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This report summarises the findings of the National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) 2003 for SEMTA, the national Sector Skills Council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies. The NESS was commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), in partnership with the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), to provide detailed information about the extent, causes and implications of England's recruitment problems and skill gaps. It also measures employers' training activities. Key findings include: skill shortage vacancies are concentrated amongst associate professional and skilled trade occupations, especially when compared to their share of employment; the main causes of hard-to-fill vacancies are low numbers of applicants with the required skills, attitude, motivation or personality, work experience or qualifications; the main causes of skill gaps are the lack of experience of the member of staff and it appears that skill gaps are linked to recruitment difficulties; the most common skills lacking in applicants are technical and practical skills, communication skills and problem solving skills; the major area of skill gaps are also in technical and practical skills, communication skills and problem solving skills; skills that are in shortage reflect the nature of the job, e.g. skilled trades staff are more likely to have deficiencies in technical and practical skills, sales staff are more likely to have deficiencies in communication and customer handling skills, and managers lack management skills.