Skills gaps. The proportion of employers in Northern Ireland experiencing skills gaps was similar to the average across all sectors within England and Wales. Table 6.4: Skills gaps within the existing workforce Northern Ireland LL1 Total % of establishments with skills gaps 14% 13% % of staff with skills gaps * * No. of employees with skills gaps in LL * Source: ‘Northern Ireland skills monitoring survey 2002’ (Skills Unit, Research and Evaluation Branch, DELNI, 2003) * denotes data not available 1 classified as the education sub-sector, including lifelong learning Comparable data was not available for Scotland but additional data for Northern Ireland confirms that the proportion of employers in Scotland reporting skills gaps amongst their existing workforce was almost twice that in Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland employers reported high levels of satisfaction with the skills of their existing workforce (figure 6.7) Figure 6.7: % of respondents ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the skills and competencies of existing staff in their organisation, by constituency and occupational group 100% % of respondents answering 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% CLD FE HE LAIS WBL LLUK constituency Organisational managers Managers of services Professionals Support/associate professionals Administrative staff Manual staff Source: LLUK online employer survey, 2006, employers in Northern Ireland. No additional information about types of skills gaps was available from the Northern Ireland skills monitoring survey. The LLUK employer survey carried out as part of this research further illuminates the main characteristics of these skills gaps. Similar to the questions relating to skills shortages, for each occupational group, the survey asked respondents to “identify the main skills gaps in your current workforce” and “at which skills levels does your organisation experience the most skills gaps?” The main issues revealed were: • skills gaps at NVQ level 4 and above among managers and professional occupations (figure C7) for all constituencies except HE, where skills gaps at this level were more prevalent amongst support/associate professionals • skills gaps among professionals in CLD, FE and LAIS, and among administrative staff in HE and support/associate professionals in CLD (figure C8) • gaps in transferable skills (literacy, numeracy, ICT user skills). Respondent employers thus reported broadly similar patterns for skills gaps within the ex...
Skills gaps. 2.24. Skills Gaps are defined as ‘holes’ in the knowledge and competence of existing staff (25). These gaps can lead to reduced performance, quality and safety. Skills gaps may consequently result in lower profitability and productivity, reduced quality output, and an under-par health and safety record.
Skills gaps. Comparing the data presented in tables 6.1 and 6.2, shows that the proportion of employers experiencing skills gaps was similar to the average across all sectors within England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Although comparable data was not available for Scotland, the proportion of employers in Scotland reporting skills gaps amongst their existing workforce was almost twice that in Northern Ireland, suggesting that there is an issue to be addressed. Sector employers in Scotland associated skills gaps with ‘soft’ wider employability skills, such as organising and problem solving (as did employers in other sectors).
