Search Results

The Foundation Degree Taskforce released its report to UK government Ministers on 2nd September 2004. The report contains several recommendations aimed at embedding Foundation degrees within the UK higher education system. It presents the case for further expansion of Foundation degrees in England, documents the progress already made and outlines the next steps in establishing the new qualification. Research into the current and future skill shortages in the UK reveal a need for associate professional and higher technician level jobs. Foundation degrees have been developed in consultation with employers to address these skill shortages. A number of objectives for the development of Foundation degrees have been identified: (1) to contribute to the reduction in skill shortages at the associate professional and higher technician level by equipping students with a combination of technical skills, academic knowledge and transferable skills that are valued by employers and students; (2) to expand the number and range of Foundation degrees and contribute to widening participation by providing flexible and accessible progression routes for young people starting careers, those in employment, and those returning to work; and (3) to promote collaboration between employers, Regional Development Agencies, Sector Skills Councils, universities, and higher and further education colleges in developing Foundation degrees. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Clothing, Textiles, Footwear and Leather, and Furniture, Furnishings and Interiors Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in these industries. These industries have faced a difficult transformation over the past three decades as a result of overseas competition and technological change. The report provides overviews of these industries, examines issues related to the demand for, and supply of, skills, including employment change, occupational change, skill requirements, skills gaps and shortages, and summarises common skills issues. The report suggests that to maintain competitiveness, the industries will need to further enhance skills, particularly in management, marketing and technical expertise. Major skills issues common to these industries are: (1) changes to the skills mix resulting from the transition to a combination of UK and overseas production; (2) overall skills deficiencies exacerbated by lack of experience and of basic skills; (3) skills gaps particularly at management levels and for clerical, craft and plant and machine operatives; (4) the equal demand for soft skills and technical and information technology (IT) related skills; and (5) that recruitment and skills problems are responsible for business problems and delays in developing new products. Show less

The 2004 National Employers Skills Survey (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 on skills and workforce development issues facing employers in England to serve as a common basis to develop policy and assess the impact of skills initiatives. The survey included 27,000 employers across all sectors of business activity in England. This report is presented in three main sections: 'Skill shortages and other recruitment difficulties' explores the scale and nature of recruitment problems, focusing on the incidence, number, distribution and density of vacancies caused at least partially by a lack of skills, experience or qualifications among those applying; 'Skills gaps within the existing workforce' examines the incidence of skills gaps within the workforce, both in terms of the frequency with which employers have skills gaps and the proportion of staff described as lacking in proficiency, and explores the main causes of skills gaps and the skills that are described as lacking among the workforce in England; 'Training and workforce development' explores the extent, nature and volume of training and workforce development activity, including the proportion of establishments that provide on- and off-the-job training, the extent to which employers plan and budget for training, and the factors that influence training activity. The findings indicate: that skills deficiencies continue to affect about a quarter of the employers; evidence of a slight easing of skills problems for employers in terms of the number of staff lacking skills and the number of vacancies where skills shortages are experienced; skills deficiencies affect different size and sector of employer, and occupational group, very differently; and there have been significant increases in the proportion of employers with training plans.

The key findings report is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 83.264. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Tourism and Cultural Industries Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in these industries. The ability of these industries to compete successfully on a global stage relies on raising service standards to meet rising customer expectations and choice. In the UK, competitive weakness is mainly a result of growing skills gaps and shortages. The report covers a number of sectors: hotels and catering; arts and entertainment; cultural, natural and built heritage; travel, tourism services and events; and sports and recreation, leisure parks and attractions. It examines in detail changing social patterns, employment patterns and economic drivers, employment trends, skills needs, and skills supply and skills gaps. Common skills needs for the sectors are identified. Skills gaps apply across the sectors in management skills, the need for multi-skilling whilst being a specialist, work readiness of graduates, adequate information and communications technology (ICT) skills, and customer care skills and positive service attitudes in front-of-house staff. The low level of training provision across the sectors is one of the most important reasons for the skills gaps. The report demonstrates the need for more investment in skills and training across the sectors to ensure the quality of products and services provided. Recommendations for future action are provided in the areas of: education and training, particularly in management skills, information technology (IT) skills and customer care skills; the development of the whole workforce including part-time, seasonal, transient, and freelance/casual workers; and support for small and medium-sized businesses in developing staff management skills, providing appropriate training to meet changing market needs, and improving the retention of their existing staff. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Process Industries Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in this sector. This group of industries covers ceramics, chemicals, downstream petroleum, extractives and minerals processing, glass, metals, offshore petroleum, paper, pharmaceuticals, polymers, refractories and building products, and surface coatings. These industries are essential elements of the supply chain for British industry and over recent years have undergone significant changes. Managing change is the main driver for investment in skills and the industry now has fewer, more highly skilled, employees. The key issues identified by the skills dialogue are: (1) recruitment; (2) management and leadership skills; (3) supporting process improvement and supply chain development; (4) safety, health and the environment; (5) using workplace qualifications; (6) basic and key skills; (7) new technology skills; and (8) choosing high quality learning provision. Show less

This report summarises the key messages on skills supply, demand and shortfall in England in 2001. The messages are drawn from a synthesis, review and assessment of research evidence on skills issues. The report highlights 10 key messages and summarises the research evidence in support of each one, emphasising research gaps where appropriate. A much fuller assessment is contained in the full research report indexed at TD/TNC 72.137. The key messages are that: skills are valuable; the importance of skills is increasing; understanding the demand for skills in the labour market is essential in assessing the current and future demand for skills; improving international competitiveness demands better skills; inequalities in attainment and participation must be addressed; employers have a key role to play; skill deficiencies are concentrated amongst certain types of employers; there are a number of skill hotspots that require tackling, i.e. information and communications technology (ICT) skills, generic/transferable skills, numeracy skills, and management skills; regional and local differences must be taken into consideration; and using the evidence base on skills would enhance the effectiveness of policy, planning and service delivery. Show less

This report summarises the findings of the National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) 2003 for the SkillsActive Sector Skills Council, which covers sport, recreation, children's play, health and fitness, outdoor education, caravan parks, recreation and adventure. 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: the largest firms are proportionately more likely to have hard-to-fill vacancies, but in terms of actual numbers the largest proportion of hard-to-fill and skill shortage vacancies lie within the smallest firms; larger firms are also more likely to have skill gaps and also have the highest proportion of staff suffering from skill gaps; vacancies are predominantly for elementary staff and personal service staff; skill gaps are most likely to affect elementary and sales and customer service staff; the main causes of hard-to-fill vacancies are poor terms and conditions offered for the job and the lack of people interested in doing the type of work in the sector; 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 team working skills, communication skills, technical and practical skills and customer handling skills; the major area of skill gaps are in the same areas; skills that are in shortage reflect the nature of the job, e.g. sales staff are more likely to have deficiencies in communication and customer handling skills and managers and senior officials lack management skills.

The main report and the report of the key findings of the National Employers Skills Survey 2003 are indexed at TD/TNC 79.281 and TD/TNC 79.599. Individual Sector Skills Council reports are indexed from TD/TNC 79.275 to TD/TNC 79.280. Show less

This report presents a synthesis, review and assessment of the available evidence on the demand for, and supply of, skills in England. It also aims to identify the main aspects of skill deficiencies and imbalances between skills demand and supply and to bring together the key findings from research as a basis for the development of the skills agenda in the future. The first chapter outlines the purpose of the report, the research approach and definitions, the economic contribution of skills to the wellbeing of the nation and its people, and the structure of the report. Chapters two and three examine the demand for skills, i.e. skills needed both currently and in the future. Chapter four looks at the supply of skills that is currently available and chapter five identifies the main skill imbalances and deficiencies. These chapters conclude with a synthesis of key points. Chapter six draws on the findings presented in the previous chapters to identify the key challenges that could inform an agenda for action on skills issues.

A summary of this report is indexed at TD/TNC 72.138. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Financial Services Sector Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in this sector. The main industries covered by this dialogue are banking and finance, insurance, professional services (financial intermediation) and professional services (accountancy). The first two chapters provide an executive summary and information about the dialogue process and the approach used for this sectoral dialogue. Chapter three discusses the context for the financial services sector and the key drivers of skill requirements and their potential labour market implications. Chapter four examines the demand for financial services skills and chapter five explores the supply of such skills. Chapter six considers the extent and nature of skill shortages within the sector based on the available evidence on recruitment difficulties and hard-to-fill vacancies and employer views about the proficiency of their workforce. The final chapter draws together the findings of the dialogue and proposes recommended actions to address areas of skill needs highlighted in the report. The key messages to emerge are: (a) the need for partnership to bring organisations together to address skills shortages in the sectors; (b) the need for comprehensive and accurate information on which to base future employment and skills projections; and (c) the need for clear and open dialogue and communication if a role is to be found for the public sector in supporting employers. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Media and Creative Industries Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in this sector. This dialogue covers the audio-visual industry (including broadcast, film, video and interactive media), design, photo-imaging, print and graphic communication, and publishing (covering books, journals, newspapers, magazines and electronic information services). The industries in this sector share several common interests related to new technological developments but differ widely in size, scope and characteristics. Each of the industries reported the existence of hard-to-fill vacancies. Key drivers influencing future skill needs are economic forces, changing patterns of demand, and changing patterns of doing business. A number of common concerns that exist to differing extents across each of the sectors were identified. These are: (1) attracting the workforce needed; (2) influencing education provision; (3) attracting the best talent: (4) workforce development; (5) emerging skill issues; (6) managing a small firm, freelance and casualised workforce; and (7) involvement in government initiatives. These concerns are discussed in the report and initial suggestions are made as to further action. Show less