Skills in Scotland report
The Skills in Scotland report presents results of the Scottish Employer Skills Survey 2010 in which 6001 workplace interviews were conducted.
It offers an overview of issues faced by employers such as skills gaps; training needs of staff in different sectors; the extent and nature of training paid for by employers and the effects of the economic downturn.
Some of the key findings from the report:
- The number of vacancies and also the number of skills shortage vacancies have fallen since 2008
- Hard-to-fill and skill shortage vacancies are more common in the smallest workplaces (those with fewer than 5 employees)
- As a proportion of employees, hard-to-fill and skill shortage vacancies are most common among machine operatives and in personal service occupations
One finding which learning providers may be pleased to hear is that 2010 figures for training by employers using outside organisations were similar to the previous two years, despite the economic downturn.
The report also shows that where skill shortages occur, applicants most often lack 'soft' core skills such as customer handling skills, and planning and organising skills. However some sectors, such as the creative industries, reported shortages in technical skills. You can read the full report below.
You can learn more about labour market intelligence in Scotland the following ways: