UKCES Employer Skills Survey 2015
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-08)

The 2015 Employer Skills Survey (ESS15) is the third in the series of UK-wide skills surveys run by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES). 

The survey gives us a unique insight into the skills issues employers face and the actions they are taking to address them, providing a unique skills perspective alongside other labour market information. There is no other business survey on this scale: our researchers conducted over 91,000 interviews across the UK economy.

Topics covered in the survey include training and staff development, vacancies and skills shortages, employee skill gaps, retention of workforce and underutilisation of skills.

The ESS15 results provide a comprehensive source of data for users:

• Employers can identify how they compare to their sector in their provision of training or own experience of skill deficiency and identify key challenges and opportunities for their sector; 

• Individuals and careers advisers can identify sectors and occupations experiencing particular shortages; 

• Providers of training and development can use the results to help shape provision to need in their locality or their specialist areas. 

Data are available for the UK, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) and Local Education Authority (LEA) areas in England.

Employer Skills Survey 2015
UK Slide Pack
May 2016

Contents
Employers’ experiences of skill shortages
The internal skills challenge
Under-utilisation of skills
Employer investment in training and skills
Retention difficulties
High Performance Working Practices and Product Market Strategies
Conclusions
Background
8
24
37
43
19
59
65
3

ESS 2015 – overview 
•
ESS 2015 is the third time the survey has been run 
at UK-level 
•
The 2015 survey covers establishments with 2 or 
more people working at them
•
The 2011 survey included establishments with one 
employee – these were not covered in 2013 or 2015. 
•
Where comparisons are made with 2011 or 2013 
findings, these are based on re-weighted 2011 data 
(configured to represent the 2+ employment 
business population used in 2013 and 2015).

Achieved interviews / confidence intervals 
‘For a question asked of all respondents where the survey result is 50%, we are 95% 
confident that the true figure lies within the range 49.68% to 50.32%’
Population
Number of 
interviews
(Maximum) 
Sampling 
Error
UK
1,766,838
91,210
+/-0.32
By country
England 
1,488,171
75,129
+/-0.36
Northern Ireland 
54,518
4,019
+/-1.55
Scotland 
142,947
6,035
+/-1.26
Wales 
81,202
6,027
+/-1.26
By size of establishment
2-4 
907,944
20,527
+/-0.68
5-24
668,618
49,584
+/-0.44
25-49 
101,082
11,657
+/-0.91
50-99
50,432
5,836
+/-1.28
100-249
26,900
2,689
+/-1.89
250+ 
11,812
917
+/-3.24
Population
Number of 
interviews
(Maximum) 
Sampling 
Error
By sector
Agriculture
97,359
3,632
+/-1.63
Manufacturing
100,262
6,998
+/-1.17
Electricity, Gas and 
Water
10,151
1,041
+/-3.04
Construction
158,790
7,474
+/-1.13
Wholesale and Retail
371,231
16,126
+/-0.77
Hotels & Restaurants
159,893
8,920
+/-1.04
Transport and 
Communications
128,789
8,936
+/-1.04
Financial Services
38,259
2,549
+/-1.94
Business Services
363,790
13,143
+/-0.85
Public Administration
19,814
947
+/-3.18
Education
58,124
5,515
+/-1.32
Health and Social Work
132,505
8,556
+/-1.06
Arts and Other Services 
127,871
7,373
+/-1.14
Population counts taken from IDBR March 2014

Profile of survey population 
2-4
5-24
25-49
100+
Establishments vs. Employment – UK Wide*
MULTISITE
SINGLE 
SITE
33%
67%
50-99
Data taken from ESS 2015
Base: All establishments (91,210)
42%
12%
12%
24%
9%
2%
3%
6%
38%
51%
*Data based on IDBR March 2014 counts

Profile of survey population 
Establishments vs. Employment – by country
PRIVATE 
SECTOR
3RD
SECTOR
PUBLIC
SECTOR
ENGLAND
NORTHERN  IRELAND
SCOTLAND
WALES
17%
10%
73%
4%
9%
86%
Base: All establishments: England (75,129), Northern Ireland (4,019), Scotland (6,035), Wales (6,027)
21%
11%
67%
7%
10%
83%
20%
11%
68%
7%
14%
78%
24%
10%
66%
7%
8%
84%

Key definitions
Skills gaps
Skill-shortage vacancies
Incidence
Density
Under-utilisation
Vacancies
Proportion of establishments 
with at least one employee 
deemed by their employer to 
be not fully proficient in their 
role
The number of staff reported 
as not fully proficient as a 
proportion of all employment
Proportion of establishments 
with at least one employee 
with skills and qualifications 
more advanced than required 
for their current job role
The proportion of all staff with 
skills and qualifications more 
advanced than required for 
their current job role
Proportion of establishments 
reporting at least one vacancy
Vacancies as a proportion 
of all employment
Proportion of establishments 
reporting at least one skill-
shortage vacancy
Skill-shortage vacancies as a 
proportion of all vacancies
Establishment base
Employment base
Proportions are based on the number of establishments, defined here as a single location of an 
organisation, where at least two people work.
Proportions are based on the total number of employees and working proprietors across 
establishments.

Section 1:
Employers’ experiences of skill shortages
8

Incidence and density of vacancies by country
Base: All establishments (2011: UK: 86,522; England: 74,156; NI: 3,921; Scotland: 2,487; Wales: 5,958;
2013: UK: 91,279; England: 75,255; NI: 4,014; Scotland: 6,014; Wales: 5,996 
2015: UK: 91,210; England: 75,129; NI: 4,019; Scotland: 6,035; Wales: 6,027)
14%
15%
19%
14%
15%
20%
10%
10%
13%
14%
15%
19%
12%
14%
17%
2.2%
2.4%
3.3%
2.2%
2.5%
3.4%
2.4%
2.1%
2.7%
1.9%
2.4%
3.1%
1.9%
2.2%
3.1%
2013
2011
UK
England
N. Ireland
Scotland
Wales
2015
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
Incidence of vacancies
Density (vacancies as % of employment)

Incidence and density of vacancies by sector 
29%
33%
27%
31%
23%
30%
18%
26%
16%
22%
17%
21%
15%
19%
15%
19%
14%
19%
17%
18%
12%
17%
7%
12%
5%
5%
1.8% 2.1%
2.4%3.4%
2.4%
3.2%
3.7%
5.3%
3.7%
5.1%
2.0%2.1%
1.6% 2.0%
3.2%
4.1%
2.3%
3.4%
2.6%3.2%
1.9%
2.9%
1.8%
3.0%
1.4%2.5%
Education
Public 
Administration 
Health & 
Social Work
Arts & Other 
Services
Electricity, 
Gas & Water  
Manufacturing 
Business 
Services 
Transport & 
Comms  
Financial 
Services 
Wholesale & 
Retail  
Construction Agriculture 
Hotels & 
Restaurants 
19,100
6,200
39,200
41,700
27,900
2,200
19,600
67,800
24,400
7,000
62,800
18,700
5,100
Incidence of  vacancies
Density (vacancies as % of employment)
Employers with at least one vacancy (2015)
Base: All establishments (as shown)
(5,515)
2013:
2015:
(947)
(8,556)
(8,920)
(7,373)
(1,041)
(6,998)
(3,632)
(13,143)
(8,936)
(2,549)
(16,126)
(7,474)
(5,796)
(942)
(8,460)
(8,888)
(7,358)
(1,148)
(7,560)
(3,407)
(14,011)
(6,890)
(2,330)
(17,287)
(7,202)

3%
4%
6%
3%
4%
6%
2%
3%
3%
3%
4%
6%
3%
4%
6%
Incidence and density of skill-shortage vacancies by country
SSV Density (SSVs as % of Vacs)
2013
2011
UK
England
N. Ireland
Scotland
Wales
2015
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
22%
16%
22%
15%
19%
21%
25%
15%
20%
18%
23%
23%
14%
24%
24%
Incidence of establishments with vacancies
Incidence of establishments with skill-shortage vacancies
Base: All establishments (2011: UK: 86,522; England: 74,156; NI: 3,921; Scotland: 2,487; Wales: 5,958;
2013: UK: 91,279; England: 75,255; NI: 4,014; Scotland: 6,014; Wales: 5,996 
2015: UK: 91,210; England: 75,129; NI: 4,019; Scotland: 6,035; Wales: 6,027)

Density of skill-shortage vacancies by sector
22%
12%
18%
24%
22%
10%
28%
28%
26%
23%
23%
9%
16%
19%
20%
21%
21%
21%
22%
26%
30%
31%
35%
35%
Public Administration
Education
Hotels & Restaurants
Wholesale & Retail
Arts & Other Services
Health & Social Work
Financial Services
Agriculture
Business Services
Manufacturing
Transport & Comms
Construction
Electricity, Gas & Water
2015
2013
Base: All establishments with vacancies (only 2015 shown) 
2,100
12,000
23,700
14,800
50,600
2,100
6,600
25,600
13,400
26,200
19,400
9,100
3,900
Number of 
SSVs (2015)
(221)
(1,173)
(1,993)
(1,605)
(3,859)
(207)
(472)
(3,152)
(2,102)
(3,753)
(3,420)
(2,073)
(276)

20%
19%
18%
10%
33%
15%
9%
14%
10%
20%
30%
26%
13%
39%
27%
13%
25%
14%
17%
32%
22%
11%
43%
20%
16%
32%
14%
Managers
Professionals
Associate
Professionals
Admin and
Clerical
Skilled trades
Caring, leisure
et al
Sales and Cust.
Service
Machine
Operatives
Elementary
2011 SSV density
2013 SSV density
2015 SSV density
Density of skill-shortage vacancies by occupation
4,300
41,500
29,300
9,800
37,800
26,800
15,800
19,600
18,100
Number of SSVs (2015)
Base: All establishments with vacancies in each occupation (as shown)
(1,335)
2015:
2013:
(4,047)
(4,010)
(3,231)
(3,814)
(4,309)
(2,971)
(1,780)
(4,491)
(1,168)
(3,594)
(3,406)
(2,760)
(2,600)
(2,232)
(2,578)
(1,197)
(3,171)
2011:
(987)
(3,025)
(3,179)
(2,648)
(2,219)
(2,556)
(2,275)
(2,129)
(2,844)

Density of skills-shortage vacancies by occupation and sector 
9%
16%
19%
20%
21%
21%
21%
22%
26%
30%
31%
35%
35%
(3,420)
= SSV density 30% or above
= SSV density between 15% and 29%
= SSV density between 1% and 14%
Education
Hotels & 
Restaurants
Wholesale & 
Retail
Financial 
Services
Arts & Other 
Services
Health & 
Social Work
Agriculture
Business Services
Manufacturing
Transport, Storage 
& Comms
Construction
Electricity, Gas & Water
Public 
Admin
(207)
(1,605)
(221)
(1,173)
(3,753)
(1,993)
(472)
(3,859)
(276)
(2,073)
(3,152)
(2,102)
Base: All establishments 
with vacancies within each 
occupation by sector
Skilled Trades 
occupations
51%
37%

Technical and practical skills lacking among applicants
64%
39%
37%
31%
29%
26%
25%
24%
22%
22%
20%
15%
15%
29%
4%
2%
6%
1%
2%
<1%
1%
4%
4%
1%
2%
2%
Specialist skills needed for the role
Solving complex problems
Knowledge of how the organisation works
Knowledge of the organisation's products and services
Complex numerical skills
Reading and understanding instructions, guidelines etc
Writing instructions, guideline etc.
Basic numerical skills
Basic IT skills
Advanced IT skills
Adapting to new equipment
Foreign language skills
Manual dexterity
Skill lacking among any applicants
Main skill lacking
Base: All with skill-shortage vacancies that received the new lists of skills descriptors (3,244)

47%
39%
33%
32%
31%
30%
25%
21%
22%
16%
6%
9%
4%
3%
1%
2%
3%
<1%
1%
<1%
Ability to manage and prioritise own tasks
Customer handling skills
Team working
Managing their own feelings, or those of others
Persuading or influencing others
Managing or motivating other staff
Sales skills
Setting objectives for others and planning resources
Instructing, teaching or training people
Making speeches or presentations
Skill lacking among any applicants
Main skill lacking
People and personal skills lacking among applicants 
Base: All with skill-shortage vacancies that received the new lists of skills descriptors (3,244)

Impact of skill-shortage vacancies
Base (2013/2015): All establishments with hard-to-fill vacancies that are all as a result of skill shortages  (4,675 / 6,469)
94%
84%
49%
43%
42%
40%
35%
35%
30%
24%
23%
95%
84%
49%
42%
42%
44%
35%
37%
29%
24%
21%
Any impact
Increase workload for other staff
Have difficulties meeting customer services objectives
Lose business or orders to competitors
Experience increased operating costs
Delay developing new products or services
Have difficulties meeting quality standards
Have difficulties introducing new working practices
Outsource work
Withdraw from offering certain products or services altogether
Have difficulties introducing technological change
2015
2013

Action taken to fill skill-shortage vacancies
Base (2013 / 2015): All with hard-to-fill vacancies (6,133 / 9,223)
39%
32%
12%
10%
8%
8%
6%
5%
3%
2%
3%
15%
37%
34%
13%
7%
7%
7%
6%
4%
4%
1%
5%
13%
Increasing advertising/ recruitment spend
Using new recruitment methods
Redefining existing jobs
Increasing/ expanding trainee programmes
Using contractors/ contracting out
Increasing training to existing workforce
Preparing to offer training to those less well qualified
Increasing salaries
Recruiting workers who are non-UK nationals
Making the job more attractive
Other
No action taken
2015
2013

Section 2:
Retention difficulties
19

Base: All establishments in Module 2: England (37,792), 
N. Ireland (2,014), Scotland (3,031), Wales (2,981)
8% 
of establishments 
reported retention 
difficulties
Incidence of retention difficulties –
by country and size
10%
9%
8%
7%
5%
10%
15%
19%
22%
30%
2 to 4
5 to 24
25 to 49
50 to 99
100 to 249
250+
Size
Base: All establishments in Module 2: 2-4 (10,339), 5-24 (24,835), 25-49 (5,907), 50-99 (2,950), 100-249 (1,332), 250+ (455)

14%
13%
11%
11%
10%
10%
9%
9%
7%
7%
6%
6%
6%
Hotels &
Restaurants
Public Admin
Education
Health &
Social Work
Arts & Other
Services
Electricity,
Gas & Water
Manufacturing
Transport &
Comms
Business
Services
Agriculture
Construction
Wholesale &
Retail
Financial
Services
(3,713)
(4,530)
(4,189)
(514)
(3,477)
(1,853)
(3,713)
(8,164)
(1,268)
(4,501) 
(6,629)
(2,808)
(459)
Incidence of retention difficulties by sector
Base: All establishments in Module 2 (as shown)

Occupation most affected by retention difficulties
2%
11%
10%
4%
21%
13%
9%
8%
19%
Managers
Professionals
Associate
Professionals
Admin / clerical
Skilled Trade Caring / leisure /
service
Sales /
customer
service
Machine Ops
Elementary
Base: All establishments  with retention difficulties (4,924)

3%
1%
2%
4%
9%
20%
23%
26%
30%
30%
33%
34%
38%
56%
Other
Students come and go
Cost to employer
Nature of work is too difficult/mentally and physically tiring
Difficult to find experienced/skilled staff
Unattractive conditions of employment
Impact of the benefits trap
Geographic location of the site
Staff don't want long term commitment
Lack of career progression
Long/unsocial hours
Wages offered are lower than those offered by other…
Too much competition from other employers
Not enough people interested in doing this type of work
Base: All establishments experiencing retention difficulties (Module 2: 4,924)
Reasons why it is difficult to retain staff

Section 3: 
The internal skills challenge
24

Incidence and density of skills gaps by country
UK
England
N. Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Density (% of all staff with a skills gap)
Incidence of skills gaps
Base: All establishments (2011: UK: 86,522; England: 74,156; NI: 3,921; Scotland: 2,487; Wales: 5,958;
2013: UK: 91,279; England: 75,255; NI: 4,014; Scotland: 6,014; Wales: 5,996 
2015: UK: 91,210; England: 75,129; NI: 4,019; Scotland: 6,035; Wales: 6,027)
17%
15%
14%
17%
15%
14%
13%
14%
9%
21%
19%
14%
16%
16%
14%
5.5%
5.2%
5.0%
5.6%
5.1%
5.1%
4.4%
5.2%
3.3%
5.2%
5.9%
5.0%
4.6%
5.8%
4.5%
2011
2013
2015
2011
2013
2015
2011
2013
2015
2011
2013
2015
2011
2013
2015

Incidence and density of skills gaps by establishment size 
8%
7%
6%
23%
21%
19%
35%
32%
30%
39%
36%
33%
44%
44%
39%
47% 48%
43%
3.6%
2.9% 2.6%
5.5% 4.9%
4.3%
5.5%
5.1%
4.5%
5.5%
5.2% 4.5%
5.8%
5.5%
5.1%
6.0%
6.2%
6.7%
2011 2013 2015
2011 2013
205
2011 2013 2015
2011 2013 2015
2011 2013 2015
2011 2013 2015
2 to 4
5 to 24
25 to 49
50 to 99
100 to 249
250+
Density (% of all staff with a skills gap)
Incidence of skills gaps
2011:
(17,905)
(47,770)
(10,239)
(5,712)
(3,270)
(1,626)
2013:                   (19,058)
(51,565)
(10,947)
(5,584)
(2,938)
(1,187)
2015:                   (20,527)
(49,584)                                      (11,657)
(5,836)
(2,689)
(917)
Base: All establishments (as shown)
2011
2015
2013

Incidence and density of skills gaps by sector
20%
23%
21%
19%
18%
19%
17%
19%
17%
16%
19%
16%
19%
15%
18%
14%
13%
12%
13%
12%
14%
12%
11%
10%
9%
7%
4.8%
6.4%
8.9%
7.2%
3.8%
4.0%
5.9%
7.2%
5.8%5.4%
8.1%
3.7%
4.0%
3.2%
5.1% 4.9%
4.4% 4.9%
5.0% 5.2%
4.4% 3.8%
4.7%
3.8%
4.4%
2.9%
Hotels & 
Restaurants 
Manufacturing
Public Admin
Wholesale & 
Retail
Business 
Services 
Arts & Other 
Services
Electricity, Gas 
& Water
Education
Construction
Transport & 
Comms
Financial 
Services 
Agriculture
Health & 
Social Work 
Density (% of all staff with a skills gap)
Incidence of skills gaps
86,000
140,100
103,700
173, 400
242,200
36, 400
122,700
13,900
108,900
249,300
47,400
44,500
11, 800
Number of skills gaps (2015)
Base: All establishments (as shown)
2015
2013
(942)
2013:
2015:
(8,888)
(5,796)
(7,560)
(17,287)
(2,330)
(8,460)
(3,407)
(1,148)
(6,890)
(14,011)
(7,358)
(7,202)
(947)
(8,920)
(5,515)
(6,998)
(16,126)
(2,549)
(8,556)
(3,632)
(1,041)
(8,936)
(13,143)
(7,373)
(7,474)

5.2%
3.0%
3.8%
5.3%
4.9%
5.5%
4.8%
7.8%
5.4%
7.3%
5.0%
2.7%
3.0%
5.3%
5.4%
5.5%
4.1%
6.5%
7.0%
6.9%
UK Overall
Managers
Professionals
Associate
Professionals
Admin and
Clerical
Skilled trades
Caring, leisure et
al
Sales and Cust.
Service
Machine
Operatives
Elementary
Skills gaps density by occupation
1.4m
129,400
102,100
88,300
187,000
108,100
119,400
228,400
161,700
255,800
Number of skills gaps (2015)
2015
2013
(91,279)
2013:
2015:
(87,946)
(17,407)
(12,577)
(53,759)
(23,644)
(14,017)
(27,417)
(32,192)
(91,210)
(87,590)
(17,483)
(13,309)
(53,622)
(24,025)
(15,310)
(25,940)
(31,970)
(14,059)
(14,105)
Base: All establishments with staff in each occupation (as shown)

Density of skills gaps by occupation and sector 
2.9%
3.2%
3.7%
3.7%
3.8%
4.0%
4.9%
4.9%
5.2%
5.4%
6.4%
7.2%
7.2%
Agriculture
Health & 
Social Work
Financial 
Services
Arts & Other 
Services
Construction
Education
Electricity, Gas & Water
Transport & Comms
Business Services
Wholesale & Retail
Public Administration
Manufacturing
Hotels & Restaurants
Skilled Trades 
occupations
Base: All establishments (92,210)

Main causes of skills gaps
60%
56%
34%
29%
28%
26%
26%
20%
19%
18%
73%
21%
62%
57%
42%
39%
32%
29%
26%
20%
21%
18%
75%
17%
Staff are new to the role
Their training is currently only partially completed
Staff lack motivation
They have had training but their performance has not improved sufficiently
The introduction of new working practices
Staff have not received the appropriate training
Unable to recruit staff with the required skills
The introduction of new technology
The development of new products and services
Problems retaining staff
New to the role/ training not complete (transient)
Transient skill gaps only
2015
2013
Base (2013/2015) : All establishments with skills gaps - up to 2 occupations followed up (20,228 / 18,265)
Figures are shown as a percentage of all gaps (not a percentage of all establishments)

Impact of skills gaps by establishment size 
17%
23%
16%
16%
14%
14%
17%
48%
45%
48%
49%
51%
58%
54%
UK Overall
2 to 4
5 to 24
25 to 49
50 to 99
100 to 249
250+
Base: All with skills gaps (as shown)
Staff not fully 
proficient has a 
major impact on 
establishment 
performance
Staff not fully 
proficient has a 
minor impact on 
establishment 
performance
(18,265)
(1,240)
(10,084)
(3,530)
(1,948)
(1,064)
(399)

Impact of skills gaps
52%
27%
25%
24%
21%
17%
11%
34%
Increased workload for other staff
Have higher operating costs
Have difficulties meeting quality standards
Have difficulties introducing new working
practices
Lose business or order to competitors
Delay developing new products or services
Outsource work
No impact
Base: All establishments with skills gaps (18,265)     

48%
39%
37%
36%
32%
30%
29%
27%
24%
22%
20%
14%
13%
12%
3%
6%
4%
3%
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
<1%
1%
3%
Specialist skills needed for the role
Solving complex problems
Knowledge of the organisation's products and services
Knowledge of how the organisation works
Adapting to new equipment
Basic IT skills
Reading and understanding instructions, guidelines etc
Advanced IT skills
Complex numerical skills
Writing instructions, guideline etc.
Basic numerical skills
Manual dexterity
Foreign language skills
Skill lacking among any
existing staff
Main skill lacking
Technical and practical skills that need improving among staff with 
skills gaps
Base: All with skills gaps followed up with the new lists of skills descriptors (9,119)

People and personal skills that need improving among staff with 
skills gaps
Base: All with skills gaps followed up with the new lists of skills descriptors (9,119)
59%
56%
46%
46%
41%
39%
30%
28%
23%
17%
10%
9%
11%
3%
7%
2%
3%
3%
3%
<1%
Ability to manage and prioritise own tasks
Team working
Customer handling skills
Managing their own feelings, or those of others
Managing or motivating other staff
Persuading or influencing others
Setting objectives for others and planning resources
Instructing, teaching or training people
Sales skills
Making speeches or presentations
Skill lacking among any
applicants
Main skill lacking

Action taken to overcome skills gaps
68%
56%
46%
45%
33%
27%
19%
10%
16%
68%
60%
51%
47%
37%
31%
16%
10%
15%
Increase training activity / spend or increase /
expand trainee programmes
More supervision of staff
More staff appraisals / performance reviews
Implementation of mentoring / buddying scheme
Reallocating work
Changing work practices
Increase recruitment activity / spend
Recruiting workers who are non-UK nationals
Nothing
2015
2013
Base (2013 / 2015): All establishments with skills gaps (20,228 / 18,265)

Changes in density of SSVs and skills gaps over time
141%
139%
84%
70%
59%
58%
56%
37%
33%
29%
26%
24%
-47%
-25%
-57%
15%
-5%
6%
-3%
-12%
-30%
-15%
25%
11%
-13%
25%
% Change in SSVs since 2013
% Change in Skills Gaps since 2013
(7,202)
(2,330)
(942)
(7,358)
(14,011)
(8,556)
(8,460)
(3,407)
(8,888)
(1,148)
(5,796)
(17,287)
(6,890)
Base: All establishments (as shown) 
Construction
Financial 
Services
Public 
Admin
Arts & Other 
Services
Business 
Services
Manufacturing
Health & 
Social Work
Agriculture
Hotels & 
Restaurants
Electricity, 
Gas & Water
Education
Wholesale & 
Retail
Transport & 
Comms
(7,474)
(2,549)
(947)
(7,373)
(13,143)
(6,998)
(8,556)
(3,632)
(8,920)
(1,041)
(5,515)
(16,126)
(8,936)
2013:
2015:

Section 4: 
Under-utilisation
37

Incidence and density of skills under-utilisation by country and size
Base: All establishments (as shown)
30%
30%
28%
32%
34%
7.1%
7.0%
7.8%
7.9%
7.5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
UK
England
N. Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Incidence of under-utilisation
Skills under-utilisation density
(91,210)
(75,129)
(4,019)
(6,035)
(6,027)

Incidence and density of skills under-utilisation by establishment size
Base: All establishments (as shown)
29%
30%
34%
35%
34%
35%
16.6%
8.9%
6.4%
5.6%
5.0%
4.8%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
2-4
5-24
25-49
50-99
100-249
250+
Incidence of under-utilisation
Skills under-utilisation density
(20,527)
(49,584)
(11,657)
(5,836)
(2,689)
(917)

Incidence and density of skills under-utilisation by sector
Base: All establishments (as shown)
40%
37%
36%
36%
35%
31%
30%
27%
27%
26%
25%
24%
20%
13.0%
5.8%
5.9%
6.2%
10.7%
8.4%
6.8%
3.8%
7.1%
6.8%
6.6%
3.2%
8.6%
Hotels &
Restaurants
Education
Public Admin.
Health &
Social Work
Arts and Other
Services
Wholesale &
Retail
Financial
Services
Electricity,
Gas & Water
Transport &
Comms
Business
Services
Construction Manufacturing
Agriculture
Incidence of under-utilisation
Skills under-utilisation density
(8,920)
(5,515)
(947)
(8,556)
(7,373)
(16,126)
(2,549)
(1,041)
(8,936)
(13,143)
(7,474)
(6,998)
(3,632)

Occupations where under-utilisation is most prevalent
Base: All establishments with under-utilised staff (28,159)
9% Elementary staff
2% Machine operatives
37% Managers
7% Professionals
8% Associate Professionals
14% Admin. / clerical staff
6% Skilled trade occupations
7% Caring, leisure and other
9% Sales and customer services

Reasons why staff are working in roles for which they have excess 
qualifications and skills
Base: All establishments with under-utilised staff (28,159)
10%
1%
3%
4%
4%
4%
7%
7%
8%
10%
11%
15%
26%
Not particular reason / it just happened
They have more than one job
Qualifications / skills not relevant to job role
Family-run business
Actively seek staff with quals / skills beyond needs
Competition for higher level roles / struggling to get higher level job
Attractive conditions of employment
Temporary role / stop gap
They own the business / are a partner in the business
To gain experience / current role is lower level in same industry as
desired higher level role
Lack of jobs in desired higher level role
Working hours suit them better
They are not interested in taking on higher level role

Section 5: 
Employer investment in training and skills
43

66%
62%
71%
63%
48%
47%
52%
49%
52%
49%
58%
49%
Train
Train off-the-job
Train on-the-job
17%
15%
20%
14%
England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Train on-the-job only
Base: All establishments (as shown)
(75,129)
(4,019)
(6,035)
(6,027)
Proportion of employers providing training in the last 12 months by country

51%
78%
92%
95%
96%
97%
35%
58%
76%
82%
85%
86%
37%
64%
83%
88%
91%
92%
Train
Train off-the-job
Train on-the-job
16%
20%
16%
13%
11%
11%
2-4
5-24
25-49
50-99
100-249
250+
Train on-the-job only
Base: All establishments (as shown)
(20,527)
(49,584)
(11,657)
Proportion of employers providing training in the last 12 months by size
(5,836)
(2,689)
(917)

93%
90%
88%
74%
74%
70%
68%
63%
63%
62%
60%
57%
50%
82%
74%
72%
61%
53%
51%
51%
46%
40%
44%
39%
46%
41%
84%
78%
77%
58%
64%
58%
53%
50%
52%
48%
48%
38%
31%
Train
Train off-the-job
Train on-the-job
11%
16%
16%
13%
21%
18%
17%
17%
23%
17%
21%
11%
9%
Train on-the-job only
Education
Proportion of employers providing training in the last 12 months by sector
Base: All establishments (as shown)
(5,515)
(947)
(8,556)
(1,041)
(2,549)
(7,373)
(13,143)
(6,998)
(8,920)
(8,936)
(16,126)
(7,474)
(3,632)
Agriculture
Construction
Wholesale & 
Retail
Public Admin.
Health & 
Social Work
Electricity, 
Gas & Water
Financial 
Services
Arts and Other 
Services
Business 
Services
Manufacturing
Hotels & 
Restaurants
Transport and 
Comms

66% of all employers
train
34%
42%
58%
don’t train
of employers in training equilibrium (no desire to increase training)
46%
51%
2%
30%
70%
Wanted to train more
Do sufficient training
Wanted to train
Did not want to train
(Base: 69,541)
(Base: 21,669)
of employers want to train more
Training Equilibrium: employers’ interest in providing more training 
than they were able to
Among those 
who train
Among those 
who don’t train
*Note training employers responding ‘Don’t know’ have been included in the group ‘Wanted to undertake more training’ on final measure

36%
37%
37%
49%
66%
75%
85%
Supervisory training
Management training
More extensive induction
Training in new technology
Basic induction
Health and safety / first aid training
Job specific training
Types of Training and Workforce Development provided
Base (2013/2015): All establishments that train (69,842/ 69,541)
Any induction
68%

Proportion of staff trained by country
Base: All establishments (as shown) 
(91,210)
(75,129)
(4,019)
(6,035)
(6,027)
0.8m
0.7m
0.7m
1.5m
1.5m
1.4m
0.5m
0.4m
0.4m
14.7m
14.1m
12.3m
17.4m
16.8m
14.7m
Total number of staff trained
(91,279)
(72,255)
(4,014)
(6,014)
(5,996)
2013:
2015:
55%
54%
56%
58%
56%
62%
62%
59%
65%
62%
63%
63%
64%
62%
64%
UK
England
N. Ireland
Scotland
Wales
2011
2013
2015

Proportion of staff trained by size
43%
56%
65%
66%
67%
70%
41%
54%
63%
66%
68%
71%
43%
56%
65%
66%
67%
70%
2-4
5-24
25-49
50-99
100-249
250+
2011
2013
2015
Base: All establishments (as shown)
2011:
(17,905)
(47,770)
(10,239)
(5,712)
(3,270)
(1,626)
2013:                (19,058)
(51,565)
(10,947)
(5,584)
(2,938)
(1,187)
2015:                (20,527)
(49,584)                                        (11,657)
(5,836)
(2,689)
(917)

39%
46%
55%
49%
52%
55%
44%
59%
52%
61%
65%
66%
55%
41%
50%
68%
48%
55%
59%
56%
67%
60%
67%
76%
80%
63%
40%
52%
58%
53%
55%
64%
55%
71%
60%
74%
75%
78%
61%
Agriculture
Manufacturing Electricity, Gas
& Water
Construction
Wholesale &
Retail
Hotels &
Restaurants
Transport &
Comms
Financial
Services
Business
Services
Public Admin
Education
Health &
Social Work
Arts & Other
Services
2011
2013
2015
Staff trained by sector
Base: All establishments (as shown) 
(3,632)
(6,998)
(1,041)
(7,474)
(16,126)
(8,920)
(8,936)
(2,549)
(13,143)
(947)
(5,515)
(8,556)
(7,373)
(3,407)
(7,560)
(1,148)
(7,202)
(17,287)
(8,888)
(6,890)
(2,330)
(14,011)
(942)
(5,769)
(8,460)
(7,358)
(939)
(7,892)
(1,426)
(6,654)
(15,340)
(8,471)
(7,885)
(1,881)
(14,488)
(1,617)
(5,439)
(8,61)
(7,379)
2011:
2013:
2015:
1.2m
0.2m
0.6m
2.5m
1.3m
1.2m
0.7m
2.9m
1.0m
2.0m
2.9m
0.8m
0.2m
Total number of staff trained 2015

Proportion of staff trained by occupation
47%
65%
59%
47%
56%
73%
57%
48%
49%
50%
70%
65%
52%
60%
63%
57%
55%
48%
69%
62%
52%
58%
80%
66%
54%
56%
Managers
Professionals
Assoc.
Professionals
Admin / clerical
Skilled Trades
Caring, Leisure,
Other services
Sales & Customer
service
Machine operatives
Elementary
2011
2013
2015
80%
(87,590)
(17,483)
(13,309)
(53,622)
(24,025)
(15,310)
(25,940)
(14,105)
(31,970)
(87,946)
(17,407)
(12,577)
(53,759)
(23,644)
(14,017)
(27,417)
(14,059)
(32,192)
(83,138)
(16,360)
(13,753)
(50,780)
(20,540)
(12,731)
(26,790)
(13,381)
(30,663)
2011:
2013:
2015:
Base: All establishments with staff in each occupation (as shown)

Training Days
Days per person trained
Total training days
2011
2013
2015
2011
2013
2015
2015 as a % of 
2013
UK
7.8
(66,916)
6.7
(69,842)
6.8
(69,541)
115m
113m
118m
+4.1%
England
7.9
(57,117)
6.7
(57,787)
6.8
(57,422)
97m
95m 
100m
+5.2%
Northern Ireland
6.3
(2,941)
6.3
(2,894)
5.6
(2,869)
3m
3m
3m
-3.7%
Scotland
7.3
(2,177)
6.7
(4,884)
6.7
(4,894)
10m
10m
10m
-1.5%
Wales
7.5
(4,681)
7.7
(4,277)
7.2
(4,356)
5m
6m
5m
-2.3%
Base: All establishments (as shown)

4%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
2%
2%
2%
3%
4%
5%
7%
7%
68%
Other
Courses interested in are not available locally
Business not operating long enough
Trained staff will be poached by other employers
External courses are too expensive
Training not needed due to size of establishment
Employees too busy to give training
Employees too busy to undertake training
Managers lack time to organise training
Learn by experience/Learn as you go
Any staff training arranged AND funded elsewhere
No training available in relevant subject area
No money available for training
Training not considered a priority
All staff are fully proficient / no need for training
of employers report barriers 
relating to (perceived) low demand
Base: All establishments that do not provide training (excluding DK) (20,719)
Reasons for not providing any training

1%
1%
1%
1%
2%
2%
2%
2%
4%
4%
5%
14%
49%
52%
Other
Training not a management priority
Staff turnover
Decisions taken at head office
Lack of knowledge about training opportunities
Lack of provision (e.g. courses full)
Lack of good local training providers
Staff now fully proficient
Staff not keen
Difficulty finding flexible training providers
A lack of appropriate training / qualifications
Hard to find time to organise training
Unable to spare more staff time
Lack of funds for training
Base : All establishments who would have provided more training in the past 12 months if they could (33,281)
Reasons for not providing further training

Training and Workforce Development - Summary
UK figures
2011
2013
2015
% of employers that train
65%
66%
66%
% of employers that train off-the-job
47%
49%
49%
% that only train on-the-job
19%
17%
17%
% of staff trained over the last 12 months
55%
62%
63%
Days training per person trained
7.8 days
6.7 days
6.8 days
Total training days provided
115m
113m
118m
Base (2011/2013/2015): All establishments (86,522 / 91,279 / 91,210)

Investment in training
2011
2013
2015
Unweighted Base:
(11,027)
(12,522)
(12,614)
£bn
%
£bn
%
£bn
%
Total training expenditure
£43.8bn
100
£43.0bn
100
£45.4bn
100
Off-the-job training: total
£21.1bn
48
£21.3bn
50
£22.9bn
50
Off-the-job training: Course-related: total
£17.6bn
40
£17.9bn
42
£19.7bn
43
Trainee labour costs
£4.7bn
11
£5.2bn
12
£5.4bn
12
Fees to external providers
£2.7bn
6
£2.4bn
6
£2.2bn
5
On-site training centre
£2.9bn
7
£2.7bn
6
£3.0bn
7
Off-site training centre (in the same company)
£0.6bn
1
£0.5bn
1
£0.7bn
2
Training management
£6.1bn
14
£6.5bn
15
£7.7bn
17
Non-training centre equipment and materials
£0.4bn
1
£0.4bn
1
£0.4bn
1
Travel and subsistence
£0.4bn
1
£0.4bn
1
£0.4bn
1
Levies minus grants
-£0.3bn
-1
-£0.2bn
-*
-£0.2bn
-*
Off-the-job training: other (seminars, workshops etc.): total
£3.5bn
8
£3.4bn
8
£3.2bn
7
Trainee labour costs
£2.5bn
6
£2.5bn
6
£2.3bn
5
Fees to external providers
£1.0bn
2
£0.9bn
2
£0.8bn
2
On-the-job training: Total
£22.7bn
52
£21.7bn
50
£22.6bn
50
Trainee labour costs
£14.2bn
32
£14.0bn
33
£13.9bn
31
Trainers' labour costs
£8.6bn
20
£7.7bn
18
£8.7bn
19
Base: All establishments that train (Investment in Training follow up survey, as shown)

Training expenditure by size
£5,700 
£2,560 
£2,610 
£5,700 
£5,650 
£5,810 
£3,570 
£3,630 
£3,750 
£3,100 
£3,080 
£2,810 
£2,740 
£2,460 
£2,820 
£2,290 
£1,600 
£1,570 
£2,290 
£1,600 
£1,640 
£2,290 
£2,320 
£2,470 
£1,880 
£1,970 
£2,100 
£1,810 
£1,930 
£1,820 
£1,616 
£1,610 
£1,860 
£1,290 
£1,120 
£1,080 
Base: All establishments that train (Investment in Training follow up survey; as shown)
UK
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
2013
2011
2015
2 to 4
5 to 24
100+
25 to 49
50 to 99
43.8
43.0
45.4
5.5
5.6
5.9
12.0
12.7
14.1
6.1
6.4
6.3
5.5
5.5
6.5
14.7
12.7
12.7
Spend per person trained
Spend per employee
Total training expenditure (£bn)
(11,027)
(12,522)
(12,614)
(1,774)
(2,317)
(1,963)
(6,542)
(6,953)
(7,661)
(708)
(928)
(782)
(1,452)
(1,722)
(1,779)
(551)
(602)
(429)
2011:
2013:
2015:

Section 6: 
High Performance Working practices 
and Product Market Strategies
59

All private sector 
employers
1,514,000
Base: All private sector establishments (75,639)
HPW
& PMS
108,000
High/Very High 
PMS only 
595,000
HPW
only
54,000
Overlap between High Performance Working employers and those 
that adopt High/Very High Product Market Strategies

Base for all charts: All establishments in Module 1 by HPW classification (HPW: 8,792; non-HPW: 36,600)
40%
16%
14%
6%
11%
5%
HPW
non-HPW
Have vacancies
Have HtFVs
Have SSVs
…yet are more likely to have skills gaps
among their workforce…
…and are much more likely to train their 
staff…
25%
12%
HPW
non-HPW
Have skills gaps
98%
62%
HPW
non-HPW
Train
HPW employers are more active in the 
recruitment market and find it easier to 
fill their vacancies…
Characteristics of HPW employers

Product Market Strategy
10%
6%
18%
14%
6%
5%
12%
12%
23%
24%
26%
38%
22%
26%
18%
16%
31%
34%
19%
15%
1
2
3
4
5
Not at all price 
dependent
Often leads the 
way
Premium 
quality
Substantial 
customisation
Base: All establishments in the private sector (75,639)
Wholly price 
dependent
Rarely leads the 
way
Standard or 
basic quality
No difference in 
product/service 
offering
Overall composite Product Market Strategy scores
Aggregate PMS score
% of private sector 
UK establishments
% of private sector 
UK employment
Very low (1 to 7)
4
2
Low (8 to 10)
13
9
Medium (11 to 13)
25
22
High (14 to 16)
29
31
Very high (17 to 20)
16
22

Characteristics of High PMS employers
11%
14%
18%
21%
23%
6%
7%
8%
9%
9%
4%
5%
6%
7%
7%
47%
42%
35%
37%
34%
Very low PMS
Low PMS
Medium PMS
High PMS
Very high PMS
Incidence of vacancies
Incidence of HtFVs
Incidence of SSVs
HtFVs as % of vacs
Base:
(2,673)
(8,771)
(18,544)
(22,832)
(13,385)
Base: All establishments in the private sector, in each PMS group

Characteristics of High PMS employers
Base: All establishments in the private sector, in each PMS group
46%
57%
63%
68%
71%
47%
49%
54%
61%
64%
Very low PMS
Low PMS
Medium PMS
High PMS
Very high PMS
Incidence of training
Proportion of staff trained
Base:
(2,673)
(8,771)
(18,544)
(22,832)
(13,385)

Section 7: 
Conclusions
65

Developments in the UK economy and the changing nature of 
work
66
•
The UK has witnessed job creation at a faster rate than any other EU country over the last 2 years. 
Reflecting this growth, there has been a steep rise in vacancy levels among employers - from 
655,000 vacancies at the time of the survey in 2013 to 927,000 in 2015.
•
Approaching a quarter (23 per cent) of these vacancies were due to applicants lacking the 
requisite skills.
•
However, this growth has been accompanied by stalling productivity levels - the number of skills gaps 
among existing staff has remained relatively stable, at 1.4 million employees (5.0% of the total 
workforce).
•
The nature of work is evolving at a rapid rate - new technology is driving change in the workplace, 
with complex analytical skills and basic IT skills lacking in a number of applicants and existing staff. 
•
The survey also highlights the ongoing challenge of soft, people and personal skills, in particular 
time management and prioritisation of tasks. This points to the growing complexity of job roles, 
across all occupations, requiring individuals to juggle multiple strands of work and responsibility.
•
Employers are responding through training, with increased use of e-learning, but there is clear 
demand for training that is geared more specifically to the requirements of an evolving workplace.

Leadership and management
67
•
Just over a third of training employers (37%) were investing in the skills of their Managers
through the provision of management training.
•
Businesses do not face particular difficulties in retaining management talent but it is the 
occupational grouping whose skills are most likely to be under-used.
•
The survey provides a number of further indications that improving management practice 
should be a priority for UK business.
•
Management and leadership type skills (managing and motivating other staff, setting 
objectives/planning resources) accounted for over half of all skills gaps (58%) 
identified
•
Good leadership could in particular serve to support growth among small businesses, 
where the presence of poor managerial practices is more common. 
•
Only one in eight of all businesses with fewer than 5 employees had arranged 
management training in the last 12 months. There is clearly more work to be done to 
ensure that small businesses have the support they need improve their managerial 
practices.

Skills for a productive workforce
68
•
Two in five establishments with skill-shortage vacancies reported a delay in developing new 
products or services and 35% reported difficulties in innovating working practices. 
•
These impacts were reported less frequently for skills gaps (though were still cited by 
17% and 24% respectively of establishments with skills gaps), perhaps reflecting the 
occupations in which skill-shortage vacancies and skills gaps are most likely to arise.
•
Skills that are required to drive forward innovation within businesses often appear to be 
lacking: 
•
Two in five of all skill-shortage vacancies and skills gaps were attributed to individuals 
lacking the ability to solve complex problems. Within existing staff, this was 
particularly apparent for those in high-skill occupations, such as Managers and 
Professionals.
•
Just over one in ten employers (12%) were operating HPW practices and identified a clear 
benefit associated with the adoption of HPW, in that these employers were better able to fill 
their vacancies.

For more information contact UKCES Employer 
Surveys
xxx@xxx.xx
xx-xxxx-xxxx
@ukces