Jobs & the internet february 2012

Jobs and the internet

Helen MilnerChief ExecutiveUK online centres

February 2012

Internet access and the unemployed

• 6% of the unemployed in the UK have never used the internet

• 13% of the long-term unemployed (those out of work for two years or more) have never used the internet

(ONS internet access Quarter 1 update 2011)

•However we estimate that 30% of claimants lack the skills to use the internet

This means...

• 152,000 unemployed people have never used the internet

• 48,000 people who have been unemployed for 2 years or more have never used the internet

(ONS internet access Quarter 1 update 2011)

And, only:• Two-thirds of jobseekers have regular access to the

internet at home, 10% lower than the national average

(Jobcentre Plus survey 2011)

How does this affect their search for work?

To explore the impact of these figures UK online centres, and the research agency ICM, surveyed employers with the aim of uncovering their views on the IT skills they look for in employees and their attitudes towards advertising jobs online.

These slides present the findings of the ICM/UK online centres survey, February 2012

How do employers feel about IT skills

• 72% of employers wouldn't even interview entry level candidates who didn't have basic IT skills

• This rises to the higher levels of 74% in Middlesbrough, 78% in Nottingham and 82% in Newcastle and Gateshead

ICM/UK online centres survey, February 2012

How do employers advertise jobs?

• 25% of employers now only advertise jobs online

This means that someone looking for work but not using the internet is missing out on at least a quarter of all vacancies.

• This rises to almost half of all jobs are only advertised online in Newcastle (43%), Gateshead (43%), and Liverpool (46%)


What skills do employers value?

The below skills were stated as desirable or essential by the employers surveyed:

• email skills (96%)• word processing (93%)• using spreadsheet software (91%)• ability to use internet searches (88%)• completing forms and documents (87%)

And 77% of people now say that they use IT in their current role.


Why do employers advertise jobs?

Reasons employers advertise jobs online

• Online ads are accessible to more people (58%)• It is cheaper or more cost effective (56%)• It is easier – for the employer (49%)• They have found better candidates that way (29%)• Applicants who apply online have already displayed some IT

skills by doing so (27%)• IT skills are essential in their company or for the job (26%)• Other (2%)


Do employers differentiate online and offline candidates?The preference by employers of candidates applying via online or offline methods:

• Makes no difference (67%)• Much prefer online candidates (25%) • Much prefer offline candidates (6%)

Although most employers did not express any preference, significantly more prefer online candidates than offline candidates.

It's worth noting that this figure is higher in a number of the surveyed regions:

• Hull - 36% prefer online candidates to 2% offline • Wolverhampton - 35% prefer online candidates to 8% offline • Nottingham - 26% prefer online candidates to 7% offline


Job seeker attitudes

These statistics are also being felt by, and reflected in, the attitudes of job seekers:

• 75% of internet users felt that they had the right skills to find a new job

• Only 50% of non internet users felt the same.

Freshminds/UK online centres: “Does the internet improve lives?” 2009

The earnings of those with and without ICT skills

• People who can use the internet benefit from a wage premium of between 3-10% when individual, occupation and industry effects are taken into account

(Centre for the Economics of Education - 2007)

This means that they're likely to increase their earnings by an average of £12,000 over the course of their life.

• If just 3.5% of offline jobseekers found work more quickly by being online it would bring total estimated benefits to the UK economy of £560m a year

(Economic Case for Digital Inclusion, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Martha Lane Fox, 2009)

Working in partnership

• 70% of UK online centres have a formal sign-posting relationship with their local Jobcentre Plus office

• 20% of UK online centre learners are sign-posted by their local Jobcentre

(UK online centres user survey, January 2012)

What do our learners go on to do?

• 62% of UK online centre learners progress to employment-related activity*

• As of 6 February 2012, 924,000 learners had registered on the UK online centres learning website since April 2010

• Approximately 527,000 users have progressed to employment related activity* since April 2010

* applying for or securing a job (full-time/part-time/unpaid), writing or improving a CV, improving their prospects in a current job, doing volunteering

(UK online centres data and progression surveys, January & February 2012)

This means...

Using the PwC* figure of a £12,430 increase to a lifetime's earnings of a learner finding work quicker

online, UK online centres learners have seen a total increases to their lifetime income of

£6.2 billion

(*Economic Case for Digital Inclusion, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Martha Lane Fox, 2009)

UK online centres in action - a case study

Remington Mills, from Middlesbrough had been out of work for 8 months, when he visited his local UK online centre, the Hope Foundation, where he gained the IT skills he needed and soon found work.

“I don’t think it would have been possible without the help of everyone at the Hope Foundation. And it’s not just the job and the training. I’m really proud of my new skills but the centre has made me more confident too. It changed my life, I just wish I’d done it all years before!”

Hope Foundation tutor Andrew Donaghy with Remington Mills (right)

View from a digital champion

“Often, people just don’t realise just how important IT skills are when you’re looking for a job - these days, most jobs need IT skills and are advertised online. If you can’t use the internet to find out about vacancies, you’re missing out on opportunities straight away.

“Since we’ve been working with UK online centres, there hasn’t been a single person who’s failed to get the hang of the computers. It’s rewarding seeing people go from being apprehensive to being confident internet users. On top of looking for work it helps them contact old friends, find out about public services online and organise their social lives – making a difference to their lives as well as their job search.”

Kim Sweeney, Jobcentre Plus Digital Champion, Blackpool

www.slideshare.net/helenmilner

@[email protected]

UK online centres are managed by Online Centres Foundation

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Jobs & the internet february 2012

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Transcript of Jobs & the internet february 2012