employment research institute exploring employers’ skills upgrading needs and local vet provision...
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Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute
EXPLORING EMPLOYERS’ SKILLS UPGRADING NEEDS AND LOCAL VET PROVISION IN DIFFERENT
PARTS OF THE UK
Professor Ronald McQuaid, Colin Lindsay, Malcolm Greig
Employment Research Institute, Napier University,
Edinburgh with Ulster & Leeds Met. Universities Nairn, 24th April 2004
Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute
SSDA Research Prospectus
• Focus on priorities of ‘understanding the demand for skills’ and ‘identifying and meeting skill needs’.
• Specifically, the research Project 4.7: “Exploring employers’ skills upgrading needs and whether local VET provision meets those needs in different parts of the UK”.
Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute
The research will broadly:
• investigate the nature of employers’ skills upgrading needs, and VET providers’ responses, in selected sectors & regions of Scotland and Northern Ireland;
• identify lessons for the skills agenda in both Scotland and NI, and compare the employer-VET provider interface across these two countries;
• relate findings to existing practice in England; • build upon, and compare findings with existing
research carried out elsewhere in the UK in order to explore the ability of VET to meet employers’ changing skill needs.
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Team
• Led by a core team at the Employment Research Institute at Napier University, Edinburgh
• Supported by researchers at the Policy Research Institute at Leeds Metropolitan University and the Business and Management Research Institute, University of Ulster
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Context
• Employers report substantial problems from skills shortages among job applicants (hard-to-fill vacancies) and skills gaps among existing staff.
• Mismatches between employers’ rapidly changing skill needs and the services delivered by VET providers.
• However, there is a wide variation in the extent to which employers in different sectors seek to address upskilling needs through engagement with VET providers, and in the extent to which VET providers are able to respond to employers’ training requirements.
Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute
Recent SSDA research
• Responsiveness of VET providers to employer skill needs in telecommunications, mechanical engineering and other sectors in England.
• On-going work in Wales on the needs of social care and audio-visual industry employers.
• SSAScot, ‘Futureskills Scotland’, Sector Training Councils etc. have made considerable progress in identifying employers’ skill needs.
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Surveys in Scotland & Northern Ireland
Scottish Employer Skills Survey 2003 and 2005 (commissioned by Futureskills Scotland)
Northern Ireland Skills Monitoring Survey 2001 and 2003 (DELNI Skills Unit )
Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute
But…• data on skills gaps and shortages remain
relatively basic (broad, generic terminology such as ‘communication skills’ or ‘problem-solving skills’ )
• limited detailed information on factors affecting engagement between employers and VET providers, and
• inter- and intra-sectoral differences in the role of VET provision in addressing skills needs
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And further questions…
while only 5% of Northern Ireland employers who responded to the last Skills Monitoring Survey identified problems in sourcing appropriate training as a barrier to working with VET providers, it is unclear as to whether employers would give greater priority to upskilling if VET provision was more responsive to their needs.
Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute
The research will identify:
• the extent and nature of potential mismatches between employers’ upskilling needs and VET provision in both Scotland and NI
• critical success factors where employers and VET providers have worked effectively together
• factors to develop more responsive services in the VET sector, so that employers can more readily meet their training needs
• and help better understand the barriers preventing a more effective relationship between employers in key sectors and VET providers
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Objectives1) In the selected sectors, what are employers’ main
skills upgrading requirements, with particular reference to the occupation groups that they believe to be critical to their organisations’ future performance?
2) To what extent do employers rely upon external VET providers to help meet these skills upgrading needs? What alternative approaches do employers take?
3) How do employers make decisions around purchasing training and related services from VET providers, and what are the main factors that influence employers’ decisions (perceived relevance and cost-effectiveness )?
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Objectives4) What types of college and other external training
provision are most attractive to organisations as ways of meeting skills upgrading requirements?
5) For colleges and other training providers that are heavily involved in supplying training services to local employers, what are the main factors that help to nurture these relationships? And what are the main barriers faced by VET providers not heavily involved in supplying training services to local employers?
6) What specific kinds of changes in the organisation and funding of colleges and other VET providers would help them to respond more effectively to employers’ training needs?
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Methodology
Phase One: Secondary Data Analysis and Policy Review
Phase Two: Survey of Employers Specifically, the research will seek to build upon NIESR’s work in England (Raising Sector Skills Levels: How Responsive is Local Training Supply?, SSDA RS No. 9, 2005)
Phase Three: Case Studies
Phase Four: Report writing
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Phase Two: Survey of Employers
Sectors –
• two industrial sectors, at SIC Group Level (SIC 2 or 3 digit classification), manufacturing and service industries
• with different: labour productivity and foreign trade exposure; skills and training requirements; reported internal employee skills shortages; barriers to workforce development (including perceived gaps in local VET provision); levels of engagement with FE and other training providers for workforce upskilling
Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute
Skill gaps summary (England)
Use of FELow High**
Skills gaps
High* Mechanical engineering, vehicles and other engineering
Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles
Telecommunications services
Skills gaps Low Manufacture of
textiles, clothing and footwear
Source: NIESR (2005)* At least 15% of employment**At least 25% of establishments
Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute
Skill gaps summary (Scotland)
Use of FELow High**
Skills gaps
High* Financial services***
Transport, storage and communication
Pub. admin./ defence
Wholesale and retail
Manufacturing
Hotels and restaurants
Other services
Low Financial intermediation
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Energy and water
Real estate, renting and business activities
Education
Health and social work
Construction
Source: Futureskills Scotland (2004a)* Over 9% (cross industry average 2004) of employment**Over 23% (cross industry average) of establishments*** 2005 data. Exceeds 2005 cross industry average of 7% of employment
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Skill gaps summary (Northern Ireland)
Use of FELow High**
Skills gaps
High* Mining and quarrying
Financial services
Utilities
Education
Skills gaps
Low ConstructionWholesale and retailTransport and communicationsBusiness services Other servicesHealth & social care
ManufacturingHotels and restaurantsPublic administration
Source: DELNI (2003)* Over 13% (cross-industry average) of establishments**Over 29% (cross-industry average private sector) or 31% (public sector) of establishments
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Phase Two: Survey of Employers - Geography
Still to be confirmed:
• two Local Economic Forum (LEF) areas in Scotland
• two NUTS III regions in Northern Ireland
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Phase Three: Case Studies
• Eight qualitative case studies will be carried out in Scotland, with a further six taking place in Northern Ireland (14 in total). Chosen to cover all the relevant sectors and geographical areas. In-depth interviews with senior managers in VET providers (such as Department Heads in FE establishments and Heads of Training and/or CEOs within private sector providers), as well as course leaders. Supplemented by a review of academic/policy documents etc.
• Plus 10 key stakeholder interviews with sector specialists.
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Outputs and timescale
Phase 1 and early Phase 2 results: late August 2006 Interim report
Draft report: November 2006Final report: December 2006, plus‘Lessons for Policy and Practice’ summary to
discuss barriers to VET meeting the needs of employers in key sectors, and potential policy solutions
Two dissemination events: Early 2007 (Edinburgh and Belfast) with 40 attendees
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Some Issues
- What other literature should we be aware of?
- Do you have any views on the questions raised under the objectives?
- Further questions in the Workshops
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Contacts
Employment Research Institute
Napier University
Craiglockhart Campus
Edinburgh EH14 1DJ
Telephone: +44 (0)131 455 4310
e-mails: [email protected]
Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute
Workshops Questions
• Skills Shortages vs Skills Gaps. Which is most critical to the future success of your sector?
• To what extent do employers currently rely upon external VET provision to upskill their workforce?
• What is the future role of the VET provider in upskilling the workforce?
• What needs to be done to achieve the required VET provision in the future and what are the barriers preventing this?
Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstituteSCOTLAND: ESTIMATED AND PROJECTED AGE STRUCTURE 1901-2031
-300,000 -200,000 -100,000 0 100,000 200,000 300,000
0 - 4
10 - 14
20 - 24
30 - 34
40 - 44
50 - 54
60 - 64
70 - 74
80 - 84
Ag
e
Population-300,000 -200,000 -100,000 0 100,000 200,000 300,000
0 - 4
10 - 14
20 - 24
30 - 34
40 - 44
50 - 54
60 - 64
70 - 74
80 - 84
Ag
e
Population
-300,000 -200,000 -100,000 0 100,000 200,000 300,000
0 - 4
10 - 14
20 - 24
30 - 34
40 - 44
50 - 54
60 - 64
70 - 74
80 - 84
Ag
e
Population-300,000 -200,000 -100,000 0 100,000 200,000 300,000
0 - 4
10 - 14
20 - 24
30 - 34
40 - 44
50 - 54
60 - 64
70 - 74
80 - 84
Ag
e
Population
MALES FEMALES MALES FEMALES
MALES FEMALES MALES FEMALES
Scotland 1911 Scotland 1951
Scotland 2001 Scotland 2031
Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute
Population Projection 2002-18
-50
-40-30
-20
-100
10
2030
40
50
0-4 5 to14
15-29
30-44
45-59
60-74
75+
Scotland
Dumfries andGalloway