Are we meeting Scotland’s skills needs?

UKCES ESS13 Scotland infographic

On Monday 7th July the UK Commission for Employment & Skills will present its Employer Skills Survey 2013 Scotland findings to an audience in Glasgow. We’ve been waiting to see the detailed picture for Scotland since the UK-wide report of skills gaps and shortages, training investment and recruitment trends was published earlier this year. It was worth the wait!

UKCES senior research manager Genna Kik commented: “It’s great news that job vacancies are up in Scotland, and that employers have the confidence to take on new staff. It is also positive to see that more employees are being trained than two years ago. However rising skills shortages should not be ignored – employers are struggling to fill vacancies in key sectors such as Manufacturing and Business Services and are unable to find suitably skilled staff for Skilled Trades and Professional occupations.

“Employers with skills shortages report substantial challenges, so left unchecked these shortages may have a significant impact on future growth prospects. From today there is a wealth of new data available on employers demand for skills in Scotland just waiting to be explored, it can be used to identify key challenges, opportunities and areas for action – and hopefully avert any future barriers to growth in the process.”

You can read Genna’s blog in full and download an infographic of key findings. The full report is available here. Follow the event and join the debate on Twitter using #ESS13.