UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2011: Wales results
This report looks at results of the UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey for Wales in detail; exploring results by region, industrial sector, occupation, and size of establishment. The results are presented to be comparable with the UK report, elaborating on the comparisons between Wales and the UK as a whole.
Evidence Report : UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2011- Wales Results (PDF, 1.7 Mb)
Executive Summary (PDF, 562 Kb)
Published November 2012
In Wales, over 6,000 employers were interviewed on a wide range of issues including investment in training and staff development, vacancies and skills shortages, and gaps in employees’ skills.
The 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;
Findings from the report show that in Wales:
- The proportion of establishments recruiting new staff is broadly in line with the UK average, as is the number of vacancies available per employee. So we assess that Welsh labour market demand is broadly in line with the UK. However, there is a higher concentration of hard-to-fill vacancies in Wales than in the UK as a whole.
- Although only a small minority of businesses reported vacancies were hard to fill because of skill shortages, nearly all business that did have a hard-to-fill vacancy found it had an impact on the operation of the business (97 per cent).
- The survey finds concentrations of skills shortages in particular industries and occupations (such as Associate Professional and Machine Operative occupations, and the Manufacturing and Business Services sectors).
- Around 5 per cent of employees did not have the skills required to perform their job role (skills gaps). There were higher concentrations of skills gaps in Electricity, Gas and Water, and Hotels and Restaurants.
- Three-fifths of establishments in Wales (59 per cent) provided some form of training for their staff in the previous year, the same proportion as in the UK as a whole.
- Training rates varied significantly between occupations and size of employer. Those employed in Elementary or Administrative occupations, those employed in small businesses and those who work in specific sectors (such as Agriculture and Construction) were least likely to receive training.
