hand side of the graphic) and then the distribution of employers in terms of the total number of HPW practices they adopt (the area chart on the right hand side). This shows that 12 per cent of employers adopt 14 of the 21 High Performance Working practices that the survey covered; employers adopting 14 or above practices are classified here as Higher Performance Working employers (HPW employers).  
 
As one might expect there are considerable differences in the proportions of employers adopting each practice, and in the total number of HPW practices that different types of employers adopt. The key features are that: 

 
larger employers are more likely to be HPW organisations than smaller 
employers, although most HPW employers are nonetheless small. This is a function 
of the overall profile of employers, which is overwhelmingly geared towards smaller establishments. Around seven in ten HPW employers have 25 or fewer employees; 
 
there is considerable variation by sector: as many as 36 per cent of employers in the Public Administration, Education and Financial Services sectors are HPW employers, compared to one in 50 in Agriculture and one in 25 in Construction.  

## 6.3.1 The Relationship Between Hpw And Skills Shortages

It was reported in chapter two that 15 per cent of all establishments had at least one vacancy at the time of their interview (in Spring-Summer 2013). HPW employers are considerably more active in the recruitment market than average, with around twice as many of them having a vacancy (29 per cent) compared to non-HPW employers (13 per cent). In line with this greater propensity to recruit, HPW employers were also around twice as likely as non-HPW employers to have at least one hard-to-fill vacancy and at least one skill-shortage vacancy. However, although HPW employers are more likely to experience at least one hard-to-fill and/or skill-shortage vacancy, in volume terms the evidence suggests that they actually find it easier to fill their vacancies. Under a quarter of all vacancies (22 per cent) reported by HPW employers were proving hard-to-fill, compared to a third (33 per cent) among non-HPW employers. Similarly, a smaller proportion of HPW employers' vacancies are considered skill-shortage vacancies (19 per cent, compared to 25 per cent among non- HPW employers). These quite marked differences do not appear to be a function of differences between HPW and non-HPW employers in terms of their size (i.e. the fact that HPW employers tend to be larger, on average, than non-HPW employers). Among employers with fewer than 100 employees in particular, HPW employers are more likely to report vacancies, hard-to-fill vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies than their non-HPW counterparts, and - contrary to the overall trend -  a higher proportion of their hard-to-fill vacancies are skillshortage vacancies (see Figure 6.2). The patterns are less clear among larger employers. These data are also displayed in Table A.6.1 in Annex A. 


HPW employers
Non-HPW employers

 

## 6.3.2 The Relationship Between Hpw And Skills Gaps

HPW employers are also considerably more likely than other employers to experience skills gaps, although the same proportion of the workforce lacks proficiency across both types of employer (see Table 6.1). This could reflect that HPW employers are - by definition - more likely to engage in activities that are likely to leave them better placed to identify skill gaps (e.g. annual performance reviews, training needs assessments, formally assessing performance after training). 

 
HPW employers  
Non-HPW employers 
Unweighted Base 
8,105 
37,530 
 
% 
% 
% of establishments with a skills gap 
23 
14 
% of workforce with skills gaps 
5 
5 
Base: All establishments in Module 1 by HPW classification. 

Number of skills gaps rounded to nearest 100. 'Percentage of workforce with skills gaps' is shown as a proportion of all employment 
 
It is very clear that this heightened experience of skill gaps is not a function of establishment size.  The gap between HPW employers' experience of skill gaps and non-HPW employers' experience of skill gaps is consistent within all size bands; and across all size bands HPW employers and non-HPW employers report a similar proportion of their staff as lacking proficiency (see Table A.6.2 in Annex A).  

## 6.3.3 The Relationship Between Hpw And Training

As previously shown in Figure 6.1, funding or arranging training is defined within this survey as a high performance working practice. It is unsurprising, therefore, that HPW employers are more likely to train than non-HPW employers (97 per cent do so, compared to 62 per cent of non-HPW employers). On average, HPW employers also train a much higher proportion of their workforce (75 per cent, compared to 56 per cent of non-HPW employers). Again, these differences between HPW employers and non-HPW employers persist if one "controls" for other characteristics. For example, within different size bands HPW employers are more likely to train their employees and to train more of them; the story is the same in different sectors (see Table A.6.3 in Annex A).  

## 6.4 Product Market Strategies

Product market strategies (PMS) describe the ways in which organisations choose to differentiate and position the products and services they provide within the markets in which they operate. It is thought that employers operating 'higher' product market strategies offer greater opportunity for sustainable business growth which should, in turn, place a greater demand on skills (see for example High Performance Working in the Employer Skills Surveys, UKCES 2013). The inter-relationship between PMS and workforce skills is a theme of key policy interest for government as the availability of workforce skills may have a bearing on the strategies that firms are able to pursue (and on their medium and long-term success).  
Within the survey, *private sector employers* were asked to rate their establishments on a five-point scale, compared to other establishments in the same industries, in terms of: 

 
the extent to which their competitive success depends on price; 
 
the extent to which the establishment tends to lead the way in their industry in terms of the development of new products, materials or techniques; 
 
the extent to which the establishment competes in a 'premium quality' or 'standard or basic quality' product market; and 
 
 
the extent to which they offer goods or services with a substantial amount of 
customisation according to customer requirements.25 
Figure 6.3 illustrates the overall responses to each of these individual product market 
'position statements' in both 2013 (the broader bars) and in 2011 (the thinner bars), including the score attributed to each response. 

 
Employers' responses to the first two product market 'position statements' - relating to price dependency and innovation - distributed more or less normatively across the five points of the scale as they did in 2011 (i.e. in both years, roughly equal numbers of employers said they rarely led the way as said they always did, and roughly equal numbers said their products / services were wholly price dependent as said they were not at all price dependent). A larger proportion of employers described their offer as at the premium quality end of the scale than described their offer as "standard" or "basic" in quality. Again, responses very closely mirrored those recorded in 2011. 

 
Similarly, a greater proportion of employers described their product / service offering as allowing customisation than said it was standardised.  Here things look different than they did in 2011. In part this is due to the question having previously been asked in a different way (in 2011, employers described the degree of customisation in their offer against a prompted three-point scale). An impact of this different scale appears to have been that a greater proportion of employers describe a degree of customisation in their offer than was previously the case. 

## 6.4.1 Deriving A Composite Product Market Index

In order to discern the overall Product Market Strategies of different establishments, the responses to the four product market 'position statements' were aggregated to derive a composite PMS 'score'. These composite scores were then converted to a fivefold classification ranging from 'very low' to 'very high', as detailed in Table 6.2. A high composite score indicates that the employer tends to lead the way in innovation in its sector, tends not to compete on price and/or tends to offer a premium and/or highly customised product or service. A low composite score indicates that the employer tends not to do any of these things. 

% of private sector 
Aggregate PMS score 
% of private sector 
UK establishments 
UK employment 
1 to 7 
Very low 
4 
2 
8 to 10 
Low 
14 
7 
11 to 13 
Medium 
26 
17 
14 to 16 
High 
29 
23 
17 to 20 
Very high 
15 
15 

Base: All establishments in the private sector (75,997). 

Overall, a greater proportion of establishments are classified as having a high PMS score than a low one with approaching a fifth of establishments (18 per cent) categorised as having a 'low' or 'very low' product strategy compared to almost a half (44 per cent) categorised as having a 'high' or 'very high' product strategy. It should be noted that due to the different ways in which the PMS questions were asked in 2011, the potential for accurate time series comparisons by PMS score is limited and has not been presented in this report. 


## 6.4.2 Profiling Higher And Lower Composite Pms Score Employers

Employers with a higher composite PMS score tend to be larger, on average, than those with a lower composite PMS score, although the differences are marginal, reflecting that the overwhelming majority of all establishments are small establishments with fewer than 
25 employees (see Table 6.3). When one is talking about employers with a high composite PMS rating, one is predominately talking about smaller establishments and if we pick up on differences between PMS groupings, it is unlikely that these will be driven (solely) by size.  

|                  | Very Low     | Low    | Medium    | High    |
|------------------|--------------|--------|-----------|---------|
| Very             |              |        |           |         |
| High             |              |        |           |         |
| Unweighted Base: | 2,818        | 9,507  | 19,333    | 23,106  |
|                  | %            | %      | %         | %       |
| Size             |              |        |           |         |
|                  |              |        |           |         |
| 2-4              | 68           | 61     | 55        | 50      |
| 5-24             | 28           | 34     | 37        | 40      |
| 25-49            | 2            | 3      | 4         | 6       |
| 50-99            | 1            | 1      | 2         | 3       |
| 100-249          | *            | 1      | 1         | 2       |
| 250+             | *            | *      | *         | 1       |

Base: All establishments in the private sector (75,997). '*' denotes a figure larger than zero but smaller than 0.5. 

Table A.6.4 in Annex A provides further detail on the characteristics of employers in each PMS category in terms of country and sector. In short: 

 
Establishments with a 'very high' PMS score are disproportionately likely to operate in 
the Business Services and Wholesale and Retail services sectors (combined, these two sectors account for 46 per cent of all 'very high' PMS employers, compared to 41 per cent of all establishments).  
 
At the other end of the scale, employers with a 'very low' PMS score are 
disproportionately likely to be based in Wales (nine per cent, compared to five per cent of all establishments) and to be engaged in Agriculture (16 per cent compared to five per cent) or Construction (15 per cent compared to nine per cent).  

## 6.4.3 Relationship Between Pms And Skills Shortages

As discussed in chapter two, 15 per cent of all establishments have at least one vacancy, a figure that falls to 14 per cent if one considers only those operating in the private sphere. When differentiating these establishments based on their product market strategies it is clear that employers with a higher PMS score are more active in the recruitment market: 19 per cent of those with a very high score had a vacancy at the time of interview, compared with only eight per cent of establishments with a 'very low' score. In line with this, establishments at the higher end of the PMS scale were also more likely to report both hard-to-fill vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies compared to those at the lower end of the scale (see Figure 6.4).  
 
However, if one focuses on the proportion of all vacancies which are hard-to-fill and the proportion of hard-to-fill vacancies where skill shortages were reported, a different picture emerges. Recruitment difficulties are broadly more pronounced among employers with a lower composite PMS score than among those with a higher PMS score, in the sense that a greater proportion of their vacancies are hard-to-fill - although the relationship is not linear. On the other hand, the role that skill shortages play in this difficulty is slightly more marked among employers with a high composite PMS score - where a greater proportion of hard-to-fill vacancies are attributed to a lack of skills among job applicants (see Figure 6.5). 

 
There are notable differences in the types of occupations where employers experience hard-to-fill and skill-shortage vacancies depending on their product market strategies. As detailed in Table A.6.5 and Table A.6.6 in Annex A, employers at the lower end of the PMS index experience greater difficulty in recruiting among the Skilled Trades, Sales and Customer Service and Machine Operatives occupations. On the other hand, employers at the higher end of the PMS index experience most difficulty in recruiting Professionals and Associate Professionals. 


## 6.4.4 The Relationship Between Pms And Skills Gaps

It was detailed in chapter three that 15 per cent of all employers identify at least some skills gaps amongst their employees: this figure was consistent across both public and private sector establishments. This section examines the incidence and prevalence of skills gaps among private sector establishments with differing Product Market Strategies. 

As detailed in Table 6.4, the relationship between an establishment's product market positioning and the incidence of skills gaps is not entirely linear, though employers at the higher end of the PMS index are more likely to have skills gaps among their staff than those at the lower end. However, the proportion of the workforce that is affected by skills gaps is fairly consistent across the differing categories of the PMS index. It does appear likely that the differing size profiles of employers with a high composite PMS score and those with a low composite PMS score drives this difference (see Table A.6.7 in Annex A). 

| Very low            | Low    | Medium    | High    |
|---------------------|--------|-----------|---------|
| Very                |        |           |         |
| high                |        |           |         |
| Unweighted Base     | 2,818  | 9,507     | 19,333  |
|                     |        |           |         |
| %                   | %      | %         | %       |
| % of establishments |        |           |         |
| with a skills gap   |        |           |         |
| 12                  | 14     | 16        | 17      |
| % of workforce with |        |           |         |
| skills gaps         |        |           |         |
| 5                   | 7      | 6         | 6       |

Base: All private sector establishments in each PMS classification. 

Number of skills gaps rounded to nearest 100. 'Percentage of workforce with skills gaps' is shown as a proportion of all private sector employment When considering the causes of skills gaps, there is a clear trend for establishments with a higher product market positioning to attribute their skills gaps to staff being new to the role and, related to this, training only being partially complete (see Table 6.5). This perhaps reflects the fact that employers at the higher end of the PMS index were more likely to be active in the recruitment market than those with a lower PMS rating. It can take time for new staff to reach full proficiency and so it could be that the skills gaps within higher PMS establishments are more transient than those in the lower PMS categories.  

 
Very low 
Low 
Medium 
High 
Very 
high 
Unweighted Base 
504 
2066 
4743 
5638 
2801 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Staff are new to the role 
47 
56 
58 
61 
63 
Their training is currently only partially completed 
48 
59 
60 
61 
63 
Staff lack motivation 
39 
36 
36 
33 
30 
26 
30 
32 
32 
29 
They have been on training but their performance has not 
improved sufficiently The introduction of new working practices 
25 
25 
27 
26 
27 
Staff have not received the appropriate training 
28 
29 
29 
27 
25 
Unable to recruit staff with the required skills 
24 
25 
24 
23 
23 
The introduction of new technology 
21 
20 
19 
20 
21 
The development of new products and service 
16 
17 
20 
21 
23 
Problems retaining staff 
11 
11 
11 
11 
10 
Summary: New to role and/or training incomplete 
64 
74 
75 
77 
78 

Base: All establishments in the private sector with skills gaps; up to two skills gaps followed up. Percentages shown as a proportion of all skills gaps followed up. 

## 6.4.5 The Relationship Between Pms And Training

Figure 6.6 illustrates a linear relationship between an establishment's product market strategies and their level of training activity. As the PMS index increases the proportion of establishments that train also increases (from 47 per cent in establishments in the 'very low' group to 71 per cent in the 'very high' group) as well as the proportion of staff that are trained within each establishment (from 43 per cent in establishments in the 'very low' 
group to 64 per cent in the 'very high' group). 


This pattern of increasing proportions of employers training and an increasing proportion of the workforce being trained as one moves through the composite PMS score groupings mirrors the pattern of training activity by size of establishment that was presented in chapter four. However, the pattern here does appear to be driven by PMS position rather than by establishment size or by other characteristics. If one looks at employers with different composite PMS scores within each size band it is invariably the employers with the higher PMS score who are most likely to train. Similarly, within size band the proportion of staff trained is greater for those operating at the higher end of the PMS index (see Table A.6.8 in Annex A). So, like for like, employers operating higher product market strategies appear to identify a greater need for skill development among their staff. 

## 6.5 Conclusions

In previous chapters of the report we have observed how employers of different sizes operating in different sectors in different parts of the UK experience skill deficiencies and training differently. 

 
This chapter has looked at employers from a different perspective, focusing on business and management strategy rather than firmographics. It has grouped employers according to whether or not they pursue High Performance Working practices and according to the nature of their Product Market Strategies. 

The interest is in particular on employers with a high PMS as these are employers with the potential to deliver sustainable business growth.  Similarly, evidence suggests that employers who adopt High Performance Working practices are more productive and profitable than those who don't. Therefore, if these employers are unable to access the skills they require (from the external labour market and/or from their existing workforce) and/or the training services that will develop these skills, then the potential impact on the UK economy is great. 

The evidence of this chapter by and large works to allay these fears of high value employers being constrained in their operations. It has painted a picture of HPW employers and employers with a high composite PMS score who - while generally more active in the recruitment market than other employers - typically find it easier to fill their vacancies. They are generally more likely to report skill gaps - but the proportion of their workforce implicated is no greater than for other employers. And they are more likely to fund or arrange training for their employees (which will work to reduce these gaps). Nonetheless it has also suggested some pockets where HPW employers and employers with a high composite PMS score are challenged by skills deficiencies. There will be value in exploring these pockets more closely to understand how the market can work to meet their challenges.  

## 7 Conclusions

This survey has painted a picture which supports indications that the country is emerging from the recession and economic downturn, with increased employer recruitment activity in 2013 compared with 2011. More employers had vacancies at the time of the interviews, and the number of vacancies (as a proportion of the workforce) had increased. 

## There Is Potential, However, For Skill Shortages In The Labour Market To Act As A Brake On Economic Recovery, Or At Least As An Impediment To Some Employers Reaching

their full growth and productivity potential.  
Although only a very small minority of establishments (four per cent) are affected by skillshortage vacancies, in total more than one in five vacancies (22 per cent) across the country are hard-to-fill due to skill shortages in the available labour pool. 

These skill shortages are concentrated in particular sectors and occupations, and are particularly likely to be found among Manufacturers, and where employers are recruiting for Skilled Trades and Professional roles. There have also been notable increases in the difficulty of recruiting suitably skilled Caring, Leisure and Other Services, Professionals, Associate Professionals and Machine Operative staff compared with 2011, suggesting these are areas where the labour market is facing growing challenges in meeting employer demand. In addition, some 1.4 million employees are regarded as not being fully proficient in their job roles, equating to 5.2 per cent of the total UK workforce. 

As with skill-shortage vacancies, skills gaps continue to be concentrated in certain pockets of the economy. People employed in what are traditionally described as unskilled or semi-skilled occupations - namely those in Elementary and Sales and Customer Service positions - remain the most likely to have skills gaps. From a sector perspective, skills gaps are particularly prevalent in the Hotels and Restaurants industry. 

The existence of skill gaps may not necessarily indicate potential performance issues. In a relatively large proportion of cases the employees in question are new to their job role and/or are trainees, with the suggestion that their proficiency problems are temporary. In other cases, skill gaps could be an indication of employer awareness of skills issues, or higher expectations/ambitions. It is certainly the case that employers pursuing a strategy of High Performance Working and employers recording a high Product Market Strategy 
"score" (indicating that they are innovators, offering premium products or services) are more likely to report skill gaps (although the proportion of the workforce employed by this kind of progressive organisation that is lacking proficiency is no greater than the proportion of the general workforce with a skills gap). The most common response to having a skill gap is to provide (more) training. Overall, around two-thirds of employers arrange or fund at least some training for at least some of their workforce, a figure that has changed little since 2011. There have, however, been a number of quite marked changes in the extent and nature of training provision between 2011 and 2013. In particular: 

 
There has been a marked increase in the proportion of staff trained since 2011; 
 
At the same time there has been a reduction in the amount of training individuals 
receive, with a marked fall in the average number of training days provided to 
each person trained; 
 
The net effect of these trends is a slight fall compared against 2011 in the total number of training days funded or arranged by UK employers. 
There has also been a fall in total training expenditure, driven mainly by a fall in expenditure: 

 
Among employers in England; 
 
Large employers with 100 or more staff; 
 
Employers in Public Administration and in Education; and 
 
In regard to on-the-job training. 
In this regard, the survey findings provide support for theories that the recession has led to employers 'training smarter' and 'doing more for less', with increased emphasis on in-house training, training employees as trainers, reduced use of external providers and enhanced use of e-learning26. 

                                                 
 
However, the survey also finds evidence of skills under-use: 4.3 million workers (16 per cent of the workforce) are reported by employers to have skills and qualifications that are more advanced than are required in their current job role. Better harnessing these latent capabilities might potentially yield wide-ranging benefits for some employers, and there is a need for further research to better understand the nature of skills underuse, which employees are most affected by it, as well as its impact on both business performance and career progression. The survey also sheds some light on the issue of progression opportunities by paying particular attention to the recruitment of young people, an area in which there is significant current public and policy interest. Although the findings here suggest that there has been an increase in recruitment activity since the 2011 survey, and although most recruiting employers have recruited at least one young person over the last two to three years, there has been a fall in the proportion of employers recruiting young people from education across the UK as a whole.  
Around a quarter of employers recruited at least one education leaver in that period (27 per cent, down from 29 per cent in 2011). Most of them found these recruits to be well or very well prepared for work. However, as many as four in ten employers taking on school leavers at 16 from schools in England, Northern Ireland or Wales described the recruits as poorly prepared (as do three in ten employers in Scotland taking new recruits from Scottish schools between the ages of 16 and 18). This highlights that employer views and experiences with young people differ depending on age and stage of education.  
However, the main obstacle to (more) young people getting new jobs is competition in the market place, rather than perceptions that young applicants do not have the capability to perform in the job role. Where the choice not to recruit a young applicant was motivated by a belief that the young person did not have the capabilities to do the job the main things lacking were skills and experience, and sometimes both. Three in five recruiting employers (61 per cent) who had not recruited a young person said they had had no applications from young people. 

 
Employers who had recruited young people and/or education leavers over the past two to three years appeared to have a greater demand for (new) labour than other employers, being around twice as likely to have vacancies. They do not, however, appear to be more challenged in the labour market than other employers: their recruitment challenges are no more or less acute. These employers are though more challenged by skills in their existing workforce: they are more likely to have staff who were not fully proficient than other recruiting employers, and a larger proportion of their workforce lack proficiency. They are also more likely to train, and to fund and arrange training for a larger proportion of their workforce. These differences between those employers that had recruited young people and those that hadn't are also worthy of further investigation to aid understanding of how to improve employment and progression opportunities for this group. 

Overall, the findings from the UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2013 make an important contribution to larger debates about skills and the labour market in the UK. The survey provides valuable insights into the range of skills issues employers are facing and their investment behaviour, and raises questions for further research. The findings highlight some positive developments that support indications of economic recovery, but they also identify some more concerning trends and priorities for action that need to be addressed if UK businesses are to realise their full potential. Whilst the survey findings show that skills shortages and skills gaps affect different employers in varied ways, looking to the future, the survey also finds that the majority of employers expect their staff to need to acquire new skills or knowledge over the next year. If the UK is to remain competitive in the global context it is vital to ensure that employers across the board are able to make full use of the skills and talents of their people to drive business performance and growth.  

## Annex A: Supplementary Tables Chapter 1: Introduction

| % of                        | Number of      |
|-----------------------------|----------------|
|                             |                |
| Number of                   |                |
| establishments              | establishments |
| % of employment             |                |
| UK                          | 1,743,847      |
| 100                         |                |
| Country                     |                |
|                             |                |
|                             |                |
| England                     | 1,465,963      |
| Northern Ireland            | 55,603         |
| Scotland                    | 140,948        |
| Wales                       | 81,333         |
| Size                        |                |
|                             |                |
|                             |                |
| 2-4                         | 907,729        |
| 5-24                        | 651,910        |
| 25-49                       | 96,839         |
| 50-99                       | 49,784         |
| 100-249                     | 26,105         |
| 250+                        | 11,480         |
| Sector                      |                |
|                             |                |
|                             |                |
| Agriculture                 | 94,386         |
| Mining and Quarrying        | 1,712          |
| Manufacturing               | 99,955         |
| Electricity, Gas and Water  | 9,339          |
| Construction                | 162,801        |
| Wholesale and Retail        | 372,433        |
| Hotels and Restaurants      | 155,283        |
| Transport and               |                |
| Communications              |                |
| 121,484                     | 7              |
| Financial Services          | 40,030         |
| Business Services           | 348,735        |
| Public Administration       | 21,408         |
| Education                   | 57,523         |
| Health and Social Work      | 130,010        |
| Community, Social &         |                |
| Personal Service Activities |                |
| 128,748                     | 7              |

'*' denotes a figure larger than zero but smaller than 0.5 

 
Multi-site 
Single site 
Third Sector 
Public Sector 
Unwtd 
Private Sector  
Base: 
 Row percentages UK 
91,279 
% 
86 
9 
4 
65 
35 
Country  


England 
75,255 
% 
87 
9 
4 
66 
34 
Northern Ireland 
4,014 
% 
82 
10 
7 
70 
30 
Scotland  
6,014 
% 
82 
12 
6 
57 
43 
Wales 
5,996 
% 
86 
8 
6 
65 
35 
Size 


2-4 
19,058 
% 
89 
9 
1 
76 
24 
5-24 
51,565 
% 
86 
9 
5 
58 
42 
25-49 
10,947 
% 
75 
9 
15 
43 
57 
50-99 
5,584 
% 
70 
10 
19 
38 
62 
100-249 
2,938 
% 
68 
13 
18 
32 
68 
250+ 
1,187 
% 
67 
10 
23 
24 
76 
Sector  


Agriculture 
3,407 
% 
99 
1 
* 
93 
7 
Mining and Quarrying 
138 
% 
99 
0 
1 
31 
69 
Manufacturing 
7,422 
% 
99 
* 
* 
76 
24 
Electricity, Gas and Water 
1,148 
% 
94 
4 
2 
65 
35 
Construction 
7,202 
% 
100 
* 
* 
88 
12 
Wholesale and Retail 
17,287 
% 
91 
9 
* 
46 
54 
Hotels and Restaurants 
8,888 
% 
94 
5 
* 
64 
36 
Transport and 
Communications 
6,890 
% 
96 
2 
2 
73 
27 
Financial Services 
2,330 
% 
95 
3 
* 
46 
54 
Business Services 
14,011 
% 
95 
4 
1 
69 
31 
Public Administration 
942 
% 
29 
9 
61 
39 
61 
Education 
5,796 
% 
31 
22 
47 
67 
33 
Health and Social Work 
8,460 
% 
46 
43 
11 
52 
48 
7,358 
% 
63 
26 
10 
68 
32 
Community, Social & Personal Service Activities 

'*' denotes a figure larger than zero but smaller than 0.5 

| Average                     |               |
|-----------------------------|---------------|
| % of                        | Vacancies as  |
| Number                      | (mean)        |
| establishments              | a % of        |
|                             | of            |
| with a vacancy              | employment    |
| vacancies                   | establishment |
| (incidence)                 | (density)     |
| with vacancies              |               |
|                             |               |
| Base                        |               |
| %                           |               |
|                             |               |
| Rounded to                  |               |
| nearest 100                 |               |
|                             |               |
| %                           |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
| UK                          |               |
| 91,279                      |               |
| 15                          | 655,000       |
| Country                     |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
| England                     |               |
| 75,255                      |               |
| 15                          | 559,600       |
| Northern Ireland            |               |
| 4,014                       |               |
| 10                          | 15,200        |
| Scotland                    |               |
| 6,014                       |               |
| 15                          | 54,500        |
| Wales                       |               |
| 5,996                       |               |
| 14                          | 25,700        |
| Size                        |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
| 2-4                         |               |
| 19,058                      |               |
| 8                           | 106,300       |
| 5-24                        |               |
| 51,565                      |               |
| 17                          | 178,200       |
| 25-49                       |               |
| 10,947                      |               |
| 33                          | 79,200        |
| 50-99                       |               |
| 5,584                       |               |
| 43                          | 79,400        |
| 100-249                     |               |
| 2,938                       |               |
| 58                          | 92,000        |
| 250+                        |               |
| 1,187                       |               |
| 64                          | 119,900       |
| Sector                      |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
| Agriculture                 |               |
| 3,407                       |               |
| 5                           | 5,500         |
| Mining and Quarrying        |               |
| 138                         |               |
| 13                          | 1,700         |
| Manufacturing               |               |
| 7,422                       |               |
| 15                          | 36,800        |
| Electricity, Gas and Water  |               |
| 1,148                       |               |
| 17                          | 5,900         |
| Construction                |               |
| 7,202                       |               |
| 7                           | 21,900        |
| Wholesale and Retail        |               |
| 17,287                      |               |
| 12                          | 84,300        |
| Hotels and Restaurants      |               |
| 8,888                       |               |
| 18                          | 66,300        |
| Transport and               |               |
| Communications              |               |
| 6,890                       |               |
| 14                          | 49,100        |
| Financial Services          |               |
| 2,330                       |               |
| 17                          | 27,000        |
| Business Services           |               |
| 14,011                      |               |
| 15                          | 143,500       |
| Public Administration       |               |
| 942                         |               |
| 27                          | 34,100        |
| Education                   |               |
| 5,796                       |               |
| 29                          | 47,200        |
| Health and Social Work      |               |
| 8,460                       |               |
| 23                          | 86,600        |
| Community, Social &         |               |
| Personal Service Activities |               |
| 7,358                       |               |
| 16                          | 45,100        |

Base: All establishments Percentages in Column 3 are shown as a proportion of all employment. Number of vacancies rounded to the nearest 100. 

 

% of 
establishments 
with vacancies 
Number of 
Vacancy 
 
who have a 
vacancies 
density  
vacancy in 
occupation 
 
Unwtd Base:  
Rounded to 
nearest 100 
Base: 
% 
2011 
17,093 


Managers 
6 
19,300 
987 
0.4 
Professionals 
14 
81,900 
3,025 
2.6 
Associate Professionals 
19 
96,500 
3,179 
5.3 
Administrative and Clerical 
16 
57,300 
2,648 
1.6 
Skilled Trades 
14 
51,900 
2,219 
2.8 
Caring, Leisure and Other services 
13 
70,000 
2,556 
3.0 
Sales and Customer Service 
14 
79,300 
2,275 
2.3 
Machine Operatives 
6 
35,600 
1,129 
1.8 
Elementary occupations 
15 
80,500 
2,844 
2.0 
TOTAL 
 
586,500 
 
2.2 
2013 
18,959 


Managers 
6 
24,000 
1,168 
0.5 
Professionals 
16 
97,400 
3,594 
3.1 
Associate Professionals 
19 
98,500 
3,406 
6.3 
Administrative and Clerical 
15 
67,100 
2,760 
2.0 
Skilled Trades 
13 
50,800 
2,600 
2.7 
Caring, Leisure and Other services 
15 
100,500 
3,232 
3.6 
Sales and Customer Service 
14 
76,200 
2,578 
2.1 
Machine Operatives 
6 
30,100 
1,197 
1.6 
Elementary occupations 
15 
79,400 
3,171 
2.1 
TOTAL 
 
655,000 
 
2.4 

Base: Column 1: all establishments with vacancies; Column 2: all establishments; Column 3: all establishments with vacancies in each occupation. Column 4 percentages are based on all employment, rather than all establishments; figures therefore show the number of vacancies as a proportion of all employment in each occupation Note: Vacancies are rounded to the nearest 100. Vacancy total is higher than the sum of vacancies by occupation as only six occupations per establishment were followed up. 


size and sector 
|                             | % of          |
|-----------------------------|---------------|
| establishments              | Number of     |
| % of vacancies              |               |
|                             | with a skill- |
| which are SSVs              |               |
| shortage                    | vacancies     |
| vacancy                     |               |
|                             |               |
| Base:                       |               |
| %                           |               |
|                             |               |
| Rounded to                  |               |
| nearest 100                 |               |
|                             |               |
| Base:                       |               |
| %                           |               |
|                             |               |
| UK                          |               |
| 91,279                      |               |
| 4                           | 146,200       |
| 18,959                      |               |
| 22                          |               |
| Country                     |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
| England                     |               |
| 75,255                      |               |
| 4                           | 124,800       |
| 15,894                      |               |
| 22                          |               |
| Northern Ireland            |               |
| 4,014                       |               |
| 3                           | 2,900         |
| 550                         |               |
| 19                          |               |
| Scotland                    |               |
| 6,014                       |               |
| 4                           | 13,400        |
| 1,499                       |               |
| 25                          |               |
| Wales                       |               |
| 5,996                       |               |
| 4                           | 5,100         |
| 1,016                       |               |
| 20                          |               |
| Size                        |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
| 2-4                         |               |
| 19,058                      |               |
| 2                           | 32,200        |
| 1,403                       |               |
| 30                          |               |
| 5-24                        |               |
| 51,565                      |               |
| 5                           | 46,900        |
| 8,969                       |               |
| 26                          |               |
| 25-49                       |               |
| 10,947                      |               |
| 8                           | 16,300        |
| 3,653                       |               |
| 21                          |               |
| 50-99                       |               |
| 5,584                       |               |
| 10                          | 15,200        |
| 2,435                       |               |
| 19                          |               |
| 100-249                     |               |
| 2,938                       |               |
| 15                          | 17,500        |
| 1,737                       |               |
| 19                          |               |
| 250+                        |               |
| 1,187                       |               |
| 18                          | 18,100        |
| 762                         |               |
| 15                          |               |
| Sector                      |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
|                             |               |
| Agriculture                 |               |
| 3,407                       |               |
| 1                           | 1,600         |
| 167                         |               |
| 28                          |               |
| Mining and Quarrying        |               |
| 138                         |               |
| 3                           | 300           |
| 22                          |               |
| **                          |               |
| Manufacturing               |               |
| 7,422                       |               |
| 5                           | 11,200        |
| 1,347                       |               |
| 30                          |               |
| Electricity, Gas and Water  |               |
| 1,148                       |               |
| 5                           | 1,300         |
| 185                         |               |
| 23                          |               |
| Construction                |               |
| 7,202                       |               |
| 2                           | 5,000         |
| 706                         |               |
| 23                          |               |
| Wholesale and Retail        |               |
| 17,287                      |               |
| 3                           | 15,400        |
| 2,983                       |               |
| 18                          |               |
| Hotels and Restaurants      |               |
| 8,888                       |               |
| 5                           | 12,400        |
| 2,447                       |               |
| 19                          |               |
| Transport and               |               |
| Communications              |               |
| 6,890                       |               |
| 5                           | 12,900        |
| 1,232                       |               |
| 26                          |               |
| Financial Services          |               |
| 2,330                       |               |
| 4                           | 2,800         |
| 398                         |               |
| 10                          |               |
| Business Services           |               |
| 14,011                      |               |
| 5                           | 40,300        |
| 3,147                       |               |
| 28                          |               |
| Public Administration       |               |
| 942                         |               |
| 6                           | 7,400         |
| 283                         |               |
| 22                          |               |
| Education                   |               |
| 5,796                       |               |
| 6                           | 5,700         |
| 2,062                       |               |
| 12                          |               |
| Health and Social Work      |               |
| 8,460                       |               |
| 5                           | 19,200        |
| 2,375                       |               |
| 22                          |               |
| Community, Social &         |               |
| Personal Service Activities |               |
| 7,358                       |               |
| 4                           | 10,800        |
| 1,605                       |               |
| 24                          |               |

Base: Column 1 and 2: all establishments; Column 3: all establishments with vacancies Percentages in Column 3 are based on all vacancies, rather than all establishments with vacancies; figures therefore show the proportion of vacancies caused by skill shortages Notes: The number of skill-shortage vacancies has been rounded to the nearest 100 

|                                      |   % of vacancies which are SSVs  |
|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
| 2011                                 |                             2013 |
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
| Base:                                |                                  |
| %                                    |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
| Base:                                |                                  |
| %                                    |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
| UK                                   |                                  |
| 17,093                               |                                  |
| 16                                   |                                  |
| 18,959                               |                                  |
| 22                                   |                                  |
| Country                              |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
| England                              |                                  |
| 14,749                               |                                  |
| 15                                   |                                  |
| 15,894                               |                                  |
| 22                                   |                                  |
| Northern Ireland                     |                                  |
| 520                                  |                                  |
| 21                                   |                                  |
| 550                                  |                                  |
| 19                                   |                                  |
| Scotland                             |                                  |
| 729                                  |                                  |
| 15                                   |                                  |
| 1,499                                |                                  |
| 25                                   |                                  |
| Wales                                |                                  |
| 1,095                                |                                  |
| 18                                   |                                  |
| 1,016                                |                                  |
| 20                                   |                                  |
| Size                                 |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
| 2-4                                  |                                  |
| 1,389                                |                                  |
| 21                                   |                                  |
| 1,403                                |                                  |
| 30                                   |                                  |
| 5-24                                 |                                  |
| 7,869                                |                                  |
| 17                                   |                                  |
| 8,969                                |                                  |
| 26                                   |                                  |
| 25-49                                |                                  |
| 2,972                                |                                  |
| 18                                   |                                  |
| 3,653                                |                                  |
| 21                                   |                                  |
| 50-99                                |                                  |
| 2,241                                |                                  |
| 11                                   |                                  |
| 2,435                                |                                  |
| 19                                   |                                  |
| 100-249                              |                                  |
| 1,698                                |                                  |
| 14                                   |                                  |
| 1,737                                |                                  |
| 19                                   |                                  |
| 250+                                 |                                  |
| 924                                  |                                  |
| 8                                    |                                  |
| 762                                  |                                  |
| 15                                   |                                  |
| Sector                               |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
|                                      |                                  |
| Agriculture                          |                                  |
| 87                                   |                                  |
| 26                                   |                                  |
| 167                                  |                                  |
| 28                                   |                                  |
| Mining and Quarrying                 |                                  |
| 36                                   |                                  |
| 17                                   |                                  |
| 22                                   |                                  |
| **                                   |                                  |
| Manufacturing                        |                                  |
| 1,424                                |                                  |
| 24                                   |                                  |
| 1,347                                |                                  |
| 30                                   |                                  |
| Electricity, Gas and Water           |                                  |
| 205                                  |                                  |
| 13                                   |                                  |
| 185                                  |                                  |
| 23                                   |                                  |
| Construction                         |                                  |
| 575                                  |                                  |
| 18                                   |                                  |
| 706                                  |                                  |
| 23                                   |                                  |
| Wholesale and Retail                 |                                  |
| 2,549                                |                                  |
| 14                                   |                                  |
| 2,983                                |                                  |
| 18                                   |                                  |
| Hotels and Restaurants               |                                  |
| 2,078                                |                                  |
| 15                                   |                                  |
| 2,447                                |                                  |
| 19                                   |                                  |
| Transport and Communications         |                                  |
| 1,404                                |                                  |
| 14                                   |                                  |
| 1,232                                |                                  |
| 26                                   |                                  |
| Financial Services                   |                                  |
| 331                                  |                                  |
| 17                                   |                                  |
| 398                                  |                                  |
| 10                                   |                                  |
| Business Services                    |                                  |
| 2,945                                |                                  |
| 17                                   |                                  |
| 3,147                                |                                  |
| 28                                   |                                  |
| Public Administration                |                                  |
| 402                                  |                                  |
| 10                                   |                                  |
| 283                                  |                                  |
| 22                                   |                                  |
| Education                            |                                  |
| 1,487                                |                                  |
| 10                                   |                                  |
| 2,062                                |                                  |
| 12                                   |                                  |
| Health and Social Work               |                                  |
| 1,992                                |                                  |
| 10                                   |                                  |
| 2,375                                |                                  |
| 22                                   |                                  |
| Community, Social & Personal Service |                                  |
| Activities                           |                                  |
| 1,578                                |                                  |
| 21                                   |                                  |
| 1,605                                |                                  |
| 24                                   |                                  |

Base: all establishments with vacancies Percentages are based on all vacancies, rather than all establishments with vacancies; figures therefore show the proportion of vacancies caused by skill shortages Notes: The number of skill-shortage vacancies has been rounded to the nearest 100 "**" denotes figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 respondents); Figures in italics show base is below 50 and figures should be treated with caution. 


| Agriculture                                                                                                | **    | **    | **    | **    |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
| 37                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
| **                                                                                                         | **    |       |       |       |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| **                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| 23                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
| Mining and Quarrying                                                                                       | **    | **    | **    | **    |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| **                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| **                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
| Manufacturing                                                                                              | 26    | 55    | 28    | 14    |
| Electricity, Gas and                                                                                       |       |       |       |       |
| Water                                                                                                      |       |       |       |       |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| 49                                                                                                         | 41    | 9     | 24    |       |
| **                                                                                                         |       | 17    |       |       |
| 5                                                                                                          |       |       |       |       |
| Construction                                                                                               | 31    | 16    | 19    | 11    |
| 7                                                                                                          |       |       |       |       |
| 35                                                                                                         | 9     |       |       |       |
| Wholesale and Retail                                                                                       | 22    | 16    | 30    | 15    |
| Hotels and                                                                                                 |       |       |       |       |
| Restaurants                                                                                                |       |       |       |       |
| 25                                                                                                         |       | 15    | 19    | 44    |
| Transport and                                                                                              |       |       |       |       |
| Communications                                                                                             |       |       |       |       |
| 12                                                                                                         | 34    | 27    | 12    | 35    |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| 26                                                                                                         | 28    | 29    |       |       |
| Financial Services                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
| 6                                                                                                          | 12    |       |       |       |
| 15                                                                                                         | 8     | **    | **    |       |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| 9                                                                                                          | **    |       |       |       |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| **                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| Business Services                                                                                          | 25    | 37    | 34    | 23    |
| Public Administration                                                                                      | **    | 30    | 13    | 5     |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| **                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| **                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
| Education                                                                                                  |       |       |       |       |
| 14                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
| 13                                                                                                         | 15    | 6     |       |       |
| 27                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
| 12                                                                                                         | **    |       |       |       |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| **                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
|                                                                                                            |       |       |       |       |
| 9                                                                                                          |       |       |       |       |
| Health and Social                                                                                          |       |       |       |       |
| Work                                                                                                       |       |       |       |       |
| 16                                                                                                         | 32    | 10    | 7     | 20    |
| 2                                                                                                          |       |       |       |       |
| **                                                                                                         | 7     |       |       |       |
| Community, Social                                                                                          |       |       |       |       |
| and Personal Services                                                                                      |       |       |       |       |
| 15                                                                                                         | 20    | 23    | 11    | 20    |
| 31                                                                                                         |       |       |       |       |
| 3                                                                                                          |       |       |       |       |
| Base: All establishments with vacancies within each occupation by sector                                   |       |       |       |       |
| Densities are based on skill-shortage vacancies as a proportion of all vacancies within each occupation by |       |       |       |       |
| sector, rather than the number of establishments with vacancies.                                           |       |       |       |       |

'**' Figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 establishments with vacancies) Where base between 25 and 49 establishments with vacancies, figures are shown in italics 

Managers 
Professionals 
Clerical staff 
occupations 
Other Services 
Sales and 
Customer Services 
Machine 
Operatives 
UK 
1,168 
3,594 
3,406 
2,760 2,600 3,232 
2,578 
1,197 
3,171 
1.7 
Professionals 
1.8 
Associate 
1.9 
Administrative / 
1.10 
Skilled Trades 
1.11 
Caring, Leisure and 
1.12 
Elementary staff 


Agriculture 


27 


95 
Mining and Quarrying 


Manufacturing 
86 
187 
319 
177 
445 
 
113 
316 
98 
Electricity, Gas and Water 
13 
30 
29 
33 
33 
 
 
56 
32 
Construction 
50 
83 
97 
103 
312 
 
32 
73 
67 
Wholesale and Retail 
257 
93 
264 
263 
381 
 
1,750 
199 
283 
Hotels and Restaurants 
177 
 
60 
224 
711 
129 
117 
96 
1,741 
Transport and Communications 
54 
369 
335 
182 
150 
14 
121 
219 
79 
Financial Services 
25 
32 
133 
189 
 
 
74 
 
 
Business Services 
177 
839 
1,120 
649 
317 
158 
209 
141 
252 
Public Administration 
 
69 
86 
97 
 
82 


Education 
43 
1,227 
258 
268 
41 
678 
 
 
172 
Health and Social Work 
145 
551 
356 
272 
86 
1363 
33 
 
162 
Community, Social and Personal Services  
110 
106 
344 
292 
87 
776 
77 
25 
165 


|                              | UK    | England    |
|------------------------------|-------|------------|
| Northern                     |       |            |
| Ireland                      |       |            |
| Scotland                     | Wales |            |
| Base                         | 4,897 | 4,057      |
|                              | %     | %          |
| Technical, practical or job  |       |            |
| specific skills              |       |            |
| 63                           | 62    | 69         |
| Oral communication skills    | 41    | 42         |
| Planning and organisational  |       |            |
| skills                       |       |            |
| 41                           | 41    | 60         |
| Customer handling skills     | 40    | 41         |
| Written communication skills | 38    | 38         |
| Problem solving skills       | 37    | 37         |
| Literacy skills              | 34    | 35         |
| Team working skills          | 33    | 33         |
| Strategic Management skills  | 30    | 30         |
| Numeracy skills              | 26    | 26         |
| Advanced IT or software      |       |            |
| skills                       |       |            |
| 22                           | 22    | 21         |
| Foreign language skills      | 17    | 17         |
| Basic computer literacy /    |       |            |
| using IT                     |       |            |
| 16                           | 16    | 27         |
| Written Welsh language       |       |            |
| skills                       |       |            |
| n/a                          | n/a   | n/a        |
| Oral Welsh language skills   | n/a   | n/a        |

Base: All establishments with skill-shortage vacancies Percentages are based on all skill-shortage vacancies, rather than all establishments with skill-shortage vacancies; proportions therefore show the percentage of skill-shortage vacancies within each country caused by lack of each skill. 


Base 
4,869 
269 
1,030 
860 
374 
1,026 
664 
407 
294 
452 
1.13 
1.14 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Technical, practical or job specific skills 
63 
59 
67 
72 
65 
72 
46 
56 
69 
51 
Oral communication 
skills 
41 
33 
29 
43 
46 
35 
43 
57 
28 
65 
Planning and Organisation skills 
41 
53 
26 
43 
58 
41 
39 
56 
30 
56 
Customer handling skills 
40 
40 
27 
44 
49 
30 
44 
62 
41 
52 
Written communication skills 
38 
31 
25 
40 
49 
37 
45 
46 
32 
36 
Problem solving skills 
37 
47 
23 
34 
51 
40 
39 
50 
31 
43 
Literacy skills 
34 
21 
23 
31 
46 
35 
42 
42 
33 
40 
Team working skills 
33 
34 
22 
31 
40 
29 
37 
44 
30 
52 
Strategic Management skills 
30 
48 
35 
33 
44 
28 
21 
34 
24 
22 
Numeracy skills 
26 
26 
14 
25 
45 
28 
28 
36 
33 
31 
Advanced IT or software skills 
22 
32 
31 
22 
39 
18 
14 
19 
12 
7 
Foreign language skills 
17 
19 
14 
17 
16 
19 
18 
21 
15 
22 
Basic computer literacy / using IT 
16 
22 
10 
15 
23 
17 
19 
26 
19 
13 
No skills difficulty reported 
4 
1 
4 
3 
2 
3 
9 
2 
6 
4 


269 
10 
47 
33 
26 
80 
22 
23 
21 
30 
Wales only 
Base: 
Written Welsh language skills  
15 
** 
27 
30 
12 
8 
** 
** 
** 
5 
Oral Welsh language skills 
13 
** 
24 
28 
12 
10 
** 
** 
** 
12 

Base: All establishments with skill-shortage vacancies Percentages are based on all skill-shortage vacancies, rather than all establishments with skill-shortage vacancies; proportions therefore show the percentage of skill-shortage vacancies within each occupation caused by lack of each skill. Note: Column percentages exceed 100 per cent because of multiple responses; skill-shortage vacancies unable to be coded to an occupational group have been included in the "Overall" figures, though have not been included in the more detailed breakdown 
'**' denotes figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 respondents); Figures in italics denote base size smaller than 50: figures should be treated with caution 

|                              | Number of     | Number of       |
|------------------------------|---------------|-----------------|
| skill-                       | 'other' hard- | vacancies that  |
|                              |               |                 |
| shortage                     | to-fill       | are a result of |
| vacancies                    | vacancies     | skill shortages |
|                              |               |                 |
| Base                         |               |                 |
| Rounded to                   |               |                 |
| nearest 100                  |               |                 |
|                              |               |                 |
| Rounded to                   |               |                 |
| nearest 100                  |               |                 |
|                              |               |                 |
| %                            |               |                 |
|                              |               |                 |
| UK                           |               |                 |
| 6,133                        |               |                 |
| 146,200                      | 43,100        | 77              |
| Country                      |               |                 |
|                              |               |                 |
|                              |               |                 |
| England                      |               |                 |
| 5,073                        |               |                 |
| 124,800                      | 35,200        | 78              |
| Northern Ireland             |               |                 |
| 181                          |               |                 |
| 2,900                        | 1,100         | 73              |
| Scotland                     |               |                 |
| 538                          |               |                 |
| 13,400                       | 4,800         | 74              |
| Wales                        |               |                 |
| 341                          |               |                 |
| 5,100                        | 2,100         | 71              |
| Size                         |               |                 |
|                              |               |                 |
|                              |               |                 |
| 2-4                          |               |                 |
| 536                          |               |                 |
| 32,200                       | 13,300        | 71              |
| 5-24                         |               |                 |
| 3,033                        |               |                 |
| 46,900                       | 12,500        | 79              |
| 25-49                        |               |                 |
| 1,115                        |               |                 |
| 16,300                       | 6,200         | 72              |
| 50-99                        |               |                 |
| 697                          |               |                 |
| 15,200                       | 5,100         | 75              |
| 100-249                      |               |                 |
| 528                          |               |                 |
| 17,500                       | 4,900         | 78              |
| 250+                         |               |                 |
| 224                          |               |                 |
| 18,100                       | 1,200         | 94              |
| Sector                       |               |                 |
|                              |               |                 |
|                              |               |                 |
| Agriculture                  |               |                 |
| 74                           |               |                 |
| 1,600                        | 600           | 71              |
| Mining and Quarrying         |               |                 |
| 5                            |               |                 |
| **                           | **            | **              |
| Manufacturing                |               |                 |
| 530                          |               |                 |
| 11,200                       | 1,600         | 87              |
| Electricity, Gas and Water   |               |                 |
| 65                           |               |                 |
| 1,300                        | 200           | 90              |
| Construction                 |               |                 |
| 249                          |               |                 |
| 5,000                        | 2,400         | 67              |
| Wholesale and Retail         |               |                 |
| 802                          |               |                 |
| 15,400                       | 6,100         | 72              |
| Hotels and Restaurants       |               |                 |
| 841                          |               |                 |
| 12,400                       | 6,500         | 66              |
| Transport and Communications |               |                 |
| 499                          |               |                 |
| 12,900                       | 3,200         | 80              |
| Financial Services           |               |                 |
| 121                          |               |                 |
| 2,800                        | 500           | 85              |
| Business Services            |               |                 |
| 1,158                        |               |                 |
| 40,300                       | 4,900         | 89              |
| Public Administration        |               |                 |
| 83                           |               |                 |
| 7,400                        | 2,800         | 73              |
| Education                    |               |                 |
| 480                          |               |                 |
| 5,700                        | 2,100         | 73              |
| Health and Social Work       |               |                 |
| 736                          |               |                 |
| 19,200                       | 6,900         | 74              |
| Community, Social & Personal |               |                 |
| Service Activities           |               |                 |
| 490                          |               |                 |
| 10,800                       | 5,100         | 68              |

Base: Establishments with hard-to-fill vacancies. Percentages are based on all hard-to-fill vacancies, rather than all establishments with hard-to-fill vacancies; proportions therefore show the percentage of hard-to-fill vacancies within each occupation caused by skill shortages. '**' denotes figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 respondents) 

|                                   | UK    | England    |
|-----------------------------------|-------|------------|
| Northern                          |       |            |
| Ireland                           |       |            |
| Scotland                          | Wales |            |
| Base                              | 4,675 | 3,879      |
|                                   | %     | %          |
| Increase workload for other staff | 84    | 83         |
| 49                                | 48    | 51         |
| Have difficulties meeting         |       |            |
| customer service objectives       |       |            |
| 44                                | 43    | 52         |
| Delay developing new products or  |       |            |
| services                          |       |            |
| 42                                | 42    | 42         |
| Lose business or orders to        |       |            |
| competitors                       |       |            |
| 42                                | 42    | 39         |
| Experience increased operating    |       |            |
| costs                             |       |            |
| 37                                | 36    | 49         |
| Have difficulties introducing new |       |            |
| working practices                 |       |            |
| 35                                | 34    | 35         |
| Have difficulties meeting quality |       |            |
| standards                         |       |            |
| Outsource work                    | 29    | 29         |
| 24                                | 24    | 33         |
| Withdraw from offering certain    |       |            |
| products or services              |       |            |
| 21                                | 20    | 27         |
| Have difficulties introducing     |       |            |
| technological change              |       |            |
| None of the above                 | 5     | 5          |
| Don't Know                        | *     | *          |
| ANY IMPACT                        | 95    | 95         |

 
Base: All establishments where all hard-to-fill vacancies caused by skills related issues 

'-' denotes a figure of zero * indicates a figure of greater than 0 but less than 0.5 
 

|                            | Total number    | Average    | Average       |
|----------------------------|-----------------|------------|---------------|
| of hard-to-fill            |                 |            |               |
| vacancies for              | % of            |            |               |
| number of                  |                 |            |               |
| hard-to-fill               |                 |            |               |
| number of                  |                 |            |               |
| hard-to-fill               |                 |            |               |
|                            | those with      | vacancies  | vacancies for |
| vacancies                  | hard-to-fill    | those with | those with    |
| hard-to-fill               | vacancies       |            |               |
| vacancies                  |                 |            |               |
|                            |                 |            |               |
| Unwtd                      |                 |            |               |
| base                       |                 |            |               |
|                            |                 |            |               |
| %                          |                 |            |               |
| UK                         |                 |            |               |
| 18,959                     |                 |            |               |
| 189,300                    | 29              | 2.1        | 0.7           |
| Country                    |                 |            |               |
|                            |                 |            |               |
|                            |                 |            |               |
| England                    |                 |            |               |
| 15,894                     |                 |            |               |
| 16,000                     | 29              | 2.1        | 0.7           |
| Northern Ireland           |                 |            |               |
| 550                        |                 |            |               |
| 4,000                      | 26              | 2.0        | 0.7           |
| Scotland                   |                 |            |               |
| 1,499                      |                 |            |               |
| 18,200                     | 33              | 2.2        | 0.8           |
| Wales                      |                 |            |               |
| 1,016                      |                 |            |               |
| 7,200                      | 28              | 1.9        | 0.7           |
| Size                       |                 |            |               |
|                            |                 |            |               |
|                            |                 |            |               |
| 2-4                        |                 |            |               |
| 1,403                      |                 |            |               |
| 45,400                     | 43              | 1.7        | 0.7           |
| 5-24                       |                 |            |               |
| 8,969                      |                 |            |               |
| 59,400                     | 33              | 1.6        | 0.6           |
| 25-49                      |                 |            |               |
| 3,653                      |                 |            |               |
| 22,500                     | 28              | 2.2        | 0.7           |
| 50-99                      |                 |            |               |
| 2,435                      |                 |            |               |
| 20,300                     | 26              | 3.0        | 0.9           |
| 100-249                    |                 |            |               |
| 1,737                      |                 |            |               |
| 22,400                     | 24              | 4.2        | 1.4           |
| 250+                       |                 |            |               |
| 762                        |                 |            |               |
| 19,300                     | 16              | 7.2        | 2.2           |
| Sector                     |                 |            |               |
|                            |                 |            |               |
|                            |                 |            |               |
| Agriculture                |                 |            |               |
| 167                        |                 |            |               |
| 2,200                      | 40              | 1.2        | 0.5           |
| Mining and Quarrying       |                 |            |               |
| 22                         |                 |            |               |
| 300                        | 20              | 4.5        | 1.1           |
| Manufacturing              |                 |            |               |
| 1,347                      |                 |            |               |
| 12,800                     | 35              | 2.2        | 0.9           |
| Electricity, Gas and Water |                 |            |               |
| 185                        |                 |            |               |
| 1,500                      | 25              | 2.2        | 0.8           |
| Construction               |                 |            |               |
| 706                        |                 |            |               |
| 7,400                      | 34              | 1.8        | 0.6           |
| Wholesale and Retail       |                 |            |               |
| 2,983                      |                 |            |               |
| 21,500                     | 26              | 1.7        | 0.5           |
| Hotels and Restaurants     |                 |            |               |
| 2,447                      |                 |            |               |
| 19,000                     | 29              | 1.9        | 0.7           |
| Transport and              |                 |            |               |
| Communications             |                 |            |               |
| 1,232                      |                 |            |               |
| 16,100                     | 33              | 2.1        | 0.9           |
| Financial Services         |                 |            |               |
| 398                        |                 |            |               |
| 3,300                      | 12              | 1.6        | 0.4           |
| Business Services          |                 |            |               |
| 3,147                      |                 |            |               |
| 45,200                     | 32              | 2.1        | 0.8           |
| Public Administration      |                 |            |               |
| 283                        |                 |            |               |
| 10,200                     | 30              | 5.3        | 1.6           |
| Education                  |                 |            |               |
| 2,062                      |                 |            |               |
| 7,800                      | 17              | 1.8        | 0.5           |
| Health and Social Work     |                 |            |               |
| 2,375                      |                 |            |               |
| 26,200                     | 30              | 2.6        | 0.9           |
| 1,605                      |                 |            |               |
| 15,900                     | 35              | 2.3        | 0.8           |
| Community, Social &        |                 |            |               |
| Personal Service           |                 |            |               |
| Activities                 |                 |            |               |

Base: All establishments with vacancies Notes: The number of hard-to-fill vacancies has been rounded to the nearest 100 

|                                                      | Country     |
|------------------------------------------------------|-------------|
|                                                      |             |
| Size Band                                            |             |
|                                                      |             |
| UK                                                   | 2-4         |
| 5-24                                                 |             |
| 250+                                                 |             |
|                                                      |             |
| 25-49                                                | 25-99       |
| Wales                                                |             |
| Ireland                                              |             |
| 100-249                                              |             |
| England                                              |             |
| Northern                                             |             |
| Scotland                                             |             |
|                                                      |             |
| %                                                    | %           |
|                                                      |             |
| Base:                                                | 6,133 5,073 |
| Low number of applicants                             |             |
| with the required skills                             |             |
|                                                      |             |
| 40                                                   | 41          |
| Lack of work experience the                          |             |
| company demands                                      |             |
|                                                      |             |
| 25                                                   | 26          |
| 18                                                   | 18          |
| Not enough people                                    |             |
| interested in doing this type                        |             |
| of job                                               |             |
| 18                                                   | 18          |
| Low number of applicants                             |             |
| with the required attitude,                          |             |
| motivation or personality                            |             |
|                                                      |             |
| Lack of qualifications the                           |             |
| company demands                                      |             |
|                                                      |             |
| 18                                                   | 18          |
| Poor terms and conditions                            |             |
| (e.g. pay) offered for post                          |             |
| 13                                                   | 13          |
| Low number of applicants                             |             |
| generally                                            |             |
|                                                      |             |
| 13                                                   | 13          |
| Job entails shift                                    |             |
| work/unsociable hours                                |             |
|                                                      |             |
| 10                                                   | 9           |
| Too much competition from                            |             |
| other employers                                      |             |
| 9                                                    | 8           |
| Remote location/poor public                          |             |
| transport                                            |             |
|                                                      |             |
| 8                                                    | 7           |
| Poor career progression /                            |             |
| lack of prospects                                    |             |
|                                                      |             |
| 3                                                    | 3           |
| Base: All establishments with hard-to-fill vacancies |             |

Percentages are based on all hard-to-fill vacancies. Reasons mentioned in more than one per cent of cases shown. 


 
Unwtd 
Base 
Row percentages 
Unwtd 
Base 
Row percentages 
UK 
86,522 
17 
1,485,500 
5.5 
91,279 
15 
1,409,900 
5.2 
Size 


2-4 
17,905 
8 
85,600 
3.6 
19,058 
7 
69,900 
2.9 
5-24 
47,770 
23 
352,800 
5.5 
51,565 
21 
315,600 
4.9 
25-49 
10,239 
35 
185,200 
5.5 
10,947 
32 
169,500 
5.1 
50-99 
5,712 
39 
186,900 
5.5 
5,584 
36 
178,100 
5.2 
100-249 
3,270 
44 
235,800 
5.8 
2,938 
44 
221,100 
5.5 
250 + 
1,626 
47 
439,100 
6.0 
1,187 
48 
455,700 
6.2 
Sector 


Agriculture 
921 
11 
17,200 
4.6 
3,407 
9 
16,700 
4.4 
Mining and Quarrying 
185 
14 
1,800 
3.1 
138 
14 
4,100 
7.3 
Manufacturing 
7,653 
20 
145,100 
6.0 
7,422 
18 
134,800 
5.8 
Electricity, Gas and Water 
1,406 
19 
15,400 
5.6 
1,148 
18 
14,400 
5.1 
Construction 
6,576 
13 
64,900 
4.8 
7,202 
11 
59,100 
4.7 
Wholesale and Retail 
15,163 
19 
293,500 
6.6 
17,287 
17 
254,400 
5.8 
Hotels and Restaurants 
8,421 
23 
155,600 
9.0 
8,888 
21 
159,400 
8.9 
Transport and Communications 
7,810 
15 
99,300 
4.6 
6,890 
13 
94,500 
4.4 
Financial Services 
1,853 
21 
46,000 
4.4 
2,330 
19 
83,800 
8.1 
Business Services 
14,297 
13 
220,900 
5.1 
14,011 
13 
224,100 
5.0 
Public Administration 
1,584 
23 
83,000 
5.3 
942 
20 
69,000 
4.8 
Education 
5,422 
22 
94,900 
3.8 
5,796 
18 
97,700 
3.8 
Health and Social Work 
8,067 
20 
180,200 
5.2 
8,460 
19 
143,600 
4.0 
7,164 
16 
67,800 
5.6 
7,358 
14 
54,200 
4.4 
Community, Social and Personal Services activities  

Base: Columns one and four all establishments; remainder all employment. Note: The number of employees not fully proficient has been rounded to the nearest 100. Percentages are based on all employment, rather than all establishments; proportions therefore show the percentage of staff with a skills gap. 

|                                    | UK    | England    |
|------------------------------------|-------|------------|
| Northern                           |       |            |
| Ireland                            |       |            |
| Scotland                           | Wales |            |
|                                    |       |            |
| %                                  | %     | %          |
| Managers                           | 3     | 3          |
| Professionals                      | 4     | 4          |
| Associate Professionals            | 5     | 5          |
| Administrative / clerical staff    | 5     | 5          |
| Skilled trades occupations         | 6     | 5          |
| Caring, leisure and other services | 5     | 4          |
| Sales and customer services staff  | 8     | 8          |
| Machine operatives                 | 5     | 5          |
| Elementary staff                   | 7     | 7          |

Base: All establishments with staff in each occupation Percentages are based on all employment, rather than all establishments; proportions therefore show the percentage of staff with a skills gap. 

Managers 
Professionals 
UK 
3 
4 
5 
5 
6 
5 
8 
5 
7 
1.19 
Professionals 
1.20 
Associate 


Agriculture 
1 
3 
4 
2 
4 
** 
4 
6 
10 
Mining and Quarrying 
5 
** 
** 
7 
9 
** 
** 
11 
2 
Manufacturing 
3 
5 
7 
5 
6 
5 
6 
7 
6 
Electricity, Gas and Water 
3 
4 
4 
4 
5 
** 
3 
7 
8 
Construction 
4 
5 
7 
4 
5 
** 
4 
3 
7 
Wholesale and Retail 
3 
4 
8 
4 
5 
4 
7 
5 
6 
Hotels and Restaurants 
4 
3 
7 
5 
8 
6 
14 
10 
10 
Transport and Communications 
3 
5 
5 
4 
6 
2 
8 
3 
3 
Financial Services 
7 
9 
4 
7 
** 
** 
11 
** 
14 
Business Services 
2 
4 
5 
6 
4 
4 
7 
5 
11 
Public Administration 
4 
5 
6 
6 
3 
5 
4 
* 
3 
Education 
3 
4 
7 
4 
4 
4 
4 
21 
5 
Health and Social Work 
2 
2 
3 
4 
3 
5 
11 
3 
4 
Community, Social and Personal Services  
2 
2 
3 
4 
6 
5 
6 
6 
7 
Base: All establishments employing each occupation by sector 

Densities are based on skills gaps as a proportion of all employment within each occupation by sector, rather than the number of establishments with skills gaps. '**' Figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 establishments employing occupation) '-' denotes a figure of zero * indicates a figure of greater than 0 but less than 0.5 Where base between 25 and 49 establishments with vacancies, figures are shown in italics 

Clerical  
and Other Services 
Sales and 
Customer Service 
Machine 
Operatives 
occupations 
1.21 
Administrative and 
1.22 
Skilled Trades  
1.23 
Caring, Leisure 
1.24 
Elementary 

Caring, 
Service 
Machine 
Managers 
Sales and 
Customer 
Associate 
Operatives 
Elementary 
Leisure and 
and Clerical 
occupations 
Professionals 
Professionals 
Skilled Trades 
Administrative 
Other services 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Base: 
3,673 
1,568 
1,369 
3,909 
3,032 
2,340 
4,840 
1,488 
4,630 
New to the role 
44 
58 
59 
54 
52 
62 
60 
53 
54 
Training only partially completed 
45 
61 
66 
54 
67 
63 
54 
54 
53 
Staff lack motivation 
31 
28 
23 
27 
26 
34 
36 
33 
41 
Been on training but performance not improved sufficiently  
26 
29 
24 
26 
24 
31 
35 
27 
34 
Introduction of new working practices  
33 
26 
26 
30 
21 
31 
25 
22 
21 
Not received appropriate training  
34 
23 
24 
27 
26 
27 
22 
23 
22 
Unable to recruit staff with required skills 
20 
21 
20 
16 
26 
22 
19 
27 
22 
Development of new products and services 
20 
19 
22 
19 
17 
17 
21 
13 
13 
Introduction of new technology 
23 
20 
20 
25 
19 
15 
17 
20 
12 
Problems retaining staff 
10 
9 
8 
6 
8 
11 
11 
8 
13 
Summary: New to role / training not complete (transient factors)  
60 
76 
78 
68 
78 
79 
72 
68 
69 
Base: All establishments with skills gaps in each occupation - up to two occupations followed up 

Percentages are based on all skills gaps, rather than all establishments with skills gaps; proportions therefore show the percentage of skills gaps attributed to each cause.

Caring, 
Service 
Machine 
Managers 
Sales and 
Customer 
Associate 
Operatives 
Elementary 
Leisure and 
and Clerical 
occupations 
Professionals 
Professionals 
Skilled Trades 
Administrative 
Other services 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Base: 
3,673 
1,568 
1,369 
3,909 
3,032 
2,340 
4,840 
1,488 
4,630 
Technical, practical or job-specific 
37 
59 
55 
66 
68 
56 
56 
68 
58 
Planning and organisation 
70 
61 
55 
67 
51 
62 
55 
42 
51 
Team working 
56 
46 
44 
53 
40 
64 
52 
53 
60 
Customer handling 
34 
36 
35 
57 
34 
54 
71 
23 
58 
Problem solving 
52 
45 
40 
53 
47 
51 
49 
52 
47 
Oral communication 
45 
40 
35 
45 
35 
50 
51 
48 
54 
Written communication 
32 
35 
33 
48 
30 
58 
25 
39 
34 
Basic computer literacy / using IT 
21 
18 
17 
38 
18 
41 
23 
35 
23 
Strategic Management 
65 
42 
29 
20 
21 
15 
20 
12 
16 
Literacy 
13 
16 
16 
27 
23 
48 
18 
39 
24 
Advanced IT or software 
33 
33 
26 
44 
17 
24 
16 
15 
11 
Numeracy 
13 
14 
11 
28 
19 
36 
23 
31 
22 
Foreign language 
8 
11 
7 
7 
9 
21 
12 
13 
16 

Base: All establishments with skills gaps in each occupation - up to two occupations followed up Percentages are based on all skills gaps, rather than all establishments with skills gaps; proportions therefore show the percentage of skills gaps attributed to each cause.

|                                         | UK     | England    |
|-----------------------------------------|--------|------------|
| Northern                                |        |            |
| Ireland                                 |        |            |
| Scotland Wales                          |        |            |
|                                         |        |            |
| %                                       | %      | %          |
| Base:                                   | 20,228 | 16,563     |
| Increased training activity / spend or  |        |            |
| increase / expand trainee programmes    |        |            |
| 68                                      | 68     | 58         |
| More supervision of staff               | 60     | 59         |
| More staff appraisals / performance     |        |            |
| reviews                                 |        |            |
| 51                                      | 51     | 49         |
| Implementation of mentoring / buddying  |        |            |
| scheme                                  |        |            |
| 47                                      | 47     | 40         |
| Reallocating work                       | 37     | 36         |
| Changing working practices              | 31     | 31         |
| Increasing recruitment activity / spend | 16     | 16         |
| Recruiting workers who are non-UK       |        |            |
| nationals                               |        |            |
| 10                                      | 11     | 9          |
| Any action taken                        | 86     | 85         |

Base: All establishments will skills gaps  

|                        |                        |      |
|------------------------|------------------------|------|
|                        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
| 2013                   |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
| under-use              | under-use              |      |
| skilled staff          | skilled staff          |      |
| reporting skills       | reporting skills       |      |
| Number of over-        | Number of over-        |      |
| and over-skilled       | and over-skilled       |      |
| qualified and over-    | qualified and over-    |      |
| % of establishments    |                        |      |
| being over-qualified   |                        |      |
| % of establishments    |                        |      |
| being over-qualified   |                        |      |
| % of staff reported as | % of staff reported as |      |
| Row percentages        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
| Base                   |                        | Base |
|                        |                        |      |
| UK                     |                        |      |
| 86,522                 |                        |      |
| 48                     | 4,168,000              | 15   |
| 45,644                 |                        |      |
| 48                     | 4,283,000              | 16   |
| Size                   |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
| 2-4                    |                        |      |
| 17,905                 |                        |      |
| 47                     | 714,000                | 30   |
| 9,532                  |                        |      |
| 47                     | 728,000                |      |
| 30                     |                        |      |
| 5-24                   |                        |      |
| 47,770                 |                        |      |
| 48                     | 1,205,000              | 19   |
| 25,704                 |                        |      |
| 48                     | 1,208,000              |      |
| 19                     |                        |      |
| 25-49                  |                        |      |
| 10,239                 |                        |      |
| 50                     | 453,000                | 13   |
| 5,545                  |                        |      |
| 51                     | 490,000                | 15   |
| 50-99                  |                        |      |
| 5,712                  |                        |      |
| 50                     | 407,000                | 12   |
| 2,802                  |                        |      |
| 51                     | 445,000                | 13   |
| 100-249                |                        |      |
| 3,270                  |                        |      |
| 49                     | 467,000                | 12   |
| 1,472                  |                        |      |
| 50                     | 479,000                | 12   |
| 250+                   |                        |      |
| 1,626                  |                        |      |
| 48                     | 922,000                | 13   |
| 589                    |                        |      |
| 48                     | 934,000                | 13   |
| Sector                 |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
|                        |                        |      |
| Agriculture            |                        |      |
| 921                    |                        |      |
| 38                     | 70,000                 | 19   |
| 1,725                  |                        |      |
| 38                     | 73,000                 | 19   |
| Mining and Quarrying   |                        |      |
| 185                    |                        |      |
| 44                     | 15,000                 | 26   |
| 76                     |                        |      |
| 41                     | 4,000                  | 6    |
| Manufacturing          |                        |      |
| 7,653                  |                        |      |
| 41                     | 234,000                | 10   |
| 3,763                  |                        |      |
| 39                     | 233,000                | 10   |
| Electricity, Gas and   |                        |      |
| Water                  |                        |      |
| 1,406                  |                        |      |
| 42                     | 27,000                 | 10   |
| 571                    |                        |      |
| 45                     | 36,000                 | 13   |
| Construction           |                        |      |
| 6,576                  |                        |      |
| 41                     | 226,000                | 17   |
| 3,623                  |                        |      |
| 40                     | 181,000                | 14   |
| Wholesale and Retail   |                        |      |
| 15,163                 |                        |      |
| 51                     | 760,000                | 17   |
| 8,731                  |                        |      |
| 50                     | 762,000                | 17   |
| Hotels and             |                        |      |
| Restaurants            |                        |      |
| 8,421                  |                        |      |
| 61                     | 438,000                | 25   |
| 4,359                  |                        |      |
| 60                     | 426,000                | 24   |
| Transport and          |                        |      |
| Communications         |                        |      |
| 7,810                  |                        |      |
| 45                     | 297,000                | 14   |
| 3,427                  |                        |      |
| 44                     | 321,000                | 15   |
| Financial Services     |                        |      |
| 1,853                  |                        |      |
| 51                     | 165,000                | 16   |
| 1,169                  |                        |      |
| 50                     | 125,000                | 12   |
| Business Services      |                        |      |
| 14,297                 |                        |      |
| 45                     | 659,000                | 15   |
| 6,939                  |                        |      |
| 44                     | 704,000                | 16   |
| Public Administration  |                        |      |
| 1,584                  |                        |      |
| 53                     | 216,000                | 14   |
| 480                    |                        |      |
| 53                     | 135,000                | 9    |
| Education              |                        |      |
| 5,422                  |                        |      |
| 53                     | 337,000                | 13   |
| 2,907                  |                        |      |
| 54                     | 321,000                | 12   |
| Health and Social      |                        |      |
| Work                   |                        |      |
| 8,067                  |                        |      |
| 50                     | 475,000                | 14   |
| 4,221                  |                        |      |
| 53                     | 701,000                | 19   |
| 7,164                  |                        |      |
| 52                     | 250,000                | 21   |
| 3,653                  |                        |      |
| 52                     | 260,000                | 21   |
| Community, Social      |                        |      |
| and Personal Services  |                        |      |
| activities             |                        |      |

Base: All establishments in Module 2 Percentages are based on all employment, rather than all establishments; proportions therefore show the percentage of staff who are over-qualified and over-skilled Note: The number of employees reported as being over-qualified and over-skilled has been rounded to the nearest 1,000. 

 
Caring, 
Service 
Machine 
Managers 
Sales and 
Customer 
Associate 
Operatives 
Elementary 
Leisure and 
and Clerical 
occupations 
Professionals 
Professionals 
Skilled Trades 
Administrative 
Other services 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Base: 
11,552 
3,369 
1,666 
2,602 
3,423 
2,562 
3,966 
1,469 
2,021 
Technical, practical or job specific skills  
49 
70 
75 
55 
71 
61 
55 
70 
59 
Planning and organising skills  
44 
43 
43 
41 
38 
53 
50 
34 
47 
Problem solving skills 
32 
32 
35 
34 
35 
41 
44 
31 
44 
Advanced IT or software skills 
36 
48 
51 
49 
23 
20 
26 
17 
14 
Team working skills 
28 
30 
28 
27 
28 
53 
43 
30 
50 
Customer handling skills 
25 
24 
31 
31 
26 
43 
56 
21 
51 
Strategic management skills 
39 
32 
27 
27 
18 
24 
27 
12 
20 
Basic computer literacy / using IT 
24 
18 
17 
29 
23 
32 
28 
24 
25 
Oral communication skills 
18 
17 
18 
22 
18 
35 
34 
20 
38 
Written communication skills 
15 
17 
19 
20 
16 
36 
21 
15 
23 
Numeracy skills 
11 
11 
7 
16 
10 
18 
14 
11 
23 
Literacy skills  
10 
11 
8 
15 
11 
23 
15 
10 
18 
Foreign language skills 
11 
10 
8 
10 
5 
10 
12 
5 
11 
Base: All establishments who anticipate an upskilling need in next twelve months (Module 2) 
% of 
% of 
establishments 
% of 
establishments 
with a skillestablishments 
with any skills 
shortage 
with either 
Unwtd 
gaps 
vacancy 
Base 
Row percentages 
UK 
91,279 
15 
4 
18 
Country 


England 
75,255 
15 
4 
18 
Northern Ireland 
4,014 
14 
3 
16 
Scotland 
6,014 
19 
4 
21 
Wales 
5,996 
16 
4 
18 
Size 


2-4 
19,058 
7 
2 
9 
5-24 
51,565 
21 
5 
24 
25-49 
10,947 
32 
8 
36 
50-99 
5,584 
36 
10 
40 
100-249 
2,938 
44 
15 
50 
250 + 
1,187 
48 
18 
56 
Sector 


Agriculture 
3,407 
9 
1 
10 
Mining and Quarrying 
138 
14 
3 
15 
Manufacturing 
7,422 
18 
5 
20 
Electricity, Gas and Water 
1,148 
18 
5 
21 
Construction 
7,202 
11 
2 
12 
Wholesale and Retail 
17,287 
17 
3 
19 
Hotels and Restaurants 
8,888 
21 
5 
23 
Transport and Communications 
6,890 
13 
5 
17 
Financial Services 
2,330 
19 
4 
21 
Business Services 
14,011 
13 
5 
17 
Public Administration 
942 
20 
6 
23 
Education 
5,796 
18 
6 
22 
Health and Social Work 
8,460 
19 
5 
22 
7,358 
14 
4 
17 
Community, Social and Personal Services activities  
Base: All establishments 
 
 
UK 
England Northern 
Ireland 
Scotland 
Wales 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 


Managers 
32 
32 
33 
31 
34 
Professionals 
40 
38 
43 
47 
43 
Associate Professionals 
29 
29 
31 
31 
26 
Administrative and Clerical 
12 
12 
13 
13 
13 
Skilled Trades 
31 
31 
34 
32 
34 
Caring, Leisure and Other services 
37 
37 
38 
42 
39 
Sales and Customer Service 
29 
30 
27 
29 
28 
Machine Operatives  
21 
22 
24 
18 
21 
Elementary Occupations 
14 
14 
15 
15 
13 

Base: All establishments who employ staff in each occupation (Module 2) 

 
UK 
England Northern 
Ireland 
Scotland 
Wales 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 


Managers 
44,018 
36,342 
1,915 
2,884 
2,877 
Professionals 
8,739 
7,135 
374 
698 
532 
Associate Professionals 
6,268 
5,118 
261 
550 
339 
Administrative and Clerical 
26,945 
22,249 
1,176 
1,958 
1,562 
Skilled Trades 
11,811 
9,638 
434 
965 
774 
Caring, Leisure and Other services 
6,973 
5,746 
290 
523 
414 
Sales and Customer Service 
13,690 
11,380 
603 
919 
788 
Machine Operatives  
7,002 
5,704 
271 
605 
422 
Elementary Occupations 
16,100 
13,117 
661 
1,296 
1,026 
 
2011 
2013 
Any off-
Any on-
Any 
Any off-
Any on-
Any 
job 
job 
Training 
job 
job 
 
Unwtd 
Unwtd 
Training 
Base 
Base 
training 
training 
training 
training 
 
 
% 
% 
% 
 
% 
% 
% 
UK  
86,522 
65 
47 
53 
91,279 
66 
49 
52 
Country 


England 
74,156 
65 
46 
52 
75,255 
66 
48 
52 
Northern Ireland 
3,921 
65 
48 
50 
4,014 
63 
49 
47 
Scotland 
2,487 
73 
53 
60 
6,014 
70 
53 
57 
Wales 
5,958 
63 
47 
50 
5,996 
62 
47 
48 
Size 


2-4 
17,905 
51 
34 
38 
19,058 
52 
36 
37 
5-24 
47,770 
77 
56 
64 
51,565 
77 
58 
63 
25-49 
10,239 
92 
75 
83 
10,947 
93 
77 
83 
50-99 
5,712 
95 
82 
87 
5,584 
95 
83 
88 
100-249 
3,270 
96 
84 
91 
2,938 
97 
87 
92 
250+ 
1,626 
97 
87 
94 
1,187 
97 
89 
93 
Sector 


Agriculture 
921 
52 
37 
36 
3,407 
50 
40 
30 
Mining & Quarrying 
185 
76 
61 
65 
138 
69 
62 
58 
Manufacturing 
7,653 
61 
43 
48 
7,422 
59 
43 
45 
Electricity, Gas & Water 
1,406 
76 
60 
61 
1,148 
75 
60 
59 
Construction 
6,576 
58 
46 
38 
7,202 
56 
45 
37 
15,163 
60 
36 
50 
17,287 
61 
40 
50 
Wholesale & Retail 
Hotels & Restaurants 
8,421 
61 
38 
50 
8,888 
62 
39 
51 
Transport & Comms. 
7,810 
61 
42 
48 
6,890 
63 
46 
48 
Financial Services 
1,853 
76 
52 
67 
2,330 
77 
54 
66 
Business Services 
14,297 
67 
50 
52 
14,011 
67 
51 
52 
Public Administration  
1,584 
90 
73 
81 
942 
90 
73 
79 
Education 
5,422 
91 
80 
81 
5,796 
92 
80 
82 
Health & Social Work 
8,067 
89 
73 
78 
8,460 
89 
75 
77 
7,164 
69 
50 
56 
7,358 
69 
52 
56 
Community, Social & Personal Services  

Base: All establishments 

 


2013 


Allowed 
Supervision 
Opportunitie
to 
guiding 
s for staff to 
perform 
Any 
Any 
employees 
watch others 
tasks 
2013 
2011 
through their 
carry out 
beyond 
2013 
2011 
job role 
their roles 
their job 
Unwtd 
Unwtd 
Row percentages 
Base 
Base 
roles 
UK  
91,279 86,522 % 
74 
69 
66 
85 
82 
Country 


England 
75,255 74,156 % 
75 
69 
67 
85 
82 
Northern Ireland 
4,014 
3,921 % 
70 
65 
60 
81 
83 
Scotland 
6,014 
2,487 % 
77 
72 
67 
86 
84 
Wales 
5,996 
5,958 % 
71 
66 
62 
81 
79 
Size 


2-4 
19,058 17,905 % 
63 
58 
58 
76 
73 
5-24 
51,565 47,770 % 
85 
80 
74 
93 
91 
25-49 
10,947 10,239 % 
92 
89 
79 
98 
96 
50-99 
5,584 
5,712 % 
94 
90 
79 
98 
97 
100-249 
2,938 
3,270 % 
96 
91 
83 
99 
98 
250+ 
1,187 
1,626 % 
96 
90 
84 
99 
99 
Sector 


Agriculture 
3,407 
921 
% 
52 
50 
44 
66 
69 
Mining & Quarrying 
138 
185 
% 
83 
66 
65 
90 
87 
Manufacturing 
7,422 
7,653 % 
70 
65 
60 
81 
79 
Electricity, Gas & Water 1,148 
1,406 % 
77 
70 
63 
86 
85 
Construction 
7,202 
6,576 % 
63 
55 
53 
74 
72 
Wholesale & Retail 
17,287 15,163 % 
76 
73 
70 
87 
83 
Hotels & Restaurants 
8,888 
8,421 % 
81 
73 
69 
88 
85 
Transport & Comms. 
6,890 
7,810 % 
69 
64 
63 
82 
80 
Financial Services 
2,330 
1,853 % 
85 
79 
75 
91 
90 
Business Services 
14,011 14,297 % 
73 
67 
67 
84 
81 
Public Administration  
942 
1,584 % 
89 
83 
78 
96 
95 
Education 
5,796 
5,422 % 
88 
86 
78 
96 
94 
Health & Social Work 
8,460 
8,067 % 
90 
83 
76 
95 
94 
Community, Social & Personal Services  
7,358 
7,164 % 
79 
73 
70 
88 
86 

Base: All establishments 

## (Unprompted)

 
2011 
2013 
 
UK 
UK 
England Northern 
Ireland Scotland Wales 
Unweighted Base 
19,363 20,704 
16,850 
1,095 
1,081 
1,678 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
All our staff are fully proficient / no need for training 
64 
69 
69 
64 
69 
68 
No money available for training 
11 
10 
10 
13 
10 
10 
Training is not a priority for the establishment 
9 
7 
7 
11 
8 
10 
No training available in relevant subject area 
7 
5 
5 
6 
4 
5 
Managers have lacked the time to organise training 
3 
3 
3 
4 
4 
3 
Employees are too busy to undertake training 
2 
2 
2 
3 
4 
3 
Employees are too busy to give training 
1 
2 
2 
3 
3 
3 
External courses are too expensive 
2 
2 
2 
3 
2 
1 
Learn by experience/as you go 
3 
2 
2 
2 
1 
1 
Business not operating long enough/New business 
1 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
Small firm/training not needed due to size of establishment  
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
Trained staff will be poached by other employers 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
Courses interested in not available 
1 
1 
* 
1 
1 
1 
No new staff (only train new staff) 
* 
1 
1 
* 
* 
* 
No particular reason 
5 
5 
5 
4 
4 
3 

Base: establishments that had not funded or arranged training or development in the previous 12 months. Note: responses are only shown if given by one per cent or more of respondents in 2013. '*' denotes a figure larger than zero but smaller than 0.5 

wanting to provide more training 
more training 
% would have liked to provide 
Lack appropriate training / 
Not a management priority 
deliver where and when we 
Unwtd 
Unwtd 
Difficulty finding provider to 
qualifications in the subjects 
Row percentages 
Base 
Base 
UK 2013 
69,842 
47 
34,140 
% 
60 
48 
4 
4 
4 
Country 


England 
57,787 
46 
27,735 
% 
60 
47 
4 
4 
4 
Northern Ireland 
2,894 
52 
1,545 
% 
64 
50 
6 
5 
3 
Scotland 
4,884 
53 
2,684 
% 
61 
56 
8 
4 
3 
Wales 
4,277 
50 
2,176 
% 
62 
51 
6 
4 
3 
Size 


2-4 
9,580 
44 
4,154 
% 
61 
45 
5 
5 
5 
5-24 
40,801 
49 
19,849 
% 
59 
50 
4 
4 
4 
25-49 
10,123 
50 
5,084 
% 
62 
52 
3 
4 
4 
50-99 
5,315 
51 
2,771 
% 
63 
51 
4 
2 
3 
100-249 
2,864 
56 
1,606 
% 
66 
51 
4 
3 
3 
250+ 
1,159 
59 
676 
% 
69 
54 
3 
2 
4 
Sector 


Agriculture 
1,710 
35 
602 
% 
45 
49 
7 
7 
4 
Mining & Quarrying 
103 
48 
44 
% 
34 
58 
2 
3 
1 
Manufacturing 
5,128 
45 
2,313 
% 
63 
49 
4 
6 
3 
Electricity, Gas & Water 
878 
42 
371 
% 
66 
46 
4 
4 
3 
Construction 
4,777 
43 
2,091 
% 
70 
44 
3 
4 
4 
Wholesale & Retail 
12,425 
46 
6,039 
% 
48 
52 
3 
4 
6 
Hotels & Restaurants 
6,761 
50 
3,619 
% 
53 
44 
3 
2 
6 
Transport & Comms. 
4,939 
48 
2,311 
% 
61 
47 
4 
5 
6 
Financial Services 
1,824 
43 
780 
% 
40 
55 
4 
4 
6 
Business Services 
11,127 
44 
4,944 
% 
62 
51 
4 
4 
3 
Public Administration  
861 
51 
436 
% 
63 
46 
6 
3 
3 
Education 
5,568 
54 
2,977 
% 
75 
46 
4 
5 
2 
Health & Social Work 
7,935 
55 
4,400 
% 
69 
48 
6 
6 
2 
Community, Social & Personal Services  
5,806 
55 
3,213 
% 
71 
44 
5 
4 
3 

Base: Column 1: Establishments who had funded or arranged any training in the previous 12 months; Columns 2-6 Establishments that had not funded or arranged training in the previous 12 months. Note: responses are only shown if given by one per cent or more of respondents in 2013. Figures in italics denote base size smaller than 50: figures should be treated with caution 

 
Row percentages 
Unwtd  
Base 
UK 2011 
66,439 
% 
85 
75 
57 
47 
35 
35 
UK 2013 
69,842 
% 
85 
74 
58 
48 
35 
34 
Country 


England 
57,787 
% 
85 
73 
58 
48 
36 
34 
Northern Ireland 
2,894 
% 
81 
75 
54 
48 
35 
34 
Scotland 
4,884 
% 
87 
74 
58 
51 
33 
34 
Wales 
4,277 
% 
87 
76 
58 
49 
37 
38 
Size 


2-4 
9,580 
% 
80 
60 
40 
46 
23 
22 
5-24 
40,801 
% 
86 
79 
64 
46 
36 
36 
25-49 
10,123 
% 
92 
92 
83 
53 
57 
53 
50-99 
5,315 
% 
94 
95 
88 
61 
66 
62 
100-249 
2,864 
% 
97 
97 
92 
70 
76 
73 
250+ 
1,159 
% 
97 
97 
93 
80 
89 
85 
Sector 


Agriculture 
1,710 
% 
79 
67 
26 
46 
14 
13 
Mining & Quarrying 
103 
% 
82 
90 
60 
38 
44 
46 
Manufacturing 
5,128 
% 
82 
79 
57 
46 
26 
29 
Electricity, Gas & Water 
878 
% 
87 
87 
67 
41 
40 
40 
Construction 
4,777 
% 
77 
79 
50 
35 
22 
28 
Wholesale & Retail 
12,425 
% 
84 
76 
62 
52 
42 
41 
Hotels & Restaurants 
6,761 
% 
84 
84 
69 
31 
42 
49 
Transport & Comms. 
4,939 
% 
84 
60 
46 
60 
26 
23 
Financial Services 
1,824 
% 
92 
63 
59 
58 
44 
38 
Business Services 
11,127 
% 
86 
59 
51 
54 
29 
25 
Public Administration  
861 
% 
92 
81 
67 
53 
54 
49 
Education 
5,568 
% 
92 
90 
73 
60 
60 
43 
Health & Social Work 
7,935 
% 
90 
86 
71 
40 
45 
45 
Community, Social & 
Personal Services  
5,806 
% 
85 
74 
56 
43 
31 
31 

Base: Establishments that had funded or arranged training in the previous 12 months. 

proportion of the workforce trained 
 
 
2011 
 
2013 
 
 
Number 
Number 
% of staff 
 
employed 
trained 
Base 
% of staff trained 
trained 
(000s) 
(000s) 
Agriculture 
1,710 
39 
382 
158 
41 
Mining & Quarrying 
103 
46 
56 
30 
53 
Manufacturing 
5,128 
46 
2,308 
1,160 
50 
Electricity, Gas & Water 
878 
55 
282 
191 
68 
Construction 
4,777 
49 
1,251 
604 
48 
Wholesale & Retail 
12,425 
52 
4,424 
2,449 
55 
Hotels & Restaurants 
6,761 
55 
1,800 
1,063 
59 
Transport & Comms. 
4,939 
44 
2,126 
1,186 
56 
Financial Services 
1,824 
59 
1,034 
697 
67 
Business Services 
11,127 
52 
4,468 
2,701 
60 
Public Administration  
861 
61 
1,433 
962 
67 
Education 
5,568 
65 
2,570 
1,953 
76 
Health & Social Work 
7,935 
66 
3,598 
2,870 
80 
Community, Social & Personal Services  
5,806 
55 
1,227 
769 
63 

 Base: Establishments that had funded or arranged training in the previous 12 months.  
Note: 'the percentage of staff trained' refers to the number of staff trained over the last 12 months (whether or not they still work at the establishment) as a percentage of the number of staff currently employed. 


 
 
Average days training per person trained 
 
 
1 day or 
Unwtd 
Row percentages 
less 
2 
3-4 
5-6 
7-10 
11+ 
Base 
UK 
69,842 
% 
12 
15 
20 
18 
18 
18 
Country 


England 
57,787 
% 
12 
15 
20 
18 
18 
18 
Northern Ireland 
2,894 
% 
12 
16 
22 
17 
18 
15 
Scotland 
4,884 
% 
11 
17 
20 
17 
17 
18 
Wales 
4,277 
% 
11 
14 
21 
19 
18 
17 
Size 


2-4 
9,580 
% 
13 
14 
20 
17 
17 
19 
5-24 
40,801 
% 
11 
16 
21 
17 
18 
18 
25-49 
10,123 
% 
11 
16 
21 
19 
18 
16 
50-99 
5,315 
% 
12 
17 
20 
22 
16 
13 
100-249 
2,864 
% 
14 
18 
21 
22 
14 
11 
250+ 
1,159 
% 
16 
17 
23 
27 
11 
8 
Sector 


Agriculture 
1,710 
% 
18 
22 
26 
20 
7 
7 
Mining & Quarrying 
103 
% 
8 
15 
19 
27 
17 
15 
Manufacturing 
5,128 
% 
15 
19 
19 
17 
17 
15 
Electricity, Gas & Water 
878 
% 
12 
15 
22 
18 
17 
14 
Construction 
4,777 
% 
12 
16 
21 
19 
16 
16 
Wholesale & Retail 
12,425 
% 
12 
14 
19 
15 
19 
20 
Hotels & Restaurants 
6,761 
% 
16 
15 
17 
12 
18 
21 
Transport & Comms. 
4,939 
% 
13 
17 
20 
17 
17 
16 
Financial Services 
1,824 
% 
7 
13 
19 
16 
18 
27 
Business Services 
11,127 
% 
11 
15 
21 
18 
18 
17 
Public Administration  
861 
% 
7 
15 
22 
23 
16 
18 
Education 
5,568 
% 
10 
15 
24 
29 
12 
11 
Health & Social Work 
7,935 
% 
7 
12 
22 
20 
21 
17 
5,806 
% 
12 
15 
20 
17 
18 
19 
Community, Social & Personal Services  

Base: Establishments that had funded or arranged training in the previous 12 months. 


employee by sector 2013 vs. 2011 
 
2011 
 
2013 
 
 
Days 
Days 
Days 
Total 
Total 
Unwtd 
Unwtd 
per 
per 
per 
Days per 
 
training 
training 
Base 
Base 
employ
employee 
days 
days 
person 
trained 
ee 
person 
trained 
UK 
66,439 
115m 
7.8 
4.2 
69,842 
113m 
6.7 
4.2 
Sector 


Agriculture 
548 
1.0m 
7.2 
2.8 
1,710 
0.9m 
5.7 
2.4 
Mining & Quarrying 
142 
0.09m 
3.5 
1.6 
103 
0.1m 
4.2 
2.2 
Manufacturing 
5,308 
8.9m 
7.9 
3.6 
5,128 
6.2m 
5.4 
2.7 
Electricity, Gas & 
Water 
1,070 
1.3m 
8.6 
4.7 
878 
1.7m 
9.0 
6.0 
Construction 
4,399 
4.6m 
6.9 
3.4 
4,777 
3.7m 
6.2 
3.0 
Wholesale & Retail 
11,001 
20.0m 
8.7 
4.5 
12,425 
19.3m 
7.9 
4.4 
Hotels & Restaurants 
6,185 
10.7m 
11.4 
6.2 
6,761 
9.6m 
9.1 
5.3 
Transport & Comms. 
5,430 
6.1m 
6.5 
2.9 
4,939 
6.8m 
5.8 
3.2 
Financial Services 
1,460 
4.1m 
6.6 
3.9 
1,824 
3.4m 
4.9 
3.3 
Business Services 
11,268 
15.2m 
6.7 
3.5 
11,127 
19.2m 
7.1 
4.3 
Public Administration  1,444 
9.4m 
9.9 
6.0 
861 
7.4m 
7.7 
5.2 
Education 
5,117 
9.0m 
5.5 
3.6 
5,568 
9.6m 
4.9 
3.8 
Health & Social Work 
7,484 
18.2m 
7.9 
5.2 
7,935 
19.0m 
6.6 
5.3 
Community, Social & 
Personal Services  
5,583 
6.0m 
8.9 
4.9 
5,806 
5.9m 
7.7 
4.8 

Base: Establishments that had funded or arranged training in the previous 12 months. 'Days per employee' is based upon employment across all establishments. 


employers that train 
% of all 
Any staff 
Number 
% of those 
 
 
employees 
Unwtd 
Row percentages 
trained to a 
trained to a 
trained to a 
trained to a 
Base 
qualification 
qualification 
qualification 
qualification 
UK 
69,842 
47 
3.6m 
21 
13 
Size 


2-4 
9,580 
36 
0.3m 
27 
11 
5-24 
40,801 
50 
0.9m 
26 
14 
25-49 
10,123 
63 
0.5m 
24 
15 
50-99 
5,315 
69 
0.5m 
23 
15 
100-249 
2,864 
75 
0.5m 
19 
13 
250+ 
1,159 
79 
0.8m 
16 
11 
Sector 


Agriculture 
1,710 
40 
* 
26 
11 
Mining & Quarrying 
103 
57 
* 
23 
12 
Manufacturing 
5,128 
44 
0.2m 
18 
9 
878 
54 
* 
21 
14 
Electricity, Gas & Water Construction 
4,777 
51 
0.2m 
33 
16 
Wholesale & Retail 
12,425 
39 
0.4m 
15 
8 
Hotels & Restaurants 6,761 
52 
0.2m 
22 
13 
Transport & Comms. 4,939 
39 
0.3m 
23 
13 
Financial Services 
1,824 
42 
0.1m 
15 
10 
Business Services 
11,127 
40 
0.5m 
20 
12 
Public Administration  861 
61 
0.2m 
19 
13 
Education 
5,568 
64 
0.3m 
15 
11 
Health & Social Work 7,935 
65 
0.9m 
30 
24 
Community, Social & Personal Services  
5,806 
52 
0.2m 
29 
18 

Base: establishments that had funded or arranged training in the previous 12 months. Note the final column shows the proportion of all employees in that size band or sector that were trained to a qualification (not the proportion of employees within establishments that train). Note: * refers to a figure of less than 50,000 

 
 
2011 
 
2013 
Spend 
Spend 
Spend 
per 
per 
Spend per 
 
Base 
Total 
per 
Base 
Total 
employee 
employee 
person 
trained 
person 
trained 
UK 
11,027 £45.3bn 
£3,080 
£1,680 
12,522 £42.9bn £2,550 
£1,590 
Sector 


Agriculture 
87 
£1.0bn 
£7,210 
£2,810 
297 
£0.4bn £2,600 
£1,080 
Mining & 
Quarrying 
29 
£0.07bn 
£2,570 
£1,190 
21 
** 
** 
** 
Manufacturing 
816 
£3.2bn 
£2,850 
£1,320 
846 
£2.5bn £2,190 
£1,100 
Electricity, Gas 
& Water 
137 
£0.3bn 
£2,000 
£1,100 
163 
£0.3bn £1,530 
£1,030 
Construction 
655 
£2.5bn 
£3,710 
£1,840 
893 
£2.5bn £4,060 
£1,960 
Wholesale & 
Retail 
1,815 
£5.0bn 
£2,160 
£1,120 
1,945 
£6.4bn £2,600 
£1,440 
Hotels & 
1,055 
£3.3bn 
£3,530 
£1,930 
1,091 
£2.7bn £2,500 
£1,470 
Restaurants 
Transport & 
Comms. 
862 
£2.9bn 
£3,140 
£1,380 
954 
£3.3bn £2,750 
£1,530 
Financial Services 
220 
£1.4bn 
£2,330 
£1,380 
369 
£1.3bn £1,880 
£1,270 
Business Services 
2.036 
£8.2bn 
£3,660 
£1,890 
2,337 
£8.6bn £3,170 
£1,920 
Public Administration  
231 
£3.8bn 
£3,980 
£2,410 
213 
£2.2bn £2,280 
£1,530 
Education 
558 
£6.2bn 
£3,780 
£2,440 
621 
£5.3bn £2,730 
£2,070 
Health & Social Work 
1,515 
£5.1bn 
£2,190 
£1,450 
1,540 
£5.1bn £1,790 
£1,420 
1,011 
£2.2bn 
£3,340 
£1,840 
1,232 
£2.3bn £2,990 
£1,880 
Community, Social & Personal Services  

Base: Establishments completing the Investment in Training study. Note: The figures for spend per person trained and per employee have been rounded to the nearest £10. '**' denotes figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 respondents); Figures in italics denote base size smaller than 50: figures should be treated with caution 

and the breakdown of total training spend (both on-the job and off-the job training) by key 
elements 
% spent on 
 
Labour 
Wages 
Fees to 
Other 
Row percentages 
Base Expenditure 
off-the-job 
of 
external 
on training 
training 
costs of trainees 
trainers 
providers 
UK 
12,522 
£42.9bn 
50 
% 
50 
18 
8 
24 
Sector 


Agriculture 
297 
£0.4bn 
58 
% 
43 
16 
10 
30 
Mining & 
Quarrying 
21 
** 
46 
% 
** 
** 
** 
** 
Manufacturing 
846 
£2.5bn 
43 
% 
54 
19 
9 
18 
Electricity, Gas & 
Water 
163 
£0.3bn 
63 
% 
35 
17 
11 
37 
Construction 
893 
£2.5bn 
51 
% 
47 
20 
9 
24 
Wholesale & 
Retail 
1,945 
£6.4bn 
41 
% 
49 
23 
7 
21 
Hotels & 
Restaurants 
1,091 
£2.7bn 
36 
% 
56 
23 
4 
18 
Transport & 
Comms. 
954 
£3.3bn 
45 
% 
55 
15 
8 
21 
Financial Services 
369 
£1.3bn 
43 
% 
48 
26 
9 
17 
Business Services 2,337 
£8.6bn 
50 
% 
49 
19 
10 
22 
Public Administration 
213 
£2.2bn 
49 
% 
59 
15 
6 
20 
Education 
621 
£5.3bn 
62 
% 
48 
12 
6 
34 
Health & Social Work 
1,540 
£5.1bn 
58 
% 
51 
15 
6 
28 
1,232 
£2.3bn 
55 
% 
47 
16 
8 
30 
Community, Social & Personal Services 

Base: establishments completing the Investment in Training study. 

'**' denotes figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 respondents). The column 'other' includes such items as expenditure on training centres and on training management. 


other Higher Education institutions, and the proportion of the total fees to external 
providers that this represents 
 
% of fees to 
Total fees to 
Total fees to 
external 
Row percentages 
Base 
external 
FE/HE providers 
providers paid to 
providers 
FE/HE providers 
UK 
12,522 
£3.3bn 
£440m 
% 
13 
Country 


England 
8,704 
£2.8bn 
£371m 
% 
13 
Northern Ireland 
1,028 
£0.1bn 
£10m 
% 
13 
Scotland 
1,429 
£0.3bn 
£44m 
% 
15 
Wales 
1,361 
£0.1bn 
£15m 
% 
14 
Size 


2 to 4 
2,317 
£0.5bn 
£59m 
% 
12 
5 to 24 
6,953 
£1.0bn 
£161m 
% 
16 
25 to 49 
1,722 
£0.4bn 
£38m 
% 
9 
50 to 99 
928 
£0.4bn 
£49m 
% 
11 
100 to 249 
452 
£0.5bn 
£83m 
% 
16 
250+ 
150 
£0.4bn 
£49m 
% 
13 
Sector 


Agriculture 
297 
£0.04bn 
£7m 
% 
16 
Mining & Quarrying 
21 
** 
** 
% 
** 
Manufacturing 
846 
£0.2bn 
£39m 
% 
17 
Electricity, Gas & 
Water 
163 
£0.03bn 
£1m 
% 
3 
Construction 
893 
£0.2bn 
£30m 
% 
14 
Wholesale & Retail 
1,945 
£0.4bn 
£43m 
% 
10 
Hotels & Restaurants 
1,091 
£0.1bn 
£13m 
% 
12 
Transport & Comms. 
954 
£0.3bn 
£16m 
% 
6 
Financial Services 
369 
£0.1bn 
£10m 
% 
9 
Business Services 
2,337 
£0.9bn 
£141m 
% 
16 
Public Administration 
213 
£0.1bn 
£17m 
% 
14 
Education 
621 
£0.3bn 
£47m 
% 
14 
Health & Social Work 
1,540 
£0.3bn 
£52m 
% 
16 
Community, Social & Personal Services 
1,232 
£0.2bn 
£24m 
% 
14 

 Base: establishments completing the Investment in Training study. First column rounded to the nearest £0.01bn; second column to the nearest £1m '**' denotes figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 respondents). 


England, Northern Ireland and Wales 
 
 
Any 
16 year 
17-18 year 
17-18 year 
 
 
University
Unwtd 
Row percentages 
education 
old school 
old school 
old FEC 
/ HE 
Base 
leaver 
leaver 
leaver 
leaver 
graduate 
 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
 
England/NI/Wales 
85,265 
27 
8 
10 
11 
14 
Size 


2-4 
17,949 
13 
3 
3 
4 
5 
5-24 
48,387 
37 
10 
14 
15 
17 
25-49 
10,078 
59 
18 
27 
29 
36 
50-99 
5,102 
67 
19 
32 
34 
46 
100-249 
2,674 
77 
24 
43 
44 
60 
250+ 
1,075 
81 
30 
51 
54 
69 
Sector 


Agriculture 
2,888 
13 
5 
3 
5 
3 
Mining &Quarrying 
117 
18 
6 
8 
6 
8 
Manufacturing 
7,013 
25 
8 
10 
10 
9 
Electricity, Gas & Water 
1,062 
27 
6 
11 
9 
11 
Construction 
6,706 
18 
7 
6 
7 
4 
Wholesale & Retail 
16,296 
28 
11 
14 
14 
12 
Hotels & Restaurants 
8,317 
35 
14 
20 
20 
17 
Transport & Comms. 
6,444 
24 
5 
7 
8 
13 
Financial Services 
2,125 
27 
3 
9 
9 
18 
Business Services 
13,227 
25 
4 
7 
8 
17 
Public admin  
818 
30 
5 
12 
14 
21 
Education 
5,442 
50 
6 
13 
16 
39 
Health & Social Work 
7,892 
33 
5 
12 
17 
17 
Community, Social & Personal Services  
6,918 
31 
13 
12 
14 
12 

 Base: All establishments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland 

Any 
Scottish 
 
 
Scottish 
Scottish FE 
Scottish HE 
Row percentages 
School 
Base 
education 
Leaver 
Leaver 
Leaver 
leaver 
 
 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Scotland 
6,014 
26 
17 
11 
12 
Size 


2-4 
1,109 
13 
8 
5 
5 
5-24 
3,178 
32 
21 
12 
13 
25-49 
869 
57 
35 
29 
34 
50-99 
482 
63 
41 
35 
43 
100-249 
264 
70 
40 
42 
51 
250+ 
112 
79 
46 
55 
66 
Sector 


Agriculture 
519 
15 
10 
5 
2 
Mining &Quarrying 
21 
** 
** 
** 
** 
Manufacturing 
409 
29 
22 
10 
9 
Electricity, Gas & Water 
86 
29 
19 
10 
10 
Construction 
496 
24 
19 
4 
5 
Wholesale & Retail 
991 
28 
20 
12 
11 
Hotels & Restaurants 
571 
30 
22 
17 
17 
Transport & Comms. 
446 
17 
9 
6 
7 
Financial Services 
205 
21 
10 
5 
13 
Business Services 
784 
24 
11 
8 
17 
Public admin  
124 
26 
9 
11 
18 
Education 
354 
35 
14 
16 
25 
Health & Social Work 
568 
37 
20 
18 
18 
Community, Social & Personal Services  
440 
30 
20 
15 
11 
 

Base: All establishments in Scotland '**' denotes figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 respondents); Figures in italics denote base size smaller than 50: figures should be treated with caution 

Any recruitment 
Any young person 
both from education 
from education only 
Any education leaver 
Unwtd 
Unwtd 
but not from education 
Recruited young people 
Recruited young person 
Recruited young person 
Row percentages 
Base 
Base 
UK 
91,279 
% 
64 
27 
45,644 
44 
12 
20 
13 
Country 


England 
75,255 
% 
64 
27 
37,559 
45 
12 
20 
13 
Northern Ireland 
4,014 
% 
54 
22 
2,015 
35 
10 
17 
9 
Scotland 
6,014 
% 
67 
29 
3,044 
46 
12 
21 
13 
Wales 
5,996 
% 
61 
27 
3,026 
45 
13 
19 
13 
Size 


2-4 
19,058 
% 
45 
13 
9,532 
25 
8 
13 
4 
5-24 
51,565 
% 
81 
36 
25,704 
60 
17 
27 
16 
25-49 
10,947 
% 
95 
59 
5,545 
82 
19 
28 
35 
50-99 
5,584 
% 
97 
67 
2,802 
87 
18 
26 
43 
100-249 
2,938 
% 
98 
77 
1,472 
93 
15 
21 
57 
250+ 
1,187 
% 
99 
81 
589 
94 
11 
16 
67 
Sector 


Agriculture 
3,407 
% 
34 
13 
1,725 
23 
12 
20 
13 
Mining & Quarrying 
138 
% 
58 
20 
76 
41 
9 
11 
3 
Manufacturing 
7,422 
% 
62 
26 
3,763 
42 
12 
21 
7 
Electricity, Gas & Water 
1,148 
% 
70 
27 
571 
48 
12 
21 
10 
Construction 
7,202 
% 
48 
18 
3,623 
30 
8 
26 
14 
Wholesale & Retail 
17,287 
% 
66 
28 
8,731 
47 
10 
15 
6 
Hotels & Restaurants 
8,888 
% 
69 
35 
4,359 
59 
13 
21 
13 
Transport & Comms. 
6,890 
% 
60 
24 
3,427 
39 
10 
28 
21 
Financial Services 
2,330 
% 
70 
27 
1,169 
49 
11 
17 
11 
Business Services 
14,011 
% 
64 
25 
6,939 
41 
11 
25 
14 
Public Administration  
942 
% 
78 
30 
480 
49 
12 
18 
11 
Education 
5,796 
% 
84 
49 
2,907 
62 
10 
23 
16 
Health & Social Work 
8,460 
% 
81 
33 
4,221 
53 
21 
20 
22 
Community, Social & Personal Services  
7,358 
% 
67 
32 
3,653 
48 
11 
24 
18 

Base: Columns one and two all establishments; remainder all establishments in Module 2. 

 

Table A.5.4 Preparedness of education leavers recruited in past 2-3 years, by type of leaver and size in England, Northern Ireland and Wales England/Wales/NI 
  
All 
2 to 4 
5 to 24 
25 to 49 
50 to 99 
100 to 249 
250+ 
 Unwtd base 
  
10,060 
634 
5,416 
1,864 
1,080 
700 
366 
  
Very well prepared 
11 
15 
10 
8 
7 
7 
4 
Well prepared 
48 
41 
48 
53 
53 
55 
52 
16 year old school leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
29 
28 
29 
28 
30 
27 
30 
  
Very poorly prepared 
7 
12 
7 
5 
3 
2 
3 
  
  
14,471 
602 
7,477 
2,831 
1,796 
1,179 
586 
  
Very well prepared 
10 
15 
10 
9 
8 
7 
5 
Well prepared 
56 
48 
56 
60 
61 
60 
60 
17-18 year old school leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
24 
23 
25 
24 
24 
22 
23 
  
Very poorly prepared 
5 
11 
5 
4 
2 
1 
2 
  
  
15,435 
754 
7,981 
2,994 
1,876 
1,217 
613 
  
Very well prepared 
13 
16 
13 
13 
11 
11 
7 
Well prepared 
61 
52 
61 
65 
68 
65 
70 
17-18 FE College leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
18 
21 
18 
17 
14 
15 
12 
  
Very poorly prepared 
4 
8 
3 
2 
1 
1 
1 
  
  
17,770 
782 
8,588 
3,647 
2,368 
1,629 
756 
  
Very well prepared 
24 
22 
23 
27 
25 
24 
21 
University/HE leavers 
Well prepared 
60 
53 
60 
62 
63 
64 
66 
  
Poorly Prepared 
11 
16 
11 
7 
7 
6 
5 
  
Very poorly prepared 
2 
5 
2 
1 
* 
* 
- 
 Base: Establishments in England, Northern Ireland and Wales who had taken on each type of education leaver 

'-' denotes zero; '*' denotes a figure larger than zero but smaller than 0.5 
Figures in italics denote base size smaller than 50: figures should be treated with caution 

## Table A.5.4(I) Preparedness Of Education Leavers Recruited In Past 2-3 Years, By Type Of Leaver And Size In Scotland

 
Scotland 
 
All 
2 to 4 
5 to 24 
25 to 49 
50 to 99 
100 to 249 
250+ 
  
  
1,514 
90 
724 
312 
214 
114 
60 
 
  
Very well prepared 
10 
12 
11 
5 
5 
7 
4 
 
Well prepared 
55 
53 
51 
61 
63 
62 
72 
 
Poorly Prepared 
25 
22 
28 
23 
22 
22 
16 
Scottish Secondary School leavers 
 
  
Very poorly prepared 
4 
8 
4 
3 
4 
1 
- 
 
  
  
1,095 
46 
426 
257 
183 
118 
65 
 
  
Very well prepared 
12 
20 
11 
10 
8 
8 
10 
 
Well prepared 
66 
49 
65 
78 
76 
73 
74 
 
Scottish FE College Leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
14 
19 
16 
10 
10 
9 
10 
 
  
Very poorly prepared 
3 
7 
3 
1 
- 
1 
- 
 
  
  
1,258 
37 
485 
299 
226 
143 
68 
 
  
Very well prepared 
23 
28 
22 
23 
21 
24 
17 
 
Well prepared 
62 
53 
62 
66 
69 
65 
78 
 
Scottish HE Leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
8 
10 
8 
7 
9 
5 
1 
 
  
Very poorly prepared 
* 
- 
1 
- 
- 
- 
- 
 

 Base: Establishments in Scotland who had taken on each type of education leaver '-' denotes zero; '*' denotes a figure larger than zero but smaller than 0.5 Figures in italics denote base size smaller than 50: figures should be treated with caution 

2013 v 2011 
| England/Wales/NI              |        |
|-------------------------------|--------|
|                               |        |
| Unwtd base                    |        |
|                               |        |
|                               |        |
| 10,962                        | 10,060 |
| 16 year old school leavers    |        |
|                               |        |
| Very well prepared            |        |
| 11                            | 11     |
| Well prepared                 |        |
| 48                            | 48     |
|                               |        |
| Poorly Prepared               |        |
| 28                            | 29     |
|                               |        |
| Very poorly prepared          |        |
| 9                             | 7      |
|                               |        |
| 13,871                        | 14,471 |
| 17-18 year old school leavers |        |
|                               |        |
| Very well prepared            |        |
| 10                            | 10     |
|                               |        |
| Well prepared                 |        |
| 56                            | 56     |
| Poorly Prepared               |        |
| 24                            | 24     |
|                               |        |
| Very poorly prepared          |        |
| 6                             | 5      |
|                               |        |
|                               |        |
| 13,008                        | 15,435 |
| 17-18 FE College leavers      |        |
| Very well prepared            |        |
| 13                            | 13     |
|                               |        |
| Well prepared                 |        |
| 61                            | 61     |
| Poorly Prepared               |        |
| 18                            | 18     |
|                               |        |
| Very poorly prepared          |        |
| 4                             | 4      |
|                               |        |
| 15,680                        | 17,770 |
| University/HE leavers         |        |
| Very well prepared            |        |
| 24                            | 24     |
|                               |        |
| Well prepared                 |        |
| 59                            | 60     |
|                               |        |
| Poorly Prepared               |        |
| 11                            | 11     |
|                               |        |
| Very poorly prepared          |        |
| 2                             | 2      |
| Scotland                      |        |
|                               |        |
|                               |        |
|                               |        |
| 743                           | 1,514  |
|                               |        |
| Scottish Secondary School     |        |
| leavers                       |        |
| Very well prepared            |        |
| 10                            | 10     |
|                               |        |
| Well prepared                 |        |
| 59                            | 55     |
| Poorly Prepared               |        |
| 24                            | 25     |
|                               |        |
| Very poorly prepared          |        |
| 5                             | 4      |
|                               |        |
| 552                           | 1,095  |
| Scottish FE College Leavers   |        |
| Very well prepared            |        |
| 16                            | 12     |
|                               |        |
| Well prepared                 |        |
| 64                            | 66     |
| Poorly Prepared               |        |
| 14                            | 14     |
|                               |        |
| Very poorly prepared          |        |
| 2                             | 3      |
|                               |        |
| 636                           | 1,258  |
| Scottish HE Leavers           |        |
| Very well prepared            |        |
| 28                            | 23     |
|                               |        |
| Well prepared                 |        |
| 58                            | 62     |
| Poorly Prepared               |        |
| 8                             | 8      |
|                               |        |
| Very poorly prepared          |        |
| 1                             | *      |

 
Base: Establishments who had taken on each type of education leaver '*' denotes a figure larger than zero but smaller than 0.5 

All England/Wales/NI 
 Unwtd base 
  
10,060 
160 
8 
754 
68 
706 
2,865 
1,925 
  
Very well prepared 
11 
24 
** 
10 
14 
10 
10 
9 
Well prepared 
48 
44 
** 
44 
42 
48 
53 
46 
16 year old school leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
29 
22 
** 
35 
31 
26 
26 
32 
  
Very poorly prepared 
7 
6 
** 
8 
10 
11 
5 
6 
  
  
14,471 
107 
12 
927 
109 
681 
3,869 
2,777 
  
Very well prepared 
10 
9 
** 
9 
11 
10 
10 
10 
Well prepared 
56 
47 
** 
50 
47 
53 
61 
55 
17-18 year old school leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
24 
32 
** 
30 
29 
23 
22 
24 
  
Very poorly prepared 
5 
9 
** 
6 
5 
9 
3 
5 
  
  
15,435 
153 
11 
989 
97 
683 
3,707 
2,762 
  
Very well prepared 
13 
20 
** 
14 
14 
15 
13 
12 
Well prepared 
61 
57 
** 
60 
48 
59 
65 
62 
17-18 FE College leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
18 
16 
** 
19 
26 
17 
15 
18 
  
Very poorly prepared 
4 
5 
** 
3 
8 
7 
3 
3 
  
  
17,770 
100 
15 
849 
116 
394 
3,092 
2,508 
  
Very well prepared 
24 
25 
** 
23 
22 
24 
25 
20 
University/HE leavers Well prepared 
60 
50 
** 
58 
62 
60 
61 
67 
  
Poorly Prepared 
11 
17 
** 
12 
10 
8 
10 
8 
  
Very poorly prepared 
2 
5 
** 
3 
2 
3 
1 
1 
Scotland 

 
  
1,514 
50 
4 
128 
19 
124 
348 
224 
  
Very well prepared 
10 
13 
** 
10 
** 
10 
7 
12 
Well prepared 
55 
54 
** 
55 
** 
55 
57 
50 
Scottish Secondary School leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
25 
30 
** 
26 
** 
25 
22 
30 
  
Very poorly prepared 
4 
- 
** 
4 
** 
7 
8 
3 
  
  
1,095 
29 
6 
77 
11 
37 
220 
185 
  
Very well prepared 
12 
27 
** 
6 
** 
14 
9 
8 
Well prepared 
66 
51 
** 
73 
** 
59 
69 
71 
Scottish FE College Leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
14 
12 
** 
15 
** 
26 
15 
12 
  
Very poorly prepared 
3 
9 
** 
1 
** 
- 
4 
4 
  
  
1,258 
16 
6 
71 
8 
34 
214 
183 
  
Very well prepared 
23 
** 
** 
24 
** 
28 
27 
21 
Scottish HE Leavers 
Well prepared 
62 
** 
** 
64 
** 
66 
62 
52 
Poorly Prepared 
8 
** 
** 
9 
** 
3 
3 
19 
  
Very poorly prepared 
* 
** 
** 
- 
** 
3 
- 
2 
 
 
All 
England/ 
Wales/NI 
  
Services 
Services 
Financial 
Business 
Transport 
Education 
Social and 
Health and 
and Comms 
Social Work 
Community, 
Public Admin 
Personal Ser. 
 Unwtd base 
  
10,060 
433 
65 
869 
38 
389 
571 
1,209 
  
Very well prepared 
11 
13 
6 
11 
5 
11 
10 
11 
Well prepared 
48 
45 
47 
46 
59 
49 
47 
44 
Poorly Prepared 
29 
27 
34 
30 
28 
28 
29 
31 
16 year old school leavers 
  
Very poorly prepared 
7 
12 
10 
8 
- 
6 
8 
10 
  
  
14,471 
606 
189 
1,546 
105 
837 
1,378 
1,328 
  
Very well prepared 
10 
12 
10 
10 
10 
12 
10 
12 
Well prepared 
56 
50 
57 
54 
59 
60 
54 
55 
Poorly Prepared 
24 
25 
25 
24 
20 
19 
29 
25 
17-18 year old school leavers 
Very poorly prepared 
5 
8 
5 
8 
2 
4 
3 
5 
  
  
15,435 
721 
204 
1,700 
126 
1,019 
1,852 
1,411 
  
Very well prepared 
13 
12 
8 
13 
11 
15 
14 
15 
Well prepared 
61 
52 
63 
57 
59 
64 
61 
57 
Poorly Prepared 
18 
25 
21 
22 
18 
14 
18 
19 
17-18 FE College leavers 
Very poorly prepared 
4 
5 
3 
5 
1 
3 
2 
4 
  
  
17,770 
1,106 
395 
3,385 
184 
2,555 
1,765 
1,306 
  
Very well prepared 
24 
21 
19 
21 
23 
36 
23 
27 
University/ HE leavers 
Well prepared 
60 
54 
65 
58 
65 
55 
61 
57 
  
Poorly Prepared 
11 
14 
11 
15 
5 
5 
10 
10 
  
Very poorly prepared 
2 
4 
1 
2 
* 
* 
2 
2 
Scotland 

 
  
1,514 
71 
23 
151 
14 
72 
148 
138 
  
Very well prepared 
10 
19 
** 
4 
** 
12 
6 
22 
Well prepared 
55 
42 
** 
58 
** 
61 
55 
47 
Poorly Prepared 
25 
30 
** 
29 
** 
15 
32 
20 
Scottish Secondary 
School 
leavers 
Very poorly prepared 
4 
2 
** 
1 
** 
6 
2 
5 
  
  
1,095 
41 
11 
118 
16 
83 
162 
99 
  
Very well prepared 
12 
11 
** 
5 
** 
18 
21 
20 
Well prepared 
66 
69 
** 
73 
** 
73 
66 
40 
Poorly Prepared 
14 
12 
** 
9 
** 
9 
8 
29 
Scottish FE College 
Leavers 
Very poorly prepared 
3 
- 
** 
1 
** 
- 
1 
10 
  
  
1,258 
62 
24 
229 
26 
141 
144 
100 
  
Very well prepared 
23 
28 
** 
22 
** 
40 
15 
20 
Well prepared 
62 
60 
** 
58 
** 
53 
75 
70 
Scottish HE Leavers 
Poorly Prepared 
8 
8 
** 
10 
** 
5 
5 
5 
  
Very poorly prepared 
* 
- 
** 
- 
** 
- 
1 
- 

Base: Establishments who had taken on each type of education leaver' -' denotes zero; '*' denotes a figure larger than zero but smaller than 0.5 Figures in italics denote base size smaller than 50: figures should be treated with caution 

 
 
2011 
2013 
Row percentages 
graduate 
16 year old 


FEC leaver 
16 year old 
school leaver 
school leaver 
school leaver 
school leaver 
University/HE 
| 17-18 year old      | 17-18 year old    | 17-18 year old    | 17-18 year old    |
|---------------------|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
| Unwtd               | Unwtd             |                   |                   |
| Base                |                   |                   |                   |
|                     |                   |                   |                   |
| Base                |                   |                   |                   |
|                     |                   |                   |                   |
| Eng/NI/Wal          |                   |                   |                   |
| 84,035              |                   |                   |                   |
| 9                   | 11                | 10                | 12                |
| 85,265              |                   |                   |                   |
| 8                   | 10                | 11                | 14                |
| Size                |                   |                   |                   |
|                     |                   |                   |                   |
|                     |                   |                   |                   |
|                     |                   |                   |                   |
|                     |                   |                   |                   |
| 2-4                 |                   |                   |                   |
| 17,608              |                   |                   |                   |
| 5                   | 5                 | 5                 | 5                 |
| 17,949              |                   |                   |                   |
| 3                   | 3                 | 4                 | 5                 |
| 5-24                |                   |                   |                   |
| 46,875              |                   |                   |                   |
| 12                  | 14                | 13                | 15                |
| 48,387              |                   |                   |                   |
| 10                  | 14                | 15                | 17                |
| 25-49               |                   |                   |                   |
| 9,837               |                   |                   |                   |
| 17                  | 25                | 23                | 29                |
| 10,078              |                   |                   |                   |
| 18                  | 27                | 29                | 36                |
| 50-99               |                   |                   |                   |
| 5,299               |                   |                   |                   |
| 20                  | 29                | 27                | 39                |
| 5,102               |                   |                   |                   |
| 19                  | 32                | 34                | 46                |
| 100-249             |                   |                   |                   |
| 2,947               |                   |                   |                   |
| 21                  | 35                | 31                | 50                |
| 2,674               |                   |                   |                   |
| 24                  | 43                | 44                | 60                |
| 250+                |                   |                   |                   |
| 1,469               |                   |                   |                   |
| 33                  | 47                | 44                | 60                |
| 1,075               |                   |                   |                   |
| 30                  | 51                | 54                | 69                |
| Sector              |                   |                   |                   |
|                     |                   |                   |                   |
|                     |                   |                   |                   |
|                     |                   |                   |                   |
|                     |                   |                   |                   |
| Agriculture         |                   |                   |                   |
| 836                 |                   |                   |                   |
| 7                   | 6                 | 6                 | 3                 |
| 2,888               |                   |                   |                   |
| 5                   | 3                 | 5                 | 3                 |
| Mining &Quarrying   |                   |                   |                   |
| 161                 |                   |                   |                   |
| 8                   | 11                | 3                 | 8                 |
| 117                 |                   |                   |                   |
| 6                   | 8                 | 6                 | 8                 |
| Manufacturing       |                   |                   |                   |
| 7,477               |                   |                   |                   |
| 9                   | 10                | 9                 | 8                 |
| 7,013               |                   |                   |                   |
| 8                   | 10                | 10                | 9                 |
| Electricity, Gas &  |                   |                   |                   |
| Water               |                   |                   |                   |
| 1,324               |                   |                   |                   |
| 7                   | 9                 | 9                 | 10                |
| 1,062               |                   |                   |                   |
| 6                   | 11                | 9                 | 11                |
| Construction        |                   |                   |                   |
| 6,347               |                   |                   |                   |
| 11                  | 8                 | 8                 | 4                 |
| 6,706               |                   |                   |                   |
| 7                   | 6                 | 7                 | 4                 |
| Wholesale & Retail  |                   |                   |                   |
| 14,846              |                   |                   |                   |
| 12                  | 14                | 12                | 10                |
| 16,296              |                   |                   |                   |
| 11                  | 14                | 14                | 12                |
| Hotels &            |                   |                   |                   |
| Restaurants         |                   |                   |                   |
| 8,202               |                   |                   |                   |
| 13                  | 18                | 16                | 14                |
| 8,317               |                   |                   |                   |
| 14                  | 20                | 20                | 17                |
| Transport & Comms.  |                   |                   |                   |
| 7,586               |                   |                   |                   |
| 6                   | 7                 | 7                 | 12                |
| 6,444               |                   |                   |                   |
| 5                   | 7                 | 8                 | 13                |
| Financial Services  |                   |                   |                   |
| 1,762               |                   |                   |                   |
| 4                   | 10                | 9                 | 18                |
| 2,125               |                   |                   |                   |
| 3                   | 9                 | 9                 | 18                |
| Business Services   |                   |                   |                   |
| 13,954              |                   |                   |                   |
| 4                   | 7                 | 7                 | 15                |
| 13,227              |                   |                   |                   |
| 4                   | 7                 | 8                 | 17                |
| Public admin        |                   |                   |                   |
| 1,448               |                   |                   |                   |
| 5                   | 10                | 10                | 18                |
| 818                 |                   |                   |                   |
| 5                   | 12                | 14                | 21                |
| Education           |                   |                   |                   |
| 5,258               |                   |                   |                   |
| 7                   | 12                | 14                | 38                |
| 5,442               |                   |                   |                   |
| 6                   | 13                | 16                | 39                |
| Health & Social     |                   |                   |                   |
| Work                |                   |                   |                   |
| 7,860               |                   |                   |                   |
| 5                   | 11                | 13                | 15                |
| 7,892               |                   |                   |                   |
| 5                   | 12                | 17                | 17                |
| Community, Social & |                   |                   |                   |
| Personal Services   |                   |                   |                   |
| 6,974               |                   |                   |                   |
| 14                  | 12                | 13                | 11                |
| 6,918               |                   |                   |                   |
| 13                  | 12                | 14                | 12                |

 
Base: All establishments in England, Northern Ireland and Wales 
 

|                      | 2011        | 2013    |
|----------------------|-------------|---------|
| Row percentages      |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| Leaver               |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| Leaver               | Leaver      | Leaver  |
| School               | School      |         |
| Scottish             | Scottish    |         |
| Unwtd                | Unwtd       |         |
| Scottish FE          | Scottish FE |         |
| Scottish HE          |             |         |
| Scottish HE          |             |         |
| Leaver               |             |         |
| Base                 |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| Base                 |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| Scotland             |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| 2,487                |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| 17                   |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| 10                   |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| 11                   |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| 6,014                |             |         |
| 17                   |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| 11                   |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| 12                   |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| Size                 |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| 2-4                  |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| 297                  |             |         |
| 9                    | 4           | 3       |
| 1,109                |             |         |
| 8                    | 5           | 5       |
| 5-24                 |             |         |
| 895                  |             |         |
| 21                   | 12          | 13      |
| 3,178                |             |         |
| 21                   | 12          | 13      |
| 25-49                |             |         |
| 402                  |             |         |
| 35                   | 26          | 29      |
| 869                  |             |         |
| 35                   | 29          | 34      |
| 50-99                |             |         |
| 413                  |             |         |
| 36                   | 30          | 35      |
| 482                  |             |         |
| 41                   | 35          | 43      |
| 100-249              |             |         |
| 323                  |             |         |
| 41                   | 37          | 53      |
| 264                  |             |         |
| 40                   | 42          | 51      |
| 250+                 |             |         |
| 157                  |             |         |
| 57                   | 56          | 56      |
| 112                  |             |         |
| 46                   | 55          | 66      |
| Sector               |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| Agriculture          |             |         |
|                      |             |         |
| 85                   |             |         |
| 15                   | 10          | 2       |
| 519                  |             |         |
| 10                   | 5           | 2       |
| Mining &Quarrying    |             |         |
| 24                   |             |         |
| **                   | **          | **      |
| 21                   |             |         |
| **                   | **          | **      |
| Manufacturing        |             |         |
| 176                  |             |         |
| 21                   | 12          | 11      |
| 409                  |             |         |
| 22                   | 10          | 9       |
| Electricity, Gas &   |             |         |
| Water                |             |         |
| 82                   |             |         |
| 15                   | 7           | 10      |
| 86                   |             |         |
| 19                   | 10          | 10      |
| Construction         |             |         |
| 229                  |             |         |
| 22                   | 6           | 4       |
| 496                  |             |         |
| 19                   | 4           | 5       |
| Wholesale & Retail   |             |         |
| 317                  |             |         |
| 21                   | 11          | 11      |
| 991                  |             |         |
| 20                   | 12          | 11      |
| Hotels & Restaurants |             |         |
| 219                  |             |         |
| 23                   | 17          | 12      |
| 571                  |             |         |
| 22                   | 17          | 17      |
| Transport & Comms.   |             |         |
| 224                  |             |         |
| 13                   | 4           | 11      |
| 446                  |             |         |
| 9                    | 6           | 7       |
| Financial Services   |             |         |
| 91                   |             |         |
| 20                   | 10          | 16      |
| 205                  |             |         |
| 10                   | 5           | 13      |
| Business Services    |             |         |
| 343                  |             |         |
| 10                   | 8           | 12      |
| 784                  |             |         |
| 11                   | 8           | 17      |
| Public admin         |             |         |
| 136                  |             |         |
| 8                    | 9           | 16      |
| 124                  |             |         |
| 9                    | 11          | 18      |
| Education            |             |         |
| 164                  |             |         |
| 12                   | 20          | 24      |
| 354                  |             |         |
| 14                   | 16          | 25      |
| Health & Social Work |             |         |
| 207                  |             |         |
| 11                   | 12          | 16      |
| 568                  |             |         |
| 20                   | 18          | 18      |
| Community, Social &  |             |         |
| Personal Services    |             |         |
| 190                  |             |         |
| 20                   | 6           | 6       |
| 440                  |             |         |
| 20                   | 15          | 11      |

Base: All establishments in Scotland '**' denotes figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 respondents). 


## Chapter 6: High Performance Working

 
 
Have vacancies 
Have HtFVs 
Have SSVs 
HtFVs / vacs 
SSVs / vacs 
SSVs / HtFVs 
Row percentages 
Unwtd Base 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
HPW employers 


2-4 
426 
15 
6 
5 
42 
36 
85 
5-24 
4,026 
23 
7 
6 
28 
24 
85 
25-49 
1,537 
37 
10 
8 
26 
19 
73 
50-99 
1,003 
48 
14 
11 
29 
24 
83 
100-249 
721 
61 
19 
16 
20 
15 
73 
250+ 
392 
61 
21 
19 
16 
14 
93 
Non-HPW Employers 


2-4 
9,100 
8 
3 
2 
46 
32 
69 
5-24 
21,835 
15 
5 
4 
35 
27 
77 
25-49 
3,865 
30 
9 
7 
27 
19 
69 
50-99 
1,779 
39 
10 
8 
25 
18 
69 
100-249 
745 
57 
18 
15 
30 
25 
85 
250+ 
206 
70 
18 
16 
15 
14 
97 

Base: All establishments by HPW classification and size. 'HtFVs / vacs' is shown as all hard-to-fill vacancies as a proportion of all private sector vacancies; ''SSVs / vacs' is shown as all skill-shortage vacancies as a proportion of all private sector vacancies; 'SSVs / HtFVs' is shown as all skill-shortage vacancies as a proportion of all hard-to-fill private sector vacancies. 

| % of               | Number of       |
|--------------------|-----------------|
| % of staff         |                 |
| establishments     | staff not fully |
| reported as        |                 |
| with any skills    | proficient      |
| Unwtd              |                 |
| having skills gaps |                 |
| Row percentages    | Base            |
| gaps               | (skills gaps)   |
| HPW employers      |                 |
|                    |                 |
|                    |                 |
|                    |                 |
|                    |                 |
| 2-4                |                 |
| 426                |                 |
| 6                  |                 |
| 3,500              |                 |
| 2.6                |                 |
| 5-24               |                 |
| 4,026              |                 |
| 22                 |                 |
| 53,800             |                 |
| 4.8                |                 |
| 25-49              |                 |
| 1,537              |                 |
| 33                 |                 |
| 50,600             |                 |
| 5.3                |                 |
| 50-99              |                 |
| 1,003              |                 |
| 37                 |                 |
| 71,700             |                 |
| 5.9                |                 |
| 100-249            |                 |
| 721                |                 |
| 44                 |                 |
| 103,900            |                 |
| 5.1                |                 |
| 250+               |                 |
| 392                |                 |
| 48                 |                 |
| 270,900            |                 |
| 5.4                |                 |
| Non-HPW employers  |                 |
|                    |                 |
|                    |                 |
|                    |                 |
|                    |                 |
| 2-4                |                 |
| 9,100              |                 |
| 7                  |                 |
| 64,100             |                 |
| 2.8                |                 |
| 5-24               |                 |
| 21,835             |                 |
| 21                 |                 |
| 261,500            |                 |
| 4.9                |                 |
| 25-49              |                 |
| 3,865              |                 |
| 32                 |                 |
| 115,400            |                 |
| 5.0                |                 |
| 50-99              |                 |
| 1,779              |                 |
| 35                 |                 |
| 108,100            |                 |
| 4.9                |                 |
| 100-249            |                 |
| 745                |                 |
| 41                 |                 |
| 106,100            |                 |
| 5.3                |                 |
| 250+               |                 |
| 206                |                 |
| 51                 |                 |
| 180,300            |                 |
| 7.8                |                 |

Base: Column one all establishments in Module 1 by HPW classification and size; remainder all employment in Module 1 by HPW classification and size. Note: The number of employees not fully proficient has been rounded to the nearest 100. 


Unwtd 
Any training 
Proportion of staff 
trained 
Row percentages 
Base 
 
 
% 
% 
Size 


HPW employers 


2-4 
426 
95 
88 
5-24 
4,026 
98 
77 
25-49 
1,537 
98 
73 
50-99 
1,003 
99 
75 
100-249 
721 
99 
74 
250+ 
392 
99 
74 
Non-HPW employers 


2-4 
9,100 
50 
40 
5-24 
21,835 
75 
51 
25-49 
3,865 
91 
60 
50-99 
1,779 
93 
63 
100-249 
745 
97 
65 
250+ 
206 
93 
63 
Sector  


HPW employers 


Agriculture 
31 
100 
76 
Mining and Quarrying 
13 
** 
** 
Manufacturing 
428 
99 
67 
Electricity, Gas and Water 
97 
99 
64 
Construction 
239 
97 
70 
Wholesale and Retail 
1,797 
97 
73 
Hotels and Restaurants 
929 
95 
78 
Transport and Communications 
380 
93 
61 
Financial Services 
265 
96 
81 
Business Services 
1,242 
98 
76 
Public Administration 
182 
98 
68 
Education 
872 
100 
80 
Health and Social Work 
1,008 
99 
83 
Community, Social & Personal Service Activities 
622 
98 
77 


Non-HPW employers 


Agriculture 
1,651 
49 
42 
Mining and Quarrying 
49 
53 
41 
Manufacturing 
3,231 
58 
42 
Electricity, Gas and Water 
480 
70 
64 
Construction 
3,340 
54 
45 
Wholesale and Retail 
6,759 
57 
46 
Hotels and Restaurants 
3,600 
58 
54 
Transport and Communications 
3,083 
62 
49 
Financial Services 
896 
74 
65 
Business Services 
5,830 
63 
51 
Public Administration 
280 
86 
72 
Education 
2,017 
91 
73 
Health and Social Work 
3,231 
88 
78 
Community, Social & Personal 
Service Activities 
3,083 
64 
59 

Base: All establishments in Module 1 by HPW classification. 

| Very Low                    | Low    | Medium    | High    | Very High    |
|-----------------------------|--------|-----------|---------|--------------|
|                             |        |           |         |              |
| Base                        |        |           |         |              |
| 2,818                       |        | 9,507     |         | 19,333       |
|                             | %      |           |         |              |
|                             |        |           |         |              |
| %                           |        |           |         |              |
|                             |        |           |         |              |
| %                           |        |           |         |              |
|                             |        |           |         |              |
| %                           |        |           |         |              |
|                             |        |           |         |              |
| %                           |        |           |         |              |
|                             |        |           |         |              |
| Country                     |        |           |         |              |
|                             |        |           |         |              |
| England                     | 80     | 82        | 84      | 86           |
| Northern Ireland            | 4      | 4         | 3       | 3            |
| Scotland                    | 9      | 8         | 8       | 7            |
| Wales                       | 7      | 5         | 5       | 4            |
| Sector                      |        |           |         |              |
|                             |        |           |         |              |
| Agriculture                 | 16     | 10        | 6       | 3            |
| Mining and Quarrying        | -      | -         | -       | -            |
| Manufacturing               | 5      | 6         | 7       | 7            |
| Electricity, Gas and Water  | 1      | 1         | 1       | 1            |
| Construction                | 15     | 14        | 12      | 9            |
| Wholesale and Retail        | 22     | 22        | 23      | 23           |
| Hotels and Restaurants      | 11     | 11        | 10      | 9            |
| Transport and               |        |           |         |              |
| Communications              |        |           |         |              |
| 9                           | 8      | 7         | 8       | 8            |
| Financial Services          | 2      | 2         | 3       | 3            |
| Business Services           | 14     | 18        | 22      | 25           |
| Public Administration       | -      | -         | -       | 1            |
| Education                   | 1      | -         | 1       | 1            |
| Health and Social Work      | 1      | 2         | 3       | 5            |
| Community, Social &         |        |           |         |              |
| Personal Service Activities |        |           |         |              |
| 3                           | 5      | 5         | 6       | 7            |
|                             |        |           |         |              |

Base: All private sector establishments in each PMS classification by country and sector. '-' denotes a figure of zero. 


## Table A.6.5 Profile Of Hard-To-Fill Vacancies At 1- Digit Soc Level By Product Market Strategy % Of Hard-To-Fill Vacancies

 
Very low  
Low 
Medium 
High 
Very high 
Base 
204 
966 
2,657 
3,924 
2,885 
Column % 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Occupation 
Managers 
4 
4 
4 
3 
3 
Professionals 
9 
10 
11 
18 
17 
Associate professionals 
4 
12 
14 
17 
23 
Administrative / clerical staff 
4 
4 
7 
8 
4 
Skilled trades occupations 
29 
23 
14 
14 
12 
Caring, leisure and other services staff 
14 
11 
21 
17 
18 
Sales and customer service staff 
17 
10 
9 
7 
7 
Machine operatives 
11 
9 
8 
5 
5 
Elementary staff 
9 
18 
12 
10 
7 

Base: All private sector hard-to-fill vacancies; up to six occupations followed up 

 
% of skill-shortage vacancies 
 
Very low  
Low 
Medium 
High 
Very high 
Base 
137 
742 
2,086 
3,056 
2,244 
Column % 
% 
% 
% 
% 
% 
Occupation 
Managers 
1 
4 
4 
3 
3 
Professionals 
11 
12 
10 
20 
20 
Associate professionals 
4 
14 
15 
19 
24 
Administrative / clerical staff 
5 
3 
7 
9 
3 
Skilled trades occupations 
37 
25 
16 
15 
13 
Caring, leisure and other services staff 
15 
10 
20 
15 
17 
Sales and customer service staff 
11 
9 
10 
7 
5 
Machine operatives 
9 
9 
5 
5 
6 
Elementary staff 
7 
13 
11 
7 
6 

Base: All private sector skill-shortage vacancies; up to six occupations followed up 

| % of establishments with    | % of workforce with skills    |
|-----------------------------|-------------------------------|
| Row percentages             |                               |
| Unwtd                       |                               |
| Base                        |                               |
| a skills gap                | gaps                          |
| Very low PMS                |                               |
|                             |                               |
|                             |                               |
| 2-4                         |                               |
| 1,100                       |                               |
| 6                           | 3                             |
| 5-24                        |                               |
| 1,451                       |                               |
| 21                          | 5                             |
| 25-49                       |                               |
| 170                         |                               |
| 48                          | 9                             |
| 50-99                       |                               |
| 68                          |                               |
| 42                          | 7                             |
| 100-249                     |                               |
| 21                          |                               |
| **                          | **                            |
| 250+                        |                               |
| 8                           |                               |
| **                          | **                            |
| Low PMS                     |                               |
|                             |                               |
|                             |                               |
| 2-4                         |                               |
| 2,889                       |                               |
| 7                           | 3                             |
| 5-24                        |                               |
| 5,407                       |                               |
| 24                          | 6                             |
| 25-49                       |                               |
| 754                         |                               |
| 38                          | 6                             |
| 50-99                       |                               |
| 289                         |                               |
| 49                          | 9                             |
| 100-249                     |                               |
| 120                         |                               |
| 57                          | 8                             |
| 250+                        |                               |
| 48                          |                               |
| 55                          | 10                            |
| Medium PMS                  |                               |
|                             |                               |
|                             |                               |
| 2-4                         |                               |
| 4,603                       |                               |
| 7                           | 3                             |
| 5-24                        |                               |
| 11,370                      |                               |
| 24                          | 6                             |
| 25-49                       |                               |
| 1,989                       |                               |
| 41                          | 7                             |
| 50-99                       |                               |
| 835                         |                               |
| 45                          | 7                             |
| 100-249                     |                               |
| 381                         |                               |
| 51                          | 7                             |
| 250+                        |                               |
| 155                         |                               |
| 62                          | 9                             |
| High PMS                    |                               |
|                             |                               |
|                             |                               |
| 2-4                         |                               |
| 4,400                       |                               |
| 8                           | 3                             |
| 5-24                        |                               |
| 13,627                      |                               |
| 23                          | 5                             |
| 25-49                       |                               |
| 2,688                       |                               |
| 35                          | 6                             |
| 50-99                       |                               |
| 1,415                       |                               |
| 41                          | 6                             |
| 100-249                     |                               |
| 719                         |                               |
| 50                          | 6                             |
| 250+                        |                               |
| 257                         |                               |
| 51                          | 8                             |
| Very high PMS               |                               |
|                             |                               |
|                             |                               |
| 2-4                         |                               |
| 2,088                       |                               |
| 8                           | 3                             |
| 5-24                        |                               |
| 7,469                       |                               |
| 20                          | 4                             |
| 25-49                       |                               |
| 1,674                       |                               |
| 31                          | 4                             |
| 50-99                       |                               |
| 856                         |                               |
| 35                          | 5                             |
| 100-249                     |                               |
| 459                         |                               |
| 42                          | 6                             |
| 250+                        |                               |
| 183                         |                               |
| 52                          | 8                             |

Base: All private sector establishments in each PMS classification by country and size '**' denotes figures not shown due to low base (<25 responses) 

## Table A.6.8  Training Provision Over The Last 12 Months By Product Market Strategy And Size

Unwtd 
Any training 
Proportion of staff trained 
Row percentages 
Base 
 
 
% 
% 
Very low PMS 


2-4 
1,100 
39 
29 
5-24 
1,451 
63 
39 
25-49 
170 
82 
51 
50-99 
68 
80 
43 
100-249 
21 
** 
** 
250+ 
8 
** 
** 
Low PMS 


2-4 
2,889 
44 
32 
5-24 
5,407 
70 
44 
25-49 
754 
90 
52 
50-99 
289 
95 
59 
100-249 
120 
93 
60 
250+ 
48 
97 
68 
Medium PMS 


2-4 
4,603 
50 
37 
5-24 
11,370 
76 
50 
25-49 
1989 
90 
56 
50-99 
835 
95 
62 
100-249 
381 
97 
64 
250+ 
155 
96 
62 
High PMS 


2-4 
4,400 
55 
44 
5-24 
13,627 
79 
54 
25-49 
2,688 
93 
60 
50-99 
1,415 
94 
63 
100-249 
719 
98 
66 
250+ 
257 
98 
69 
Very high PMS 


2-4 
2,088 
56 
46 
5-24 
7,469 
80 
58 
25-49 
1,674 
93 
61 
50-99 
856 
95 
63 
100-249 
459 
99 
68 
250+ 
183 
99 
72 

Base: All private sector establishments in each PMS classification by size. 'Proportion of staff trained' is shown as a proportion of all private sector employment 

'**' denotes figure not shown because of a low base (fewer than 25 respondents); Figures in italics denote 
base size smaller than 50: figures should be treated with caution 
 

## Annex B: National Time Series Tables

The UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2011 and 2013 was designed in such a way as to preserve key time series measures from the previous surveys carried out previously by the individual nations where possible. The eligible employer population and weighting strategy 2013 survey was different to that used in 2011 (see the accompanying Technical Report for details); therefore the 2011 data has been reweighted to give comparable time series data. For the constituent nations of the UK, the degree to which we can track time series prior to 2011 depends on the approach the nation took to their predecessor skills survey.   
England: England carried out the National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) biennially from 2005, and annually from 2001 prior to this. The population used in NESS matches that used in UKCESS 2013 (2+ employment), therefore we can make some comparisons over a longer time period.  It should be noted that the weighting strategy of the NESS surveys was based on SSC sectors rather than the 14 broad SIC sectors used in 2011 and 2013, therefore some caution needs to be exercised when making comparisons with data prior to 2011. 

Northern Ireland: The Northern Ireland Skills Monitoring Survey (NISMS) was conducted in 2005 and 2008 on a 1+employee population. This does not match the population used in UKCESS 2013, therefore no time series comparisons can be drawn prior to 2011. 

Scotland: The Scottish Employer Skills Survey (SESS) ran annually from 2006 to 2010. 

The surveys were conducted using a 1+employee population which does not match the population used in UKCESS 2013, therefore no time series comparisons can be drawn prior to 2011. 

Wales: Future Skills Wales (FSW) was conducted in 2005 on a 2+ employment population.  This gives some scope to make comparisons with this point in time, however it should be noted that the weighting strategy employed in 2005 used different sector and sizeband definitions to those used in 2011 and 2013, therefore some caution needs to be exercised when making comparisons with the 2005 data. 


| Vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies      |        |        |       |       |
|---------------------------------------------|--------|--------|-------|-------|
| % of establishments with any vacancies      |        |        |       |       |
| 17%                                         | 17%    | 18%    | 12%   | 14%   |
| 15%                                         |        |        |       |       |
| % of establishments with any hard-to-fill   |        |        |       |       |
| vacancies                                   |        |        |       |       |
| 8%                                          | 7%     | 7%     | 3%    | 5%    |
| 5%                                          |        |        |       |       |
| % with SSVs                                 |        |        |       |       |
| n/a                                         | 5%     | 5%     | 3%    | 3%    |
| 4%                                          |        |        |       |       |
| % of all vacancies which are SSVs           |        |        |       |       |
| n/a                                         | 25%    | 21%    | 16%   | 15%   |
| 22%                                         |        |        |       |       |
| Number of vacancies                         |        |        |       |       |
| 679,000 573,900 619,700 385,700 501,200     |        |        |       |       |
| 559,600                                     |        |        |       |       |
| Number of hard-to-fill vacancies            |        |        |       |       |
| 271,000 203,600 183,500                     |        |        |       |       |
|                                             |        |        |       |       |
| 85,400                                      |        |        |       |       |
|                                             |        |        |       |       |
| 107,100                                     |        |        |       |       |
| 160,000                                     |        |        |       |       |
| Number of skill-shortage vacancies          |        |        |       |       |
| 135,000 143,100 130,000                     | 63,100 | 76,900 |       |       |
| 124,800                                     |        |        |       |       |
| Skills gaps                                 |        |        |       |       |
|                                             |        |        |       |       |
|                                             |        |        |       |       |
|                                             |        |        |       |       |
|                                             |        |        |       |       |
| % of establishments with any staff not      |        |        |       |       |
| fully proficient                            |        |        |       |       |
| 22%                                         | 16%    | 15%    | 19%   | 17%   |
| 15%                                         |        |        |       |       |
| Number of skills gaps                       |        |        |       |       |
| 2.4m                                        | 1.26m  | 1.36m  | 1.70m | 1.28m |
| 1.17m                                       |        |        |       |       |
| Number of staff not fully proficient as a % |        |        |       |       |
| of employment                               |        |        |       |       |
| 11%                                         | 6%     | 6%     | 7%    | 6%    |
| 5%                                          |        |        |       |       |
| Training                                    |        |        |       |       |
|                                             |        |        |       |       |
|                                             |        |        |       |       |
|                                             |        |        |       |       |
|                                             |        |        |       |       |
| % of establishments training staff over the |        |        |       |       |
| last 12 months                              |        |        |       |       |
| 59%                                         | 65%    | 67%    | 68%   | 65%   |
| 66%                                         |        |        |       |       |
| % of establishments providing off-the-job   |        |        |       |       |
| training in the last 12 months              |        |        |       |       |
| n/a                                         | 46%    | 46%    | 51%   | 47%   |
| 48%                                         |        |        |       |       |
| % of workforce trained                      |        |        |       |       |
| 53%                                         | 61%    | 63%    | 56%   | 54%   |
| 62%                                         |        |        |       |       |
| Total number of training days               |        |        |       |       |
| n/a                                         | n/a    | n/a    | 109m  | 97m   |
| 95m                                         |        |        |       |       |
| Total training expenditure                  | **     | **     | **    | **    |
| £38.6bn                                     |        |        |       |       |
| £36.0bn                                     |        |        |       |       |

 
**Eurostat data used for calculating total training spend was subject to an adjustment in 2013, therefore no 

| Vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies                            |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
| % of establishments with any vacancies                            |
| 10%                                                               |
| 10%                                                               |
| % of establishments with any hard-to-fill vacancies               |
| 3%                                                                |
| 3%                                                                |
| % with SSVs                                                       |
| 2%                                                                |
| 3%                                                                |
| % of all vacancies which are SSVs                                 |
| 21%                                                               |
| 19%                                                               |
| Number of vacancies                                               |
| 18,400                                                            |
| 15,200                                                            |
| Number of hard-to-fill vacancies                                  |
| 5,000                                                             |
| 4,000                                                             |
| Number of skill-shortage vacancies                                |
| 3,900                                                             |
| 2,900                                                             |
| Skills gaps                                                       |
|                                                                   |
|                                                                   |
| % of establishments with any staff not fully proficient           |
| 13%                                                               |
| 14%                                                               |
| Number of skills gaps                                             |
| 34,100                                                            |
| 37,700                                                            |
| Number of staff not fully proficient as a % of employment         |
| 4%                                                                |
| 5%                                                                |
| Training                                                          |
|                                                                   |
|                                                                   |
| % of establishments training staff over the last 12 months        |
| 65%                                                               |
| 63%                                                               |
| % of establishments providing off-the-job training in the last 12 |
| months                                                            |
| 48%                                                               |
| 49%                                                               |
| % of workforce trained                                            |
| 56%                                                               |
| 59%                                                               |
| Total number of training days                                     |
| 2.71m                                                             |
| 2.69m                                                             |
| Total training expenditure                                        |
| £1.2bn                                                            |
| £1.1bn                                                            |


| Vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies                         |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
| % of establishments with any vacancies                         |
| 14%                                                            |
| 15%                                                            |
| % of establishments with any hard-to-fill vacancies            |
| 4%                                                             |
| 6%                                                             |
| % with SSVs                                                    |
| 3%                                                             |
| 4%                                                             |
| % of all vacancies which are SSVs                              |
| 15%                                                            |
| 25%                                                            |
| Number of vacancies                                            |
| 44,500                                                         |
| 54,500                                                         |
| Number of hard-to-fill vacancies                               |
| 9,100                                                          |
| 18,200                                                         |
| Number of skill-shortage vacancies                             |
| 6,700                                                          |
| 13,400                                                         |
| Skills gaps                                                    |
|                                                                |
|                                                                |
| % of establishments with any staff not fully proficient        |
| 21%                                                            |
| 19%                                                            |
| Number of skills gaps                                          |
| 121,000                                                        |
| 135,100                                                        |
| Number of staff not fully proficient as a % of employment      |
| 5%                                                             |
| 6%                                                             |
| Training                                                       |
|                                                                |
|                                                                |
| % of establishments training staff over the last 12 months     |
| 73%                                                            |
| 70%                                                            |
| % of establishments providing off-the-job training in the last |
| 12 months                                                      |
| 53%                                                            |
| 53%                                                            |
| % of workforce trained                                         |
| 58%                                                            |
| 65%                                                            |
| Total number of training days                                  |
| 9.8m                                                           |
| 10.0m                                                          |
| Total training expenditure                                     |
| £4bn                                                           |
| £4.2bn                                                         |


| Vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies                            |        |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------|--------|
| % of establishments with any vacancies                            |        |
| 21%                                                               | 12%    |
| 14%                                                               |        |
| % of establishments with any hard-to-fill vacancies               |        |
| 10%                                                               | 4%     |
| 5%                                                                |        |
| % with SSVs                                                       |        |
| 4%                                                                | 3%     |
| 4%                                                                |        |
| % of all vacancies which are SSVs                                 |        |
| 14%                                                               | 18%    |
| 20%                                                               |        |
| Number of vacancies                                               |        |
| 37,900                                                            | 22,500 |
| 25,700                                                            |        |
| Number of hard-to-fill vacancies                                  |        |
| 13,200                                                            | 6,600  |
| 7,200                                                             |        |
| Number of skill-shortage vacancies                                |        |
| 5,400                                                             | 4,000  |
| 5,100                                                             |        |
| Skills gaps                                                       |        |
|                                                                   |        |
|                                                                   |        |
| % of establishments with any staff not fully proficient           |        |
| 18%                                                               | 16%    |
| 16%                                                               |        |
| Number of skills gaps                                             |        |
| 63,800                                                            | 53,900 |
| 67,400                                                            |        |
| Number of staff not fully proficient as a % of employment         |        |
| 6%                                                                | 5%     |
| 6%                                                                |        |
| Training                                                          |        |
|                                                                   |        |
|                                                                   |        |
| % of establishments training staff over the last 12 months        |        |
| n/a                                                               | 63%    |
| 62%                                                               |        |
| % of establishments providing off-the-job training in the last 12 |        |
| months                                                            |        |
| n/a                                                               | 47%    |
| 47%                                                               |        |
| % of workforce trained                                            |        |
| n/a                                                               | 56%    |
| 62%                                                               |        |
| Total number of training days                                     |        |
| n/a                                                               | 4.93m  |
| 5.56m                                                             |        |
| Total training expenditure                                        |        |
| n/a                                                               | £1.5bn |
| £1.6bn                                                            |        |

n/a: question not asked or not asked in a comparable manner in previous years' surveys 

## Annex C: Industry Coding

Each establishment was allocated to one of 14 sectors, based on their Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). SIC 2007 was used to classify establishments using the following method. Using the four-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) supplied for each record from the Experian database, a description of business activity was read out to each respondent. If they agreed that this description matched the main activity undertaken at the establishment, then the SIC on Experian's database was assumed to be correct. If however the respondent felt the description did not correspond to their main business activity at the site (which about a quarter did), a verbatim response was collected to find out what they do (see question A7 on the survey; questionnaire shown in the accompanying Technical Report). At the analysis stage this was coded to a four-digit SIC which was then used as the basis for allocation into sector. The table below shows the 14 sectors and their corresponding SIC 2007 definitions. 

| Sector                                               | SIC 2007      |
|------------------------------------------------------|---------------|
| A - Agriculture, forestry and fishing (01-03)        |               |
| 1. Agriculture                                       |               |
| Including farming, hunting and other related service |               |
| activities,                                          | forestry      |
| aquaculture                                          |               |
| B - Mining and quarrying (05-09)                     |               |
| 2. Mining & Quarrying                                |               |
| Including mining of coal, metals, sand/stone/clay,   |               |
| and extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas    |               |
| C - Manufacturing (10-33)                            |               |
| 3. Manufacturing                                     |               |
| Including manufacture of food and beverage,          |               |
| textiles, chemicals and chemical products, basic     |               |
| pharmaceutical products, other mineral products,     |               |
| manufacture of metals and metal products,            |               |
| machinery, computer and electronic products and      |               |
| equipment, motor vehicles and other transport        |               |
| equipment, furniture, and repair and installation of |               |
| machinery and equipment                              |               |
| 4. Electricity, Gas and Water                        |               |
| D - Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning     |               |
| supply (35)                                          |               |
| E - Water supply, sewerage, waste management         |               |
| and remediation activities (36-39)                   |               |
| Including electric power generation, transmission    |               |
| and                                                  | distribution, |
|                                                      |               |
| distribution of gaseous fuels, steam and air         |               |
| conditioning supply, water collection, treatment and |               |
| supply, sewerage and waste collection, treatment     |               |
| and disposal activities and materials recovery       |               |
| Sector                                                  | SIC 2007                          |
|---------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| F - Construction (41-43)                                |                                   |
| 5. Construction                                         |                                   |
| Including the construction of buildings, civil          |                                   |
| engineering (constructing roads, railways and other     |                                   |
| utility                                                 | projects),                        |
| activities such as electrical installation, roofing and |                                   |
| scaffold erection                                       |                                   |
| G - Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor         |                                   |
| vehicles and motor cycles (45-47)                       |                                   |
| Including sale, maintenance and repair of motor         |                                   |
| vehicles,                                               | parts                             |
| 6. Wholesale and Retail                                 |                                   |
| wholesale                                               | (for                              |
| household goods), and the retail trade of all           |                                   |
| products whether in stores, stalls, markets, mail       |                                   |
| order or online                                         |                                   |
| I - Accommodation and food service activities (55-      |                                   |
| 56)                                                     |                                   |
| 7. Hotels and Restaurants                               |                                   |
| Including hotels, campsites, youth hostels, holiday     |                                   |
| centres,                                                | villages                          |
| accommodation, restaurants and takeaways, event         |                                   |
| catering and licensed clubs, pubs and bars              |                                   |
| 8. Transport and Communications                         | H - Transport and storage (49-53) |
| J - Information and communication (58-63)               |                                   |
| Including land, water and air transport (passenger      |                                   |
| and freight), warehousing and support activities for    |                                   |
| transportation,                                         | postal                            |
|                                                         |                                   |
| publishing (books, journals, newspapers etc and         |                                   |
| software/computer games), television, film and          |                                   |
| music                                                   | production,                       |
| telecommunications, computer programming and            |                                   |
| consultancy, information service activities (e.g. data  |                                   |
| processing and hosting)                                 |                                   |
| K - Financial and insurance activities (64-66)          |                                   |
| 9. Financial Services                                   |                                   |
| Including banks and building societies, activities of   |                                   |
| holding companies, trusts, funds and similar            |                                   |
| financial                                               | entities,                         |
| insurance and reinsurance                               |                                   |
|                                                         |                                   |
|                                                         |                                   |
|                                                         |                                   |
|                                                         |                                   |
|                                                         |                                   |
| Sector                                                  | SIC 2007    |
|---------------------------------------------------------|-------------|
| L - Real estate activities (68)                         |             |
| M - Professional, scientific and technical activities   |             |
| (69-75)                                                 |             |
| N - Administrative and support service activities       |             |
| (77-82)                                                 |             |
| Including the buying, selling and renting of real       |             |
| estate, legal activities, accounting, bookkeeping       |             |
| and                                                     | auditing,   |
| 10. Business services                                   |             |
| architectural and engineering activities, scientific    |             |
| research and development, advertising and market        |             |
| research, specialist design, photographic activities,   |             |
| translation and interpretation, veterinary activities,  |             |
| renting and leasing of tangible goods (motors,          |             |
| household, machinery), employment agencies,             |             |
| travel agencies and tour operations, security and       |             |
| investigation activities, office administration and     |             |
| business support                                        |             |
| O - Public administration and defence; compulsory       |             |
| social security (84)                                    |             |
| 11. Public Administration                               |             |
| Including administration of the State and economic      |             |
| and social policy of the community, provision of        |             |
| services to the community as a whole such as            |             |
| defence activities, foreign affairs, justice and        |             |
| judicial activities, fire service and compulsory social |             |
| security activities                                     |             |
| P - Education (85)                                      |             |
| 12. Education                                           |             |
| Including pre-primary, primary, secondary and           |             |
| higher education, other education (such as sports,      |             |
| driving schools, cultural education), educational       |             |
| support activities                                      |             |
| Q - Human health and social work activities (86-88)     |             |
| 13. Health and Social work                              |             |
| Including Hospitals, medical and dental practices,      |             |
| residential care, social work activities                |             |
| R - Arts, entertainment and recreation (90-93)          |             |
| S - Other service activities (94-96)                    |             |
| 14. Other Community, Social and                         |             |
| Personal Services                                       |             |
| Including performing arts, libraries and museums,       |             |
| gambling and betting, sports facilities, amusement      |             |
| and recreation activities, activities of membership     |             |
| organisations (religious, political, trade union,       |             |
| professional),                                          | personal    |
| beauty,                                                 | textile     |
| funeral activities)                                     |             |
| Sector                                               |
|------------------------------------------------------|
| T - Activities of households as employers;           |
| undifferentiated goods and services producing        |
| activities of households for own use (97-98)         |
| NOT COVERED IN SURVEY                                |
| U - Activities of extraterritorial organisations and |
| bodies (99)                                          |
| Including households as employers of domestic        |
| personnel, private households producing goods for    |
| own use                                              |
|                                                      |
|                                                      |

## Annex D: Occupational Coding

The occupational data collected in the survey were collected both pre-coded and verbatim. The former included the occupational breakdown of employment (question D5 
to D8) where respondents were asked how many of their workforce fell into each of the nine major (one-digit) Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) 2010 categories (Managers, Directors and Senior Officials through to Elementary Occupations). However, on vacancy measures (for example the occupations in which vacancies exist - question C2) this information was collected verbatim. This was then coded at the analysis stage, where possible to a four-digit level SOC, if not three, two- or one-digit level. Examples of what might fall into each occupational band are as follows: 

Occupational group 
Service sectors (retail, business, finance, transport etc) 
Primary sectors (Agriculture, manufacturing, construction etc) 
Managers, Directors and Senior Officials 
Site managers, Department Heads, Shift Managers (not supervisors) 
Directors, Managers / Branch/site managers, shift managers (not supervisors 
Professionals 
Solicitors, lawyers, accountants, IT professionals, economists, architects, actuaries 
Professional engineers, software and IT professionals, accountants, chemists, scientific researchers 
Associate Professionals 
Science and engineering technicians, lab technicians, IT technicians, accounting technicians 
Insurance underwriters, finance/investment analysts and advisers, writers/journalists, buyers, estate agents 
Secretaries, receptionists, PAs, telephonists, bookkeepers 
Administrative staff 
Secretaries, receptionists, PAs, communication operators, market research interviewers, clerks 
Motor mechanics, printers, TV engineers, butchers 
Skilled Trades 
Farmers, electricians, machine setters / tool makers, carpenters, plasterers Care assistants, nursery nurses 
Travel agents, travel assistants, hairdressers, housekeepers 
Caring, Leisure and Other Service Occupations Sales and customer service occupations 
Customer facing roles: sales staff and call centre agents 
Sales assistants and retail cashiers, telesales, call centre agents HGV, van, fork-lift, bus and taxi drivers 
Process, plant and machine operatives  
Routine operatives, drivers, machine operators, sorters and assemblers Labourers, packers, goods handling and storage staff 
Elementary occupations 
Bar staff, shelf fillers, catering assistants, waiters/waitresses, cleaners 
Public sector (Public Admin, Health, Education etc) 
Police inspectors and above, department heads, Head teachers, Senior Officials Doctors, nurses, midwives, teachers, social workers, librarians Junior police/fire/prison officers, therapists, paramedics, community workers, H&S officers, housing officers Secretaries, receptionists, PAs, local government officers and assistants, office assistants, library 
and database assistants Chefs Care assistants, home carers, nursery nurses, ambulance staff, pest control, dental nurses, caretakers Customer care operations Drivers, vehicle inspectors Labourers, cleaners, road sweepers, traffic wardens, security guards 

## Annex E: Sampling Error And Statistical Confidence

Sampling errors for the survey results overall and for key sub-groups are presented in the table below. Figures have been based on a survey result of 50 per cent (the 'worst' case in terms of statistical reliability), and have used a 95 per cent confidence level. Where the table indicates that a survey result based on all respondents has a sampling error of +/- 
0.32 per cent, this should be interpreted as follows: 'for a question asked of all respondents where the survey result is 50 per cent, we are 95 per cent confident that the true figure lies within the range 49.68 per cent to 50.32 per cent'. As a note, the calculation of sampling error has taken into account the finite population correction factor to account for cases where we are measuring a significant portion of the population universe (i.e. even if two sample sizes are the same, the sampling error will be lower if in one case a far higher proportion of the population was covered). These confidence intervals are based on the assumption of a normal distribution of responses. 

Sampling error (at the confidence 95 per cent level) associated with findings of 50 per cent 
(Maximum) 
 
Population 
Number of 
Sampling 
interviews 
Error 
Overall  
1,743,847 
91,279 
+/-0.32 
By country 


England  
1,465,963 
75,255 
+/-0.36 
Northern Ireland  
55,603 
4,014 
+/-1.55 
Scotland  
140,948 
6,014 
+/-1.26 
Wales  
81,333 
5,996 
+/-1.27 
By size of establishment 


2-4  
907,729 
19,058 
+/-0.71 
5-24 
651,910 
51,565 
+/-0.43 
25-99  
146,623 
16,531 
+/-0.76 
100-249 
26,105 
2,938 
+/-1.81 
250+  
11,480 
1,187 
+/-2.84 

(Maximum) 
 
Population 
Number of 
Sampling 
interviews 
Error 
By sector 


Agriculture 
94,386 
3,407 
+/-1.68 
Mining & Quarrying 
1,712 
138 
+/-8.34 
Manufacturing 
99,955 
7,422 
+/-1.14 
Electricity, Gas and Water 
9,339 
1,148 
+/-2.89 
Construction 
162,801 
7,202 
+/-1.15 
Wholesale and Retail 
372,433 
17,287 
+/-0.75 
Hotels & Restaurants 
155,283 
8,888 
+/-1.04 
Transport and 
Communications 
121,484 
6,890 
+/-1.18 
Financial Services 
40,030 
2,330 
+/-2.03 
Business Services 
348,735 
14,011 
+/-0.83 
Public Administration 
21,408 
942 
+/-3.19 
Education 
57,523 
5,796 
+/-1.29 
Health and Social Work 
130,010 
8,460 
+/-1.07 
Community, Social and 
Personal Services  
128,748 
7,358 
+/-1.14 

## Annex F:  Weighted Base Sizes

| Number of employers…                                  | UK                  | England    | NI      | Scotland    | Wales    |
|-------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|------------|---------|-------------|----------|
| Overall                                               | 1,743,847 1,465,963 | 55,603     | 140,948 | 81,333      |          |
| Chapter 2: Employers' experience of skill shortages   |                     |            |         |             |          |
|                                                       |                     |            |         |             |          |
| With a vacancy                                        | 257,161             | 218,432    | 5,749   | 21,733      | 11,247   |
| With a hard-to-fill vacancy                           | 89,732              | 75,908     | 1,917   | 7,946       | 3,961    |
| With a skill-shortage vacancy                         | 70,504              | 60,073     | 1,453   | 5,947       | 3,032    |
| Chapter 3: The Internal Skills Challenge              |                     |            |         |             |          |
|                                                       |                     |            |         |             |          |
| With at least one skills gap                          | 268,208             | 220,359    | 7,954   | 26,966      | 12,929   |
| 829,376                                               | 687,975             | 28,145     | 73,039  | 40,217      |          |
| With at least one employee with                       |                     |            |         |             |          |
| more qualifications and skills                        |                     |            |         |             |          |
| than job role requires                                |                     |            |         |             |          |
| Chapter 4: Employer Investment in Training and Skills |                     |            |         |             |          |
|                                                       |                     |            |         |             |          |
| Providing any training                                | 1,147,751 963,751   | 35,005     | 98,426  | 50,569      |          |
| On-the-job training only                              | 296,972             | 253,325    | 7,507   | 24,030      | 12,110   |
| Off-the-job training only                             | 240,648             | 202,275    | 8742    | 18,250      | 11,380   |
| Both on- and off-the-job                              |                     |            |         |             |          |
| training                                              |                     |            |         |             |          |
| 610,132                                               | 508,151             | 18,755     | 56,146  | 27,080      |          |
| Providing no training for staff                       | 596,096             | 502,212    | 20,598  | 42,522      | 30,764   |
| 538,226                                               | 449,450             | 15,588     | 46,332  | 26,856      |          |
| Providing training towards                            |                     |            |         |             |          |
| nationally recognised                                 |                     |            |         |             |          |
| qualifications                                        |                     |            |         |             |          |
| Chapter 5: Work-readiness of those leaving education  |                     |            |         |             |          |
| Taking on leavers from                                |                     |            |         |             |          |
| education in the last 2-3 years                       |                     |            |         |             |          |
| 435,444                                               | 400,847             | 12,309     | 37,185  | 22,288      |          |
| 16-year-olds from school                              | 122,710             | 113,086    | 3,290   | n/a         |          |
|                                                       |                     |            |         |             |          |
| 6,334                                                 |                     |            |         |             |          |
| 17-18-year-olds from                                  |                     |            |         |             |          |
| school                                                |                     |            |         |             |          |
| 168,069                                               | 154,100             | 4,874      | n/a     |             |          |
|                                                       |                     |            |         |             |          |
| 9,095                                                 |                     |            |         |             |          |
| 17-18-year-olds from FE                               |                     |            |         |             |          |
| College                                               |                     |            |         |             |          |
| 183,516                                               | 169,650             | 4,704      | n/a     |             |          |
|                                                       |                     |            |         |             |          |
| 9,162                                                 |                     |            |         |             |          |
| From university                                       | 216,893             | 199,126    | 6,943   | n/a         |          |
|                                                       |                     |            |         |             |          |
| 10,824                                                |                     |            |         |             |          |
| From Scottish secondary                               |                     |            |         |             |          |
| school                                                |                     |            |         |             |          |
| n/a                                                   | n/a                 | n/a        | 23,308  | n/a         |          |
| From Scottish FE College                              | n/a                 | n/a        | n/a     | 15,284      | n/a      |
| From Scottish university                              | n/a                 | n/a        | n/a     | 17,283      | n/a      |

Base: All establishments 

## Annex G:  Unweighted Base Sizes

|                                |         | Establishments with…     |        |
|--------------------------------|---------|--------------------------|--------|
| Skill-                         |         |                          |        |
| Estab's that                   |         |                          |        |
| Skills                         |         |                          |        |
|                                | Overall | Vacancies                |        |
| Hard-to-fill                   |         |                          |        |
| shortage                       |         |                          |        |
| vacancies                      | gaps    | train                    |        |
| vacancies                      |         |                          |        |
| UK                             |         |                          |        |
| 91,279                         |         |                          |        |
| 18,959                         | 6,133   | 4,987                    | 20,228 |
| 69,842                         |         |                          |        |
| Country                        |         |                          |        |
|                                |         |                          |        |
| England                        |         |                          |        |
| 75,255                         |         |                          |        |
| 15,894                         | 5,073   | 4,057                    | 16,563 |
| 57,787                         |         |                          |        |
| Northern Ireland               |         |                          |        |
| 4,014                          |         |                          |        |
| 550                            | 181     | 144                      | 733    |
| 2,894                          |         |                          |        |
| Scotland                       |         |                          |        |
| 6,014                          |         |                          |        |
| 1,499                          | 538     | 427                      | 1,713  |
| 4,884                          |         |                          |        |
| Wales                          |         |                          |        |
| 5,996                          |         |                          |        |
| 1,016                          | 341     | 269                      | 1,219  |
| 4,277                          |         |                          |        |
| Size                           |         |                          |        |
|                                |         |                          |        |
| 2-4                            |         |                          |        |
| 19,058                         |         |                          |        |
| 1,403                          | 536     | 405                      | 1,348  |
| 9,580                          |         |                          |        |
| 5-24                           |         |                          |        |
| 51,565                         |         |                          |        |
| 8,969                          | 3,033   | 2,439                    | 11,409 |
| 40,801                         |         |                          |        |
| 25-99                          |         |                          |        |
| 16,531                         |         |                          |        |
| 6,088                          | 1,812   | 1,419                    | 5,625  |
| 15,438                         |         |                          |        |
| 100-249                        |         |                          |        |
| 2,938                          |         |                          |        |
| 1,737                          | 528     | 434                      | 1,274  |
| 2,864                          |         |                          |        |
| 250+                           |         |                          |        |
| 1,187                          |         |                          |        |
| 762                            | 224     | 200                      | 572    |
| 1,159                          |         |                          |        |
| Sector                         |         |                          |        |
|                                |         |                          |        |
| Agriculture                    | 3,407   |                          |        |
| 167                            | 74      | 52                       | 303    |
| 1,710                          |         |                          |        |
| Mining and Quarrying           | 138     |                          |        |
| 22                             | 5       | 5                        | 21     |
| 103                            |         |                          |        |
| Manufacturing                  | 7,422   |                          |        |
| 1347                           | 530     | 471                      | 1,750  |
| 5,128                          |         |                          |        |
| Electricity, Gas and Water     | 1,148   |                          |        |
| 185                            | 65      | 54                       | 208    |
| 878                            |         |                          |        |
| Construction                   | 7,202   |                          |        |
| 706                            | 249     | 198                      | 1,122  |
| 4,777                          |         |                          |        |
| Wholesale and Retail           | 17,287  |                          |        |
| 2,983                          | 802     | 641                      | 4,392  |
| 12,425                         |         |                          |        |
| Hotels and Restaurants         | 8,888   |                          |        |
| 2,447                          | 841     | 643                      | 2,964  |
| 6,761                          |         |                          |        |
| Transport and Communications   | 6,890   |                          |        |
| 1,232                          | 499     | 424                      | 1,271  |
| 4,939                          |         |                          |        |
| Financial Services             | 2,330   |                          |        |
| 398                            | 121     | 103                      | 437    |
| 1,824                          |         |                          |        |
| Business Services              | 14,011  |                          |        |
| 3,147                          | 1158    | 990                      | 2,842  |
| 11,127                         |         |                          |        |
| Public Administration          | 942     |                          |        |
| 283                            | 83      | 58                       | 203    |
| 861                            |         |                          |        |
| Education                      | 5,796   |                          |        |
| 2,062                          | 480     | 374                      | 1,296  |
| 5,568                          |         |                          |        |
| Health and Social Work         | 8,460   |                          |        |
| 2,375                          | 736     | 536                      | 1,955  |
| 7,935                          |         |                          |        |
| Community, Social and          |         |                          |        |
| Personal Service activities    |         |                          |        |
| 7,358                          |         |                          |        |
| 1,605                          | 490     | 348                      | 1,464  |
| 5,806                          |         |                          |        |
| Occupation                     |         |                          |        |
|                                |         |                          |        |
| Managers                       |         |                          |        |
| 87,946                         | 18,597  | 6,004                    | 4,802  |
| Professionals                  |         |                          |        |
| 17,407                         | 5,796   | 1,814                    | 1,513  |
| Associate Professionals        |         |                          |        |
| 12,577                         | 4,041   | 1,349                    | 1,176  |
| Administrative/ Clerical staff |         |                          |        |
| 53,759                         | 12,944  | 4,158                    | 3,388  |
| Skilled Trades occupations     |         |                          |        |
| 23,644                         | 5,460   | 2,084                    | 1,718  |
| Caring, Leisure and Other      |         |                          |        |
| services                       |         |                          |        |
| 14,017                         | 4,588   | 1,403                    | 1,024  |
| Sales and Customer services    |         |                          |        |
| 27,417                         | 6,808   | 2,094                    | 1,750  |
| Machine Operatives             |         |                          |        |
| 14,059                         | 2,962   | 1,025                    | 845    |
| Elementary staff               |         |                          |        |
| 32,192                         | 8,474   | 2,678                    | 2,082  |
|                                |         |                          |        |

## Annex H: A Note On Proficiency And Skills Gaps

To ascertain the number of staff with skills gaps, respondents were asked, for each major (one-digit SOC 2010) occupation where they employed staff, how many of those they employed were fully proficient. If respondents asked for clarification, then a proficient employee was described as 'someone who is able to do their job to the required level'. 'Proficient employee', however, is clearly a subjective and relative term to the extent that: 

 
different managers in an organisation may have different views on whether an individual member of staff is able to do the job to the required level. Indeed they may have different views on what the required level is that the organisation is looking for within an occupational category 
 
an employee could be regarded as fully proficient but if the requirements of the job change (for example, some new machinery or technology is introduced) then they could be regarded as not being able to do their job to the required level, despite the fact that their skills were unchanged 
 
the same is true if a person were to be promoted to a more demanding position - the company might go from having no skills gaps to saying that this newly promoted member of staff was not fully proficient in the new job, despite having the same proficiency as before 
 
different companies may be more demanding and 'critical' of their staff than others: an individual considered fully proficient by one company might be seen as having a skills gap if performing the same role to the same standard in another company. 
A final point to note is that the survey categorises all staff as either fully proficient or not: it takes no account of the range that can clearly exist between those who are very nearly proficient and those who significantly lack the skills that employers require. While from a policy perspective, therefore, there is clearly interest in raising the skill levels of the workforce, survey data can only identify changes year on year in the proportion of staff reported as fully proficient, not cases where skills levels have been raised but where staff still remain below full proficiency. 


## Annex I: Technical Annex

A full Technical Report accompanies this document and can be downloaded from the UKCES website or obtained by contacting UKCES directly. This annex provides brief details on the key areas of sampling, fieldwork and analysis. The survey comprised two facets:  

 Wave 1: the main skills survey, covering business strategy, retention, recruitment, 
skills gaps and high performance working; 
 Wave 2: covering the financial investment establishments make in training their 
staff. 

## Employer Skills Survey: Wave 1 Sampling

The most appropriate survey population for UKCESS for 2013 and beyond was reevaluated as the survey transitioned from a set of discrete country-based surveys into a common UK-wide survey. As result of these considerations UKCESS 2013 moved to a 2+ employment population (i.e. establishments were eligible if they had two or more people working at them, regardless of whether or not they owned the organisation), whereas UKCESS 2011 had covered all establishments except those with one working proprietor and no employees (to facilitate time-series analysis in each of the four home nations). The sample design was based on a three-dimensional grid, crossing sizeband (defined by employment) by 14 broad SIC-based sectors (see Annex C for definitions) within region (9 English GOR regions, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales).  Quotas were set on this basis, proportioned to give a robust base size in each subgroup of the overall sample.  In addition non-interlocking targets were set for the 151 English LEAs, and subregions in Wales and Northern Ireland. The sample was drawn from Experian's business database. 91,279 interviews were carried out in total: 

| Country          | Number of interviews    |
|------------------|-------------------------|
| England          | 75,255                  |
| Northern Ireland | 4,014                   |
| Scotland         | 6,014                   |
| Wales            | 5,996                   |

## Fieldwork

A total of 91,279 interviews were conducted by telephone using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) technology. Fieldwork across the regions was undertaken by three research agencies, as follows: 

| Agency                   |
|--------------------------|
| BMG                      |
|                          |
|                          |
| East Midlands            |
| South West               |
| West Midlands            |
| Yorkshire and Humberside |
|                          |
| GfK-NOP                  |
| South East               |
|                          |
| IFF Research             |
|                          |
| London                   |
| North West               |
| Northern Ireland         |
| Wales                    |
| Large multisites         |
|                          |
| Ipsos MORI               |
|                          |
| East of England          |
| North East               |
| Scotland                 |
|                          |

Interviews were conducted with the most senior person at the site with responsibility for recruitment, human resources and workplace skills. Fieldwork took place from March to July 2013. 

## Response Rate

The overall response rate for the survey was 44 per cent, calculated as a proportion of all completed contacts. A detailed breakdown of survey outcomes in shown below: 

% of 
Outcome 
Number of 
complete 
contacts 
% of all 
sample 
contacts 
Total sample 
687,439 
100% 
  
Ineligible 
53,914 
8% 
  
'Live' / not available during fieldwork / out of quota 
288,276 
42% 
  
Unobtainable number 
136,914 
20% 
  


Total complete contacts 
208,108 
30% 
100% 
Achieved interviews 
91,279 
13% 
44% 
Respondent refusal 
74,789 
11% 
36% 
Quits during interview 
10,923 
2% 
5% 
Company policy refusal 
31,117 
5% 
15% 

## Questionnaire Design

The questionnaire design aimed to build on the success of the 2011 UKCESS 
questionnaire that had harmonised the legacy surveys.  As a result, UKCESS 2013 did not require extensive redevelopment, with the core questionnaire remaining the same. However, a considerable period of questionnaire review did take place at the outset of the survey with a particular emphasis on:  

1. Reviewing all questions included in the 2011 survey, identifying questions which 
brought less value and/or which were anticipated to have less value to the new survey.  
2. Considering whether other questions should be further developed or take added 
prominence.  
3. Integrating the skills equilibrium questions which were asked as a separate, online 
follow-up survey in 2011. 
4. Developing any learnings and or findings from the UK Commission's Employer 
Perspectives Survey 2012. 
A task and finish group chaired by the UK Commission and including IFF Research, and representatives from each of the four nations, was set up to drive this process. The questionnaire is available in the full Technical Report. 

## Weighting / Grossing Up

Data for the survey was weighted and grossed up to population estimates of establishments and to the population of employees, as derived from the 2012 Inter- Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The grossing-up procedure on which this report has been based was undertaken at a regional level; within each region grossing up took place on a 14 sector and eight size band interlocking grid (i.e. 112 cells). In instances where no interviews had been completed in a cell but the IDBR indicated establishments existed, and in instances where a low number of interviews were conducted in relation to the population of that cell, cells were merged primarily within sizeband (i.e. across industries) but where necessary across sizeband as well. 


## Employer Skills Survey: Investment In Training Follow-Up

A separate Investment in Training study was conducted by IFF Research to provide detailed estimates of employer expenditure on training. The approach replicated that of previous Cost of Training studies in England and Northern Ireland. 

## Sampling

At the end of the UKCESS Wave 1 questionnaire those respondents who had arranged or funded training for their staff in the previous 12 months were asked if they would be willing to take part in a follow up study on training expenditure.  Those agreeing to participate formed the sample for this follow-up survey. 

Quotas were set on the basis of training type by size within region.  Due to limited sample a census approach was taken in the devolved administrations. 

## Fieldwork

Employers who had indicated agreement to take part were called by an IFF interviewer to confirm participation and contact details. They were then sent a datasheet via email or fax containing the questions that were to be asked in the full interview (a copy of which can be seen below). Sending this datasheet in advance allowed the respondent time to collect the relevant information and increase the accuracy of responses. A few days after sending, an interviewer called back to conduct the full interview. In total, information on training expenditure was collected from 13,138 establishments, though 616 were rejected because of incompleteness (a large number of 'don't know'); hence analysis is based on data from 12,522 establishments. 

Fieldwork was undertaken by IFF Research from 2nd May to 6th August 2013. 

## Weighting/Grossing Up

In order to weight the Investment in Training study, population figures were calculated from weighted UKCESS Wave 1 data which had in turn been weighted using the IDBR figures used for the main survey analysis.  Data was weighted on the basis of interlocking grids on size by sector by the type of training they carried out, with a regional rim weight. 


## Data Modelling

In order to calculate overall training expenditure, each record in the dataset needed to have a response to each question (even if it is a zero in relation to types of training the establishments does not supply). As expected, not every respondent was able to supply every piece of information. In order to 'fill in' the missing data, averages were drawn from those respondents who were able to answer each question and applied to those cases with missing data. Full details of how this modelling was carried out can be found in the Technical Report. 

As outlined in further detail in the UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2013 
Technical Report, a couple of key methodological changes have been implemented since the last survey was conducted in 2011: 

 
As a result of moving to a 2+ employment population, the 2011 survey has been reweighted based on the 2013 population in order to facilitate direct comparisons with UKCES 2013. This means that 2011 figures that appear in the 2013 report will not 
necessarily match those published in the 2011 report itself; 
 
For practical purposes in both 2013 and 2011 employers were asked to report total 
employees' salaries rather than the total cost of employing them.  These figures were 
then up-weighted to take account of National Insurance, employer pension contributions, overtime and other additional elements to produce a figure for total cost. The figure used to derive the total cost of employment was taken from Labour Cost Index (LCI) data appearing on the Eurostat website where, to ensure accuracy, 
revisions are frequent and can go back several years27. Amendments to the data have 
been made since 2011 and as such the UK figure for the total wages and salaries as 
a percentage of total labour costs that were the most up to date in 2011 is different to 
the figures now appearing for the same time period. 

## Annex J: Effect Of The 2+ Employment Reweight On 2011 Data

The 2013 survey population covers all establishments with two or more people working at them (whether or not these people are working proprietors). The 2011 survey also covered this population, and in addition included establishments with one employee who was not a working proprietor.  Therefore in order to compare 2013 data with 2011 data, it has been necessary to reweight the 2011 data to the 2+ employment population. Whilst the establishments removed from the data do not differ significantly from other micro establishments in terms of the amount they recruit or train staff, removing them from the data has a considerable impact on survey results because of the difference it makes to the population.  In the original data reported from the 2011 survey, the smallest sizeband (one to four staff) accounted for 64 per cent of the population. If we remove establishments with just one employee on site this reduces to 52 per cent. It is this change in the population weighted to that has the largest impact on the data. The tables in this annex show the key incidence and volume figures reported in the UKCESS 2011 survey, and how they were affected by the reweight.  A full set of reweighted tables from the 2011 survey accompany the 2013 survey outputs in order to facilitate the time-series comparison. 

2011 reweighted 
2011 reported figure 
figure (excluding 1 
 
(including 1 
employee group; 
employee group) 
comparable to 2013) 
Size profile 
% 
% 
1-4 / 2-4  
64 
52 
5-24 
28 
37 
25-99  
6 
8 
100-249 
1 
1 
250+  
1 
1 
Vacancy  
 
 
% of estabs with a vacancy  
12 
14 
Number of vacancies 
635,900 
586,500 
% of estabs with a hard-to-fill vacancy 
4 
4 
% of estabs with a skill-shortage vacancy 
3 
3 
Number of skill-shortage vacancies 
103,500 
91,400 
Internal Skills Mismatch  
 
 
% of estabs with a skills gap 
13 
17 
Number of skills gaps 
1,489,500 
1,485,500 
2011 reweighted 
2011 reported figure 
figure (excluding 1 
(including 1 
employee group; 
employee group) 
comparable to 2013) 
Training  
 
 
% doing any training 
59 
65 
% doing off-the-job training 
42 
47 
Number of staff trained 
14,972,000 
14,733,000 
Days training per trainee 
7.8 
7.8 
Days training per employee 
4.3 
4.2 

Vacancy figures rounded to nearest 100, skills gaps and staff trained rounded to nearest 1,000. 


## Annex K: Bibliography

BIS (2012) Leadership & Management in the UK - The Key to Sustainable Growth. 

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, London.  
Inter Departmental Business Register (March 2012). ONS. Labour Force Survey, UK, October-December 1993 and 2010. ONS. 

Stone, I., Braidford, P., Housten, M. and Bolger, F. (2012) Promoting High Performance 
Working. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, London. 
UKCES (2009) *High Performance Working: A Synthesis of Key Literature.* UKCES 
Evidence Report 4, UK Commission for Employment and Skills, Wath-upon- Dearne. 
UKCES (2010) *National Employer Skills Survey for England 2009: Key findings report.* 
UKCES Evidence Report 23, UK Commission for Employment and Skills, London. 
UKCES (2012a) *UK Employer Skills Survey 2011*, UKCES Evidence Report 45, UK 
Commission for Employment and Skills, London.  
UKCES (2012b) *The Youth Employment Challenge*.  UK Commission for Employment 
and Skills, Wath-upon-Dearne. 
UKCES (2012c) *UK Commission's Employer Perspectives Survey 2012.* UKCES 
Evidence report 64, UK Commission for Employment and Skills, London. 
UKCES (2013) Training in the Recession: The impact of the 2008-2009 recession on 
training at work. UKCES Evidence Report 72, UK Commission for Employment and Skills, London. 
Winterbotham, M., Shury, J., Carter, K. and Schäfer, S. (2008) National Employer Skills 
Survey 2007: Main Report: Learning and Skills Council, Coventry. 
Young, V., and Morrell, J. (2006) Future Skills Wales 2005: Sector Skills Survey Main 
Report. Future Skills Wales, Caerphilly. 

## Annex L: List Of Previous Publications

Executive summaries and full versions of all these reports are available from 
www.ukces.org.uk 
Evidence Report 1 
Skills for the Workplace: Employer Perspectives Evidence Report 2 
Working Futures 2007-2017 Evidence Report 3 
Employee Demand for Skills: A Review of Evidence & Policy Evidence Report 4 
High Performance Working: A Synthesis of Key Literature Evidence Report 5 
High Performance Working: Developing a Survey Tool Evidence Report 6 
Review of Employer Collective Measures: A Conceptual Review from a Public Policy Perspective Evidence Report 7 
Review of Employer Collective Measures: Empirical Review Evidence Report 8 
Review of Employer Collective Measures: Policy Review Evidence Report 9 
Review of Employer Collective Measures: Policy Prioritisation Evidence Report 10 
Review of Employer Collective Measures: Final Report 
Evidence Report 11 
The Economic Value of Intermediate Vocational Education and Qualifications 
Evidence Report 12 
UK Employment and Skills Almanac 2009 
Evidence Report 13 
National Employer Skills Survey 2009: Key Findings 
Evidence Report 14 
Strategic Skills Needs in the Biomedical Sector: A Report for the National Strategic Skills Audit for England, 2010 
Evidence Report 15 
Strategic Skills Needs in the Financial Services Sector: A Report for the National Strategic Skills Audit for England, 2010 
Evidence Report 16 
Strategic Skills Needs in the Low carbon Energy generation Sector: A Report for the National Strategic Skills Audit for England, 2010 

Evidence Report 17 
Horizon Scanning and Scenario Building: Scenarios for Skills 2020 
 
Evidence Report 18 
High Performance Working: A Policy Review 
 
Evidence Report 19 
High Performance Working: Employer Case Studies 
Evidence Report 20 
A Theoretical Review of Skill Shortages and Skill Needs Evidence Report 21 
High Performance Working: Case Studies Analytical Report 
Evidence Report 22 
The Value of Skills: An Evidence Review Evidence Report 23 
National Employer Skills Survey for England 2009: Main Report 
Evidence Report 24 
Perspectives and Performance of Investors in People: A Literature Review Evidence Report 25 
UK Employer Perspectives Survey 2010 
 
Evidence Report 26  
UK Employment and Skills Almanac 2010 
Evidence Report 27  
Exploring Employer Behaviour in relation to Investors in People 
Evidence Report 28 
Investors in People - Research on the New Choices Approach 
Evidence Report 29 
Defining and Measuring Training Activity Evidence Report 30 
Product strategies, skills shortages and skill updating needs in England: New evidence from the National Employer Skills Survey, 2009 
Evidence Report 31 
Skills for Self-employment 
Evidence Report 32 
The impact of student and migrant employment on opportunities for low skilled people 
Evidence Report 33 
Rebalancing the Economy Sectorally and Spatially: An Evidence Review 
Evidence Report 34 
Maximising Employment and Skills in the Offshore Wind Supply Chain 
Evidence Report 35 
The Role of Career Adaptability in Skills Supply 
 

 
Evidence Report 36 
The Impact of Higher Education for Part-Time Students 
 
Evidence Report 37 
International approaches to high performance working 
Evidence Report 38 
The Role of Skills from Worklessness to Sustainable Employment with Progression 
Evidence Report 39 
Skills and Economic Performance: The Impact of Intangible Assets on UK Productivity Growth Evidence Report 40 
A Review of Occupational Regulation and its Impact 
Evidence Report 41 
Working Futures 2010-2020 
Evidence Report 42 
International Approaches to the Development of Intermediate Level Skills and Apprenticeships 
Evidence Report 43 
Engaging low skilled employees in workplace learning 
Evidence Report 44 
Developing Occupational Skills Profiles for the UK 
Evidence Report 45 
UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2011: UK Results 
Evidence Report 46 
UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2011: England Results 
Evidence Report 47 
Understanding Training Levies 
Evidence Report 48 
Sector Skills Insights: Advanced Manufacturing Evidence Report 49 
Sector Skills Insights: Digital and Creative Evidence Report 50 
Sector Skills Insights: Construction Evidence Report 51 
Sector Skills Insights: Energy 
Evidence Report 52 
Sector Skills Insights: Health and Social Care 
Evidence Report 53 
Sector Skills Insights: Retail 
Evidence Report 54 
Research to support the evaluation of Investors in People: Employer Survey 
 
 
Evidence Report 55 
Sector Skills Insights: Tourism 
 
Evidence Report 56 
Sector Skills Insights: Professional and Business Services 
Evidence Report 57 
Sector Skills Insights: Education 
Evidence Report 58 
Evaluation of Investors in People: Employer Case Studies 
Evidence Report 59 
An Initial Formative Evaluation of Best Market Solutions 
Evidence Report 60 
UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2011: Northern Ireland National Report 
Evidence Report 61 
UK Skill levels and international competitiveness 
Evidence Report 62 
UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2011: Wales Results 
Evidence Report 63 
UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2011: Technical Report 
Evidence Report 64 
The UK Commission's Employer Perspectives Survey 2012 
Evidence Report 65 
UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2011: Scotland Results 
Evidence Report 66 
Understanding Employer Networks 
Evidence Report 67 
Understanding Occupational Regulation 
Evidence Report 68 
Research to support the Evaluation of Investors in People: Employer Survey (Year 2) Evidence Report 69 
Qualitative Evaluation of the Employer Investment Fund Phase 1 
Evidence Report 70 
Research to support the evaluation of Investors in People: employer case studies (Year 2) 
Evidence Report 71 
High Performance Working in the Employer Skills Surveys 
Evidence Report 72 
Training in Recession: The impact of the 2008-2009 recession on training at work 
Evidence Report 73 
Technology and skills in the Digital Industries 
 
 
Evidence Report 74 
Technology and skills in the Construction Industry 
 
Evidence Report 75 
Secondary analysis of employer surveys: Urban/rural differences in access and barriers to jobs and training 
Evidence Report 76 
Technology and Skills in the Aerospace and Automotive Industries Evidence Report 77 
Supply of and demand for High-Level STEM skills 
Evidence Report 78 
A Qualitative Evaluation of Demand-led Skills Solutions: Growth and Innovation Fund and Employer Investment Fund 
Evidence Report 79 
A Qualitative Evaluation of Demand-led Skills Solutions: standards and frameworks 
Evidence Report 80 
Forecasting the Benefits of the UK Commission's Programme of Investments 
Evidence Report 81 
UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2013: UK Results 
Evidence Report 82 
UK Commission's Employer Skills Survey 2013: Technical Report 
 
Evidence Reports present detailed findings of the research produced by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. The reports contribute to the accumulation of knowledge and intelligence on skills and employment issues through the review of existing evidence or through primary research. All of the outputs of the UK Commission can be accessed on our website at www.ukces.org.uk 

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