SSDA Research Prospectus

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


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”.


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.


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


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.


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.


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 )


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


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.


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


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 )?


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?


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


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


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


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


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


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


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.


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


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


Contacts

Employment Research Institute

Napier University

Craiglockhart Campus

Edinburgh EH14 1DJ

Telephone: +44 (0)131 455 4310

e-mails: [email protected]

[email protected]


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


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

SSDA Research Prospectus

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