CONSTRUCTION SKILLS 2005 FUTURE SKILLS WALES 2005 SECTOR SKILLS SURVEY

CONSTRUCTION SKILLS

FUTURE SKILLS WALES

2005 SECTOR SKILLS SURVEY

2005

FSW

PARTNERS

2005

ACCAC

Association of School and

College Leaders

Basic Skills Agency

Careers Wales

CBI Wales

Dysg

ELWa

ESTYN

Federation of Small Businesses

Fforwm

Higher Education Funding Council for Wales

Higher Education Wales

Jobcentre Plus

Local Government Data Unit –

Wales

National Training Federation for Wales

Sector Skills Development Agency

Wales Council for Voluntary Action

Wales TUC

Welsh Assembly Government

Welsh Development Agency

Welsh Local Government

Association

The Future Skills Wales 2005 Sector Skills Survey was undertaken on behalf of the FSW Partnership by

GfK NOP Social Research.

FUTURE SKILLS WALES 2005 SECTOR SKILLS SURVEY

CONTENTS

1 Introduction

1.1

Background to the Future Skills Wales Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

1.2

Survey Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

1.3

Defining the Sector Skills Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

1.4

Sample size for the sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

1.5

Reporting Conventions and Report Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

1.6

Employer Characteristics for Construction Skills

1.6.1

Type of establishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5

1.6.2

Ownership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6

1.6.3

Financial Turnover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

2 Recruitment Difficulties and Skills Shortage Vacancies

2.1

Extent of vacancies, hard-to-fill vacancies and skill shortage vacancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8

2.1.1

Comparison for Construction Skills over time

(comparing 2003 and 2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2.2

Occupational profile of hard-to-fill vacancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2.3

Causes of hard-to-to fill vacancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2.4

Responses to hard-to-fill vacancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

2.5

Nature of skill shortage vacancies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

3 Internal Skills Gaps

3.1

Incidence of skills gaps and distribution by occupational group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14

3.1.1

Comparison for Construction Skills over time

(comparing 2003 and 2005) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

3.2

Skills lacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

3.3

Other technical and practical skills lacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16

3.4

Measures to overcome skills gaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19

4 Provision of off-the-job training

4.1

Incidence of off-the-job training and allocation across occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21

4.2

Type of off-the-job training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22

4.3

Barriers to provision of off-the-job training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

23

5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25

6 Commentary from Construction Skills SSC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26

Appendix I: Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27

Appendix II: Broad Sector and SSC definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

29

Appendix III: Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30

1

2

SECTION 1:

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Future

Skills Wales Survey

Welsh Assembly Government Strategy documents such as The Learning Country and The Skills Employment Action Plan

2005 highlight the importance of joined-up working between employers, employees and public sector agencies to raise skills levels and support high quality jobs in a growing economy.The

need for greater understanding of employers’ skill needs has given rise to a number of major surveys in Wales,

England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Welsh research programme, Future

Skills Wales (FSW) has to date consisted of three surveys (in 1998,

2003 and 2005) commissioned by the

FSW partnership.The focus of the first two surveys was to look at the generic skills requirements of employers in

Wales. In both years parallel studies were carried out among Welsh households to identify the skills offered by the Welsh population.

The shape that the Future Skills Wales

2005 Sector Skills Survey (here on in referred to as FSW 2005) has taken has been influenced by two main factors:

The desire to produce a common measure of skills deficiencies which is consistent and comparable across sectors, countries and regions

The need to make this information available for Sector Skills Councils for labour market analysis in Wales enabling shared dialogue by using comparable and consistent measures

SSCs are employer-led organisations which have been charged with developing skills and business performance levels in specific, discrete business sectors, based on detailed analysis and understanding of the sector.This has been given additional impetus through the Sector Skills

Agreements, which are designed to deliver action to meet priority skill needs and which are based on rigorous and robust evidence, including evidence on skill deficiencies. FSW 2005 aims to meet those needs as far as possible within one survey, providing the efficiencies of central co-ordination and the benefits of comparability and consistency.

The main aim of FSW 2005 is to provide the FSW Partnership with reliable information on the skills deficiencies which employers in Wales experience; information which can be used to inform skills development policy and planning.

The specific measures which the survey covers are as follows:

The incidence of vacancies among employers and the proportion of vacancies which are proving hard-tofill because of a lack of suitable skills: which occupations and which skills are affected, and what actions have been taken to deal with them

The number of employers that are encountering skill gaps among the workforce: the extent and nature of these, which occupations/ skills are affected, what is their impact and what actions are taken to deal with them


The incidence of off-the-job training activity, which occupational groups are receiving training and, where applicable, the reasons why off-thejob training is not currently arranged

1.2 Survey Methodology

The survey covered employers across all business activities in Wales, employers being defined as establishments rather than enterprises

(i.e. any site where employees are based, including head office sites, local/ regional sites and sites of single unit enterprises). In order to be eligible for the survey, establishments needed to have at least one employee (in addition to any owner/ manager). Based on

IDBR estimates 1 , there are 70,515 such establishments in Wales employing just over 1 million people.

The broad principles of sample design were as follows:

Sectors were sampled proportionate to the number of units in that sector, assuming a total sample size of approximately 6,000;

The resulting interview targets for each sector were reviewed to check whether they would deliver results which were ±5% reliable at the 95% confidence level (assuming medium case scenario i.e. 70% figure).Where

there was a shortfall for particular sector and where population size allowed, the interview targets were boosted to meet the reliability requirement

Where size of population did not allow boosting to this level, targets were based on the maximum sample achievable assuming a 4:1 success rate. (In other words, every four approaches to establishments would result in one successful interview).

Within SSC, sample targets were calculated proportionate to employment, thereby ensuring that large establishments (in terms of employment) would be over sampled.

The target number of interviews per size band within sector was calculated on the basis of IDBR counts

(proportional to employment).The

sample was purchased from Experian 2 .

Some of the initial targets, particularly in the larger size bands, exceeded the number of records available from

Experian and had to be adjusted in order to reflect this.

Business activities which are currently unallocated to SSCs were grouped into three categories for sampling and analysis purposes: primary, wholesale/retail and business/public services in line with Sector Skills

Development Agency (SSDA) practice.

1 The IDBR estimates are based on establishments with 1 or more employees, with an adjustment made to exclude companies with 1 director as the only employee.The survey excluded all establishments where the respondent was the only person working at that site, and therefore tables illustrating establishment counts by employee size band show a minimum number of one employee.

2 Experian is a global information solutions company and provider of sample for the survey.The

Experian database incorporates what was the Yellow Pages database (now Yell.com).The National

Employers Skills Survey 2004, Skills in Scotland 2004 and Northern Ireland Skills Monitoring Survey

2002 also use Experian (previously BT’s Business Database) as a sample source.

3

4

The main fieldwork was preceded by a cognitive pilot and standard pilot, details of which are provided in a separate

Technical Report. Fieldwork for the main stage took place between 10th

March 2005 and 18th May 2005 inclusive using Computer Assisted

Telephone Interviewing. In total, 6,719 interviews were achieved, including 26

Welsh interviews.

Medium/ large (25+ employees), unweighted base size 101

Taking into account the finite population correction factor 3 and design effects for the survey, the confidence interval at the 95% level 4 for the data for Construction Skills is ±6% for a survey result of 50 per cent and

±6% for a survey result of 70 per cent.

1.3 Defining the Sector Skills

Council

The data for each establishment was coded to 4-digit SIC code.As of

October 2005, Construction Skills was defined by the following SIC codes:

45.1, 45.2, 45.32, 45.34, 45.4, 45.5, 71.32,

74.2, and was described as

‘development and maintenance of the built environment’.

1.4 Sample size for the Sector

A total of 409 interviews were conducted with establishments in the

Construction Skills SSC. Further analysis has been obtained by employment in establishment as follows:

Micro (1 – 9 employees), unweighted base size 196

Small (10 – 24 employees), unweighted base size 112

1.5 Reporting Conventions and

Report Outline

This report uses a number of terms throughout.These are defined as follows: recruitment problems refer to vacancies that the employer describes as either hard-to-fill or skill-shortage related hard-to-fill (HTF) vacancie s are those vacancies self classified by the respondent as hard-to-fill skill shortage vacancies (SSVs) are defined as hard-to-fill vacancies where applicants do not have the required skills, work experience, or qualifications required skill gaps refer to the extent to which employers perceive current employees to be less than fully proficient for their current job

3 The finite population correction factor: when enumerating a 95% confidence interval the conventional way, in most cases, a simplified formula is used which makes the assumption that the universe population is large relative to the sample size (as a rule of thumb, large is defined as around 5% of the population). If the sample proportion exceeds this, then we have to apply a finite population correction, which ensures that we are not over-estimating the real confidence interval.A large sample to population ratio will lead to a narrower confidence.

4 A confidence interval of 95% means that we can be 95% certain that the true value of a survey estimate lies within ±5 percentage points of the survey estimate. For example, for a survey estimate of

50%, with a 95% confidence interval, the true value would lie somewhere between 45% and 55%.


The figures given in the report either relate to the number of establishments reporting a particular issue e.g. how many employers are experiencing vacancies, skill deficiencies etc, or to the number of employees e.g. when providing data on the number and profile of staff employed; the number and profile of vacancies and hard to fill vacancies; and the number and profile of staff with skill gaps.As a rule of thumb, where figures are based on establishments they have been weighted to the total number of establishments employing at least two people (70,515).

Where figures are based on employees they have been based on the total employment base (1,083,795). Results are reported on the weighted totals, and tables show the unweighted base as well as the weighted base. Comment is also made as to whether this is an establishment or employee base.

Clearly in some sectors sample sizes are relatively small (reflecting the size of the sector universe).Where care needs to be taken in interpreting the results this is pointed out in the commentary. Further guidance on the statistical reliability of figures is given in the Technical Report (which will be available on the website www.futureskillswales.com).

1.6 Employer Characteristics for

Construction Skills

1.6.1 Type of establishment

The FSW 2005 survey asked questions related to the nature of the establishment and this document reports survey data.The survey data shows that over half were single site

(57 per cent), whilst 22 per cent were multi site (not head office) establishments.Another 22 per cent of establishments were head offices.

All respondents were asked to classify their establishment as private sector, public sector, a charity organisation or a voluntary organisation, and this question allowed a multiple response.

Almost all establishments surveyed were private sector, with just 1 per cent in the voluntary sector.

Chart 1.1 Site description

Si ng le site

O n e o f mu ltiple sites n ot head o ff ice

Head o ff ice

22

22

0 10 20 30 40 50

% o f establish m e n ts

So u rce: FSW 2005, q u estio n B4a.

Base: all establish m e n ts (U n wei g hted: 409; Wei g hted: 5,475). Si ng le respo n se.

57

60

5

1.6.2 Ownership

Over two-thirds of establishments were Welsh 5 owned (69 per cent), whilst around a quarter were other UK owned (27 per cent).Very small minorities were other European Union owned (1 per cent) and Canadian owned (also 1 per cent).

Chart 1.2 Ownership of establishments

Welsh Ow n ed

69

Other UK ow n ed 27

Other EU ow n ed

1

Ca n adia n 1

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70


So u rce: FSW 2005, q u estio n B5.


Do n ít k n ow n ot show n (1%)

80

6

5 Ownership was self-classified by the respondent from a choice of Welsh owned, Other UK owned,

Other European Union owned, or Other (specify).


1.6.3 Financial Turnover

For around four in ten establishments

(43 per cent) the financial turnover 6 at that site was deemed to have increased over the previous 12 months, whilst it had stayed at broadly the same level for

37 per cent of establishments. For 7 per cent of establishments, turnover had decreased in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Chart 1.3 Turnover in past 12 months

I n creased

Ro ug hly the sa m e

37

Decreased

Too early to tell,

i n b u si n ess < 1yr

Do n’ t k n ow

6

7

7

0 10 20 30


40

So u rce: FSW 2005, q u estio n B6.


43

50

6 For public sector, charity and voluntary organisations, the question referred to their ‘financial budget’.

7

8

SECTION 2: RECRUITMENT

DIFFICULTIES AND SKILL

SHORTAGE VACANCIES

Aside from asking about the number of vacancies generally, FSW has taken two more measures relating to vacancies:

Hard-to-fill vacancies – vacancies the establishments understand to be hard-to-fill

Skill shortage vacancies – vacancies that establishments believe are hardto-fill due to applicants lacking the skills or qualifications required.The

volume of these vacancies is determined by the number of respondents citing the following reasons for the post being hard-tofill;

Applicants lack the qualifications employers want

Applicants lack the relevant experience

Applicants lack the relevant skills we require

2.1 Extent of vacancies, hard-tofill vacancies and skill shortage vacancies

On an establishment level:

16 per cent of establishments in

Construction Skills reported vacancies compared with the all

Wales average of 21 per cent.

10 per cent of all establishments in

Construction Skills had vacancies that were proving difficult to fill at the time of interview (this equates to 58 per cent of all those with any vacancies)

6 per cent of all establishments had skill shortage vacancies (this equates to 37 per cent of all those with any vacancies)

Although the overall level of vacancies in Construction Skills is lower than at the all Wales level, the proportions of hard-to-fill and skill shortage vacancies are broadly in line with the average

(table 2.1).

Table 2.1 Extent of vacancies, hard-to-fill vacancies and skills shortage vacancies

(2005 data)

% of all establishments reporting vacancies

% of establishments with hard-to-fill vacancies

% of establishments with skills shortage vacancies

All Wales Construction Skills

21 16

10

4

10

6

Number of vacancies

Number of hard-to-fill vacancies

Number of skill shortage vacancies

Vacancies as % of employment

37,875

13,242

5,405

3.5

1,731

1,086

712

3.3

Hard-to-fill vacancies as a % of employment 1.2

2.1

Skill shortage vacancies as a % of employment 0.5

1.4

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005. Base:All establishments (All Wales Unweighted: 6,719,Weighted:

70,515; Construction Skills Unweighted: 409,Weighted 5,475). Note: hard-to-fill vacancies are a subgroup of ‘vacancies’ and skill shortage vacancies are a subgroup of hard-to-fill vacancies.All

vacancies measures are expressed as a percentage of all establishments in Wales/in SSC


On a vacancy level, hard-to-fill vacancies accounted for over three in five vacancies (63 per cent) in this SSC.

Analysis by size of establishment shows that smaller establishments were disproportionately affected by recruitment problems.Thus, micro establishments (1 to 9 employees) accounted for 32 per cent of employment but 51 per cent of vacancies, 49 per cent of hard-to-fill vacancies and 46 per cent of skill shortage vacancies.

Table 2.2 Summary of reported vacancies in Construction Skills by establishment counts by employee size band

Survey-based estimates

Size of establishment

1 to 9

10 to 24

32

16

51

25

5

5

49

26

3

3

25+ 52 24 2 24 1

100% 100% 100%

Note: some column totals do not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Shaded columns show row percentages. Source: FSW 2005, questions C1, C2b, C6.

46

33

21

100%

Table 2.3 Summary of extent of vacancies, hard-to-fill vacancies and skill shortage vacancies 2003 and 2005 data


% of all establishments reporting

% of all employment

% of all establishments reporting

% of all employment

2003 2005 2003 2005 2003 2005 2003 2005

% % % % % % % %

25 21 4.9

3.5

23 15 6.4

3.3

% with any vacancies

% with hard-to-fill vacancies

% with skill shortage vacancies

15

9

10

4

2.0

1.1

1.2

0.5

17

11

10

6

4.4

3.0

2.1

1.4

Source: Future Skills Wales 2003 Generic Skills Survey and Future Skills Wales 2005

Base: Future Skills Wales 2003 Generic Skills Survey All establishments (All Wales

Unweighted: 6,020 Weighted: 66,431, Construction Skills Unweighted: 651,Weighted 5,521).

Future Skills Wales 2005 All establishments (All Wales Unweighted: 6,719,Weighted: 70,515

Construction Skills Unweighted: 409,Weighted 5,475).

9

10

Table 2.4 Occupational distribution of hard-to-fill vacancies (2005 data)

Share of employment %

Share of hard-to-fill vacancies %

Managers/senior officials

All Wales Construction All Wales Construction

% % % %

13 18 3 4

Professionals

Associate professionals

Administrative/secretarial occupations

Skilled trades

Personal service occupations

Sales/customer service

Transport/machine operatives

14

7

11

8

8

14

12

8

5

14

29

*

5

11

6

15

5

18

13

12

9

Elementary occupations 12 10 18 2

99% 100% 99% 100%

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, question C4. * less than 0.5%

Base:All establishments (All Wales Unweighted: 6,719,Weighted: 70,515. Construction Skills

Unweighted: 409,Weighted 5,475). Some columns do not add up to 100% due to rounding.

6

44

9

5

0

16

14

2.1.1 Comparison for

Construction Skills over time

(comparing 2003 and 2005)

At an employer level, the proportions of establishments in Construction Skills with vacancies, hard-to-fill vacancies and skill shortage vacancies have decreased since 2003.

2.2 Occupational profile of hardto-fill vacancies and skill shortage vacancies

Construction Skills was characterised by a much higher than average proportion of Skilled Trades occupations and correspondingly, a much higher than average proportions of hard-to-fill vacancies occurred in this occupation group.

2.3 Causes of hard-to-fill vacancies

The prime causes of HTF vacancies 7 were:

Lack of skills the organisation demands (48 per cent)

Not enough people interested in this type of work (35 per cent)

Lack of work experience the organisation demands (29 per cent)

Lack of qualifications the organisation demands (24 per cent)

It should be noted three out of four of these causes were reasons that defined a skill shortage vacancy (those reasons being ‘lack of skills the organisation demands’,‘lack of qualifications’ and

‘lack of work experience).


Table 2.5 Causes of hard-to-fill vacancies

Base:All establishments with hard-to-fill vacancies followed up

Unweighted

Weighted

All Wales

725

6,898

%

Lack of skills the organisation demands

Lack of qualifications

Lack of work experience

Low number of applicants with required attitude, etc

Not enough people interested in job type

Low number of applicants generally

Wages lower than other firms

Benefits trap/problem with benefits

Location of firm/poor transport

Unattractive/poor terms and conditions

Poor career progression

Long hours/shift work

Competition from other employers

Other

No particular reason

Don’t know/no answer

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, question C6

** small base (less than 100). Multiple response allowed. – denotes zero.

6

15

4

2

1

3

12

5

2

25

19

10

30

14

15

21

2.4 Responses to hard-to-fill vacancies

All establishments that indicated that they had hard-to-fill vacancies were asked what measures they had taken or were planning to take to fill the vacancies, over and above what they would do usually (this was a multiple response question).The most common responses were to spend more on recruitment or use more expensive methods (28 per cent) and use more extensive range of recruitment channels

Construction

Skills

**53

521

%

48

24

29

20

0

1

2

7

35

15

11

0

11

0

0

6

(27 per cent). Over a quarter of establishments (27 per cent) in

Construction Skills with hard-to-fill vacancies had not taken any particular measures nor were planning to do so.

2.5 Nature of skill shortage vacancies

The number of establishments reporting skill shortage vacancies was too small for robust analysis, but we are able to provide anecdotal information pertaining to the types of technical and

11

12 practical skills that were lacking amongst applicants for skill shortage vacancies. Comments received from employers in Construction Skills are provided below for reference, together with the type of occupation in which the skill shortage was occurring.

Table 2.6: Measures taken to fill hard-to-fill vacancies

Base:All establishments with hard-to-fill vacancies

Unweighted

Weighted

Offered higher pay or more incentives

Offered enhanced terms and conditions

Considered wide range of applicants

Changed job spec: give some tasks to other staff

Changed job specification automating some tasks

Hired part time staff

Hired contract staff

Built links with schools, colleges, universities

More extensive range of recruitment channels

Spent more on recruitment/more expensive methods

Recruited from overseas

Provided more training to less qualified recruits

Retrain existing staff

Contracted work out

Word of mouth/ networking

Advertise in job centre

Ad in store/ shop window

Other

No particular measures taken/planned

All Wales

732

6,966

%

2

4

5

4

1

1

2

4

31

13

4

7

4

1

5

4

1

3

30

Construction

Skills

**54

526

%

5

6

1

2

27

28

10

5

5

0

0

1

27

0

0

10

4

6

0

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, Question C11. ** small base (less than 100). Multiple response allowed. Don’t know not shown.


Table 2.7 Other technical and practical skills lacking amongst applicants for skill shortage vacancies (employers’ verbatim comments)

Comment SOC Group

Someone with experience in the construction field but also be good at communicating and also someone with good I.T skills and also someone who can read drawings.

Senior Managers & Corporate Managers

People willing to accept the responsibility and have the ability to make decisions

Science & Engineering Professionals

Business and Public service professionals Experience of the telecommunications industry

Relevant industry experience.

Organisational skills, attention to detail.

Business & Public Service Associate

Professionals

Administrative Occupations

Carpenters that during the interview say they are qualified but once start work it becomes obvious that they are not qualified for the job they were employed to do.

Skilled Construction & Building trades

People who know what they are doing.

Plumbing and electrical qualifications.



Bricklayers that say they are qualified but once employed it is obvious from their work that they are not qualified.

ACS Qualification



NVQ qualifications but I’m not sure which ones to be specific.

They have to have skills for welding work, have to have recognised apprenticeship skills.

They have to have the skill to understand the technical aspect of welding work.

Skilled Metal & Electrical trades


Experience on machinery.


They just need to have an apprenticeship on fabrication behind them.


Finding someone who is properly trained with welding skills, too many are just semi-skilled


Transport Drivers And Operatives The training required for the job/ basic qualifications needed.

Skills necessary to repair motors.

Process, plant and machine Operatives

Using insulation equipment and working with ladders.

General trade and manufacturing skills.

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, Question C9.



13

SECTION 3:

INTERNAL SKILL GAPS

3.1 Incidence of skill gaps and distribution by occupational group

Respondents were asked, of all their staff in each occupational category, what proportion were fully proficient at their job.A skill gap is defined as existing where, in the opinion of their employer, an employee is not fully proficient at their job.

14 per cent of establishments in

Construction Skills reported a skill gap

(or a lack of full proficiency) in any one occupational group.This figure was lower the all Wales figure reported in

FSW 2005 (18 per cent).

Table 3.1 Incidence and number of skill gaps in Wales 2005 and in Construction

Skills

Base:All establishments Wales 2005 Construction Skills 2005

Weighted base

% of establishments reporting skill gaps

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, question D7 (derived)

70,515

18

5,475

14

Table 3.2: Incidence of skill gaps and distribution across occupation groups

(2005 data)


14

ALL

Managers and senior officials

Professional occupations


Administrative & secretarial occupations

Skilled trades


63,803

4,798

4,290

3,141

5,873

6,109

5,591

6

3

3

4

5

7

6

3,173

444

193

121

368

1,358

0

Sales & customer service

Transport & machine operatives

15,431

11,146

10

8

293

165

Elementary occupations 7,426 6 232

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, question D7(derived)

Base:All employees with skill gaps (All Wales Unweighted: 10,157,Weighted: 63,085;

Construction Skills Unweighted: 512,Weighted 3,173).

11

3

4

5

9

0

6

5

5

5


Table 3.3: Incidence of skill gaps (2003 and 2005 comparison)

All Wales

% reporting skill gaps

Skill gaps as % of employment

Construction Skills

% reporting skill gaps

Skill gaps as % of employment

2003 2005 2003 2005 2003 2005 2003 2005

% of establishments reporting skill gaps in any occupation 19 18 17 6 18 14

Source: Future Skills Wales 2003 Generic Skills Survey; Future Skills Wales 2005

19 6

In terms of the number of employees, the survey recorded a total of 3,173 employees with skill gaps at the time of interview, representing 6 per cent of total employment in Construction

Skills.The corresponding all Wales figure was also 6 per cent.

The occupational categories in

Construction Skills that had the highest incidence of skill gaps were:

Sales/Customer Service (11 per cent)

Skilled Trades (9 per cent)

3.1.1 Comparison for

Construction Skills over time

(comparing 2003 and 2005)

The proportion of establishments in

Construction Skills reporting a skill gap has not changed significantly since

2003 7 . However, in terms of total employment, the proportion of the workforce in Construction Skills with a skill gap has decreased since 2003.

3.2 Skills lacking

Establishments that had experienced skill gaps 8 were asked to define what skills they felt needed improving for an occupation where staff members were considered to be less than fully proficient.

Apart from other technical and practical skills, which were mentioned by 57 per cent of respondents, the skills most commonly reported as lacking amongst employees were mainly generic skills, for example, problem solving skills (69 per cent), communication skills (41 per cent) and team working skills (40 per cent).

When asked this question, the respondent was offered a list of possible skills that might be lacking and was also given the option to report other skills that might be missing.This

resulted in the following skills being mentioned by minorities of employers with skill gaps within their workforces:

7 The definition of skill gaps differed between 2003 and 2005. In 2003, the definition of a skill gap was where ‘there is a gap between the skills employees have now and those needed to meet current business objectives’. In contrast, in 2005 in line with other UK employer skills surveys, a skill gap was defined as where employees were not fully proficient in their job.Therefore, comparisons should be treated with caution.

8 The results are based on skill gaps followed up in detail. If an establishment had more than 2 occupations with skill gaps, just two were chosen at random for further investigation relating to skills lacking

15

16

Table 3.4: Skills lacking amongst employees with skill gaps (2005 data)

Base: all establishments with skill gaps followed up All Wales

Construction

Skills

Unweighted

Weighted

1,469

12,558

**91

763

% %

General IT user skills

IT professional skills

Other technical and practical skills

Communication skills

Customer handling skills

Team working skills

Problem solving skills

40

26

52

49

57

49

58

31

40

69

28

17

57

41

Management skills

Using numbers

Literacy skills

Welsh language skills

Work experience (unspecified)

Time management/keeping

Sales/marketing skills

Motivation/behaviour

Other 2

Don’t know/no answer 3

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, question D8. Multiple response allowed.

Mentions of 2% or more at an all Wales level. **small base (less than 100)

40

25

23

23

3

2

3

2

0

1

4

0

30

23

27

12

5

6

Common sense (3 per cent)

Other Qualifications (apart From

NVQs)/ Qualifications (Unspec) (4 per cent)

Further analysis by size of establishment (in terms of numbers of employees) was not possible due to small base sizes.

3.3 Other technical and practical skills lacking

57 per cent of establishments with skill gaps that were followed up cited other technical and practical skills as lacking.

Respondents were asked to provide details of the types of technical and practical skills missing and this resulted in a wide range of responses. (Note: some of these were generic skills; this was not a surprising outcome of the exercise given that other technical and

FUTURE SKILLS WALES 2005 SECTOR SKILLS SURVEY practical skills were defined to the respondent as ‘skills that are specific to your industry or this type of job’).

Concentrating only on non-generic skills, those most commonly cited included:

Trade skills/Building/Electrical/

Construction (31 per cent)

Equipment Handling/Training (18 per cent)

Product Knowledge (8 per cent)

Admin/Office work/Record keeping

(8 per cent)

Health and Safety (5 per cent)

Finance/Accounts/Book Keeping

Skills/Qualifications (5 per cent)

Equipment Repair/Maintenance (5 per cent)

Planning Skills/Business Planning (5 per cent)

Lack of Experience (4 per cent)

Engineering/Mechanical Engineering

(3 per cent)

Comments received from employers in

Construction Skills are provided below for reference, together with the type of occupation in which the skill shortage was occurring.

Table 3.5: Other technical and practical skills lacking amongst employees with skill gaps in Construction Skills (verbatim comments from employers)


It is not so much staff/ It is the ability to use a computer that would help/

Corporate Managers

Continuous on-going training in technical areas.

Corporate Managers

Advanced engineering skills.

Technical and business aspects.

Managers and Proprietors in Agriculture and Services

Science and technology professionals

Skills to do with our business.


Each project has it's own idiosyncrasies/ As and when each one turns up.

They're lacking in skills at the moment but they're being trained so it's not critical.

Specific to our business.




Post graduate experience.

Business and public service professionals

They need technical experience on how to set up the equipment.

Science and technology associate professionals

On the job training, and learning about our systems.

Science and technology associate professionals

Ongoing training external in BS5306 designers Science and technology associate professionals

Repair and maintenance.

Administrative occupations

17

18

Table 3.5 Other technical and practical skills lacking amongst employees with skill gaps in Construction Skills (verbatim comments from employers) [cont.]


Just general time-keeping/ Because they're new Administrative occupations

Just team working and communication.


Wide range of general administrative duties/ File book-keeping accounts.

Filing and general admin.



Thinking for themselves and utilising the skills they have acquired.


Things like typing.

Secretarial and related occupations

Book-keeping/ Organisational stuff/ Filing/

Need to learn his trade.

Product knowledge to offer to the customers.

Product knowledge.

General studying- all the engine etc. Needs more knowledge, is doing exams.

Technical electrical skills.

Generic skills in engineering.

Be better qualified.

Secretarial and related occupations

Skilled agricultural trades

Skilled metal and electrical trades



Further training in scaffolding.

Punctuality/ Attendance.

Skilled construction and building trades


Job specific, rendering and colour matching, decorative.


Brick laying skills/ Plastering skills/ Rendering skills/

Dry stone wall skills.


Just more experience.


Curb laying and paving.

Installation of some material systems.

They just need more experience.




Understanding ever changing technology, understanding ever changing regulations.

Stonemasonry in general.

General construction skills/ Specialised construction skills.

Proficiency with hand tools and marking and setting out projects/ Carpentry in general.









Table 3.5 Other technical and practical skills lacking amongst employees with skill gaps in Construction Skills (verbatim comments from employers) [cont.]


Learning the full range of our products in order to advise customers.

Roofing skills.

Customer service occupations

Process, plant and machine operatives

Process, plant and machine operatives Trained power soldering/ Power screw driving and assembly work.

On the job training.

Health and Safety and Risk Assessment.

Use of tools




Experience/ Learn as they do a wider variety as they go/ Improve skills

Knowledge of machinery.

Management and communication.

Fitting and installations

Transport & mobile machine drivers and operatives


Elementary trades, plant and storage related occupations


Basic labouring eg digging a hole Elementary trades, plant and storage related occupations

Apprentice lacking skills as not yet fully trained.


General building work.


Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, question D9.

3.4 Measures to overcome skill gaps

All respondents who reported skill gaps amongst their staff were asked what measures, if any, they had taken to overcome a lack of full proficiency at that establishment.

The most common responses involved making changes internally.Thus 85 per cent provided further training/ development amongst the workforce, whilst 49 per cent had increased/expanded the trainee programme. In addition, more than two in five had changed working practices

(44 per cent).These responses were in line with the all Wales figures, except for changing working practices which was lower than at the all Wales level.

43 per cent reported reallocating work within the company; a lower proportion than at an all Wales level (51 per cent).

Some establishments had looked externally for solutions.Thus, 40 per cent had increased recruitment, whilst

19 per cent had expanded recruitment channels.

19

20

Table 3.6: Measures taken in response to skill gaps (2005 data)

Base: all establishments with skill gaps amongst employees All Wales

Unweighted

Weighted

1,469

12,558

%

Further training amongst workforce

Changed working practices

Reallocated work within company

Increased/ expanded trainee programme

Increased recruitment

Expanded recruitment channels

Other

No particular measures taken

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, question D11

Multiple response allowed ** small base (less than 100)

34

23

3

84

59

51

50

6

5 per cent of establishments reported that no particular action had been taken.

As a further point, a minority of employers in Construction Skills said their staff had taken College/Night classes in response to skill gaps

(3 per cent).

Further analysis by size of establishment was not possible for Construction Skills due to small base sizes.

Construction

Skills

**91

763

%

85

44

43

49

40

19

1

5


SECTION 4:

PROVISION OF OFF-THE-JOB

TRAINING

4.1 Incidence of off-the-job training and allocation across occupations

58 per cent of employers had funded or arranged off-the-job training for their staff in the 12 months prior to the interview; this proportion is the same as that recorded at the all Wales level.

In terms of the types of occupations receiving off-the-job training, this was most likely to be funded or arranged for Managers/Senior Officials and

Skilled Trades occupations (each 51 per cent)

Analysis by the size of establishment revealed that the greater the number of employees, the more likely that off-thejob training was offered by an establishment.

Table 4.1 Incidence of off-the-job training and allocation across occupation groups (2005 data)

Incidence of off-the-job training (question E1) All Wales

Construction

Skills

Base: all establishments

Unweighted

Weighted

6,719

70,515

%

409

5,475

%

58 58 % of establishments providing off the job training

Off-the-job training by occupation group (question E2)

Base: all establishments providing off-the-job training

Unweighted

Weighted

Managerial occupations

Professionals



Skilled trades

4,339

40,803

%

65

25

15

35

19

287

3,163

%

51

22

8

25

51




Elementary occupations

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005

12

22

9

17

11

16

0

6

21

22

Table 4.2: Incidence of off-the-job training and allocation across occupation groups by establishment count by employee size band

Incidence of off-the-job training (Question E1)

Base: all establishments

Unweighted

Weighted

409 196

5,475 4,570

%

58

%

53 % of establishments providing off the job training

Off-the-job training by occupation group

(question E2)


Unweighted

Weighted


Professionals



Skilled trades





Source: Future Skills Wales 2005. ** Small base (less than 100)

16

287 103

3,163 2,402

% %

51

22

8

25

50

20

5

18

51

0

6

11

15

49

0

5

7

4.2 Type of off-the-job training

In order to gauge what type of training was being provided to employees, respondents were asked whether the off-the-job training they provided was mainly statutory (i.e. legally required), non statutory or evenly split between the two.

112

540

%

80

58

0

8

18

18

**90 **94

434 328

% %

47

22

13

40

66

35

21

54

56

0

15

33

20

Around a third of establishments (36 per cent) were providing mainly statutory training, whilst a quarter (26 per cent) reported that their off-thejob training was mainly non-statutory.

Nearly two-fifths of establishments (37 per cent), however, reported that their off-the-job training was evenly split between the two types.

101

365

%

90


Table 4.3:Types of off-the-job training (2005 data)

Base:All establishments providing off-the-job training

Unweighted

Weighted

All Wales

Construction

Skills

4,339

40,803

%

287

3,163

%

Statutory, that is, because it is a legal requirement for your staff to be trained in this area

Non statutory, that is, not legally required

Evenly split between the two

Don’t know

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, question E3. Multiple response allowed

23

33

42

1

36

26

37

1

Analysis by the size of establishment (in terms of numbers employed) showed that micro establishments were more likely to be providing statutory off-thejob training (i.e. in response to legal requirements). In contrast, the largest establishments were more likely than smaller establishments to state that their off-the-job training was roughly evenly split between statutory and non statutory.

4.3 Barriers to provision of offthe-job training

Establishments that had not funded or arranged off-the-job training in the past

12 months were asked why, and this was a multiple response question.

Table 4.4:Types of off-the-job training by establishment count by employee size band


Unweighted

Weighted

Statutory, that is, because it is a legal requirement for your staff to be trained in this area

Non statutory, that is, not legally required

Evenly split between the two

Don’t know

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, question E3

Multiple response allowed

287 103

3,163 2,402

% %

36

26

37

1

39

26

34

1

**90

434

%

30

27

43

0

94

328

%

23

22

54

1

23

24

Table 4.5: Barriers to provision of off-the-job training (2005 data)

Base:All establishments not providing off-the-job training All Wales

Construction

Skills

Unweighted

Weighted

2,288

28,850

116

2,228

% %

Staff have sufficient skills to do their job

Cost of off-the-job training

Time constraints

No money available for training

There is no suitable training available

Lack of information on training available

Other training method preferred (e.g. on-the-job training)

83

24

38

23

21

26

60

Trained staff will be poached by other employers

Others

20

2

Don’t know 2

Source: Future Skills Wales 2005, question E4. Multiple response allowed. – denotes zero

22

2

4

19

29

57

88

18

38

25

Over half of establishments within this group (57 per cent) said that they preferred another method of training

(e.g. on-the-job). However, the most common response (88 per cent) was

‘staff have sufficient skills to do their job’.

Time constraints and cost were also commonly cited reasons:

38 per cent of establishments that did not provide off-the-job training cited time constraints

18 per cent cited the cost of training as a prohibitive factor and 25 per cent stated that they had no money available to fund off-the-job training

Some establishments appeared to have recognised a need for off-the-job training but had not provided it because there was no suitable training available (19 per cent).

Further analysis by size of establishment was not possible due to small base sizes.


SECTION 5:

SUMMARY

Tackling recruitment difficulties and skill shortages.

Levels of vacancies in Construction

Skills were lower than those recorded at an all Wales level, while hard-to-fill vacancies were in line with Wales.Thus,

16 per cent of employers were experiencing vacancies and 10 per cent reported having hard-to-fill vacancies.

The level of skill shortage vacancies were broadly in line with the all Wales figure. In terms of numbers employed, smaller establishments in Construction

Skills were disproportionately affected by recruitment problems.

The prime causes of hard-to-fill vacancies were: lack of skills the organisation demands, not enough people interested in this type of work, lack of work experience and lack of qualifications.

Anecdotal data provided some indication of the types of other technical and practical skills lacking amongst applicants for skill shortage vacancies, and in which occupation types these occurred. For example, some employers felt that applicants for vacancies in Skilled Construction and

Building trades and Skilled Metal and

Electrical trades lacked the required skills (carpenters, bricklayers, welding, plumbing and electrical) and that some applicants said they held qualifications at interview but this did not turn out to be the case.

Addressing skill gaps and deficiencies in the workforce

14 per cent of Construction Skills establishments reported skill gaps, and these were most likely to occur amongst Sales/Customer Service and

Skilled Trades.

The skills most commonly reported to be lacking amongst the existing workforce were problem solving skills, other technical and practical skills, communication skills and team working skills.

Anecdotal information indicated the types of technical and practical skills that were missing. For example, amongst Skilled metal and electrical trades occupations, some employers felt that product knowledge skills and technical electrical skills were missing.

For Skilled construction and building trades occupations, the skills mentioned were training in scaffolding, brick laying, plastering, rendering, paving, carpentry and colour matching skills.

The most common measures taken in response to skill gaps were to provide further training/ development or to increase/expand the trainee programmes.

Improving employer investment in training and workforce development.

58 per cent of employers in

Construction Skills were investing in off-the-job training (the same as at an all Wales level).A higher than average proportion of employers providing offthe-job training were providing statutory training.

88 per cent of employers in

Construction Skills that did not provide off-the-job training said that this was because staff had sufficient skills to do their jobs.The other key barriers related to preferring a different training method and time constraints.

25

26

SECTION 6: COMMENTARY

FROM CONSTRUCTION

SKILLS SSC

Construction is one of the largest industries in Wales and an essential prerequisite for all other economic activity, including delivery of the Welsh

Assembly Government investment plans. For the past three years construction output in Wales has recorded strong growth, particularly in private sector housing and industrial and infrastructure construction.

Construction Skills has created the

Construction Skills Network of 12

'Observatory Groups', including one in

Wales,that consist of key stakeholders invited from industry, Government and education who can contribute local knowledge of the industry and views on training, skills, recruitment, qualifications and policy.The Wales

Observatory Group is in the process of working with Future Skills Wales (FSW) to debate, collect and produce research data and information on the future needs of the industry.

Construction Skills Network research demonstrates that the demand for improved and sustainable performance will have a significant impact on future skills needs - such as better integration and management of the supply chain, and greater ability to harness new technologies and innovation processes.

All of which needs to set against the reality of an industry dominated by small and medium-sized businesses. In

Wales, 93% of construction firms have fewer than 14 employees.The constant uncertainty of what lies ahead for small businesses and the level of labour only subcontracting, inhibits the development of a training culture.

Engaging with the majority is vital in achieving the required step change that will enable the industry to deliver 'even more but better'.

For this reason, there needs to be greater emphasis on developing project-based solutions that address key skills challenges by sharing the load, and cost of training across the whole supply chain.


APPENDIX I:

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Business Eye

A free, impartial information service for

Wales created to find the answers to business questions.Aimed at all types of businesses or new start ups seeking general business advice.Aims to put businesses in contact with support from the public, private or voluntary sectors.

Education and Learning Wales

(ELWa)

ELWa is an Assembly Sponsored Public

Body (ASPB) established by the

Learning and Skills Act 2000. Its remit covers further education, governmentsupported training, adult community learning and school sixth forms. ELWa’s main statutory responsibilities are to:

Secure the provision of facilities for post-16 education and training in

Wales (with the exception of higher education);

Encourage young people and adults to participate in learning;

Encourage employers to participate in, and contribute to the costs of, post-16 education and training.

Establishment

Any site where employees are based and therefore including head office sites, other local/regional sites and sites of single unit enterprises.

Experian

Global information solutions company and provider of sample for the survey.

The Experian database incorporates what was the Yellow Pages database

(now Yell.com).

Generic skills

Skills that are transferable across most jobs and without which it is very hard to get work or progress in the labour market.

Job specific skills

These are the skills that are needed to work for a particular employer, reflecting the specific needs or methods of that employer.

Hard-to-fill vacancies

Vacancies that are self classified by the respondent as hard-to-fill.

Inter Departmental Business

Register (IDBR)

A list of UK businesses maintained by

National Statistics (NS) and combines the former Central Statistical Office

(CSO) VAT based business register and the former Employment Department

(ED) employment statistics system. It complies with European Union regulation 2186/93 on harmonisation of business registers for statistical purposes.

Labour force

The total number of workers available for employment.The labour force is made up of two distinct elements – those who are in work and those who are not in work but who would like to be, given the opportunity.

Labour Force Survey

Largest regular household survey in the

UK.A nationally (UK) representative sample of approximately 120,000

27

28 people are interviewed over a three month period.The survey asks a series of questions about respondents’ personal circumstances and their labour market activity. Results are published every month for the latest available three month period.

Recruitment problems

Refers to vacancies that the employer describes as either hard-to-fill or skillshortage related.

Skills deficiencies

Refers to the sum of skill gaps and skill shortage vacancies.

Skill gap (Or internal skill gap)

The extent to which employers perceive employees are less than fully proficient for their current job.

Skills shortage

Where employers are unable to find new staff with the skills that they require.This is one of a number of possible causes of a recruitment difficulty.

Skill shortage vacancy

These vacancies are defined as hard-tofill vacancies where applicants do not have the required skills, experience, or qualifications.

SIC

Standard Industrial Classification system used to provide a consistent industrial breakdown for UK official statistics.

SOC

Standard Occupational Classification system used to provide a consistent occupational breakdown for UK official statistics.

Sector Skills Council (SSC)

Independent, UK-wide organisations developed by groups of influential employers in industries or business sectors of economic or strategic significance. SSCs are employer-led and actively involve trade unions, professional bodies and other stakeholders in the sector. SSCs are licensed by the Secretary of State for

Education and Skills, in consultation with Ministers in Scotland,Wales and

Northern Ireland, to tackle the skills and productivity needs of their sector throughout the UK.

SSC footprint

The coverage of a Sector Skills Council in terms of types of industry that fall within the remit of that SSC.The SIC codes used are a ‘best fit’ of each SSC’s core business sectors and the extent to which this is an exact fit varies between

SSCs.

Vacancies

A measure of the level of recruitment activity in the labour market.


APPENDIX II:

BROAD SECTOR AND SSC

DEFINITIONS

In line with other UK employer skill surveys, sector analysis of FSW 2005 has moved towards defining sectors in a manner more consistent with SSC definitions of the sectors they cover, rather than the more general definitions of sector used in previous surveys.

The SSC and its corresponding Broad sector category are shown below together with a description of the sector and a definition in terms of

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).

The SIC codes used are a ‘best fit’ of the SSC’s core business sectors and the extent to which this is an exact fit varies between SSCs.Annex II: Broad

Sector and SSC definitions

SSC names, description, SIC definitions and corresponding Broad Sector category

SSC name SSC description

Construction Skills Development and maintenance of the

Built Environment

SIC definition Broad Sector

45.1, 45.2, 45.32, 45.34, Construction

45.4, 45.5, 71.32, 74.2

29

30

APPENDIX III:

QUESTIONNAIRE

Future Skills Wales 2005

Future Skills Wales 2005

Sector Skills Survey

Employer Questionnaire

SCREENING QUESTIONS

ASK TELEPHONIST

S1. Good morning/afternoon my name is ............. I am calling from NOP, an independent research agency. We are conducting a major research project on behalf of the

Future Skills Wales Partnership. Can I just check, is that (INSERT ORGANISATION

NAME)?

Yes 1

No 2 TYPE

CORRECT

NAME

IN

S2.

We are conducting a survey about recruitment, human resources and workplace skills. Can I speak to the person at this site, who has greatest involvement in these sorts of issues?

If respondent attempts transfer to someone at another site

We need to speak to someone at this site rather than someone at another branch or office of your organisation. Could I speak to the person at this site who would have the best overview of the skills that your establishment needs its workers to have?

SINGLE CODE

1 Go to A1 Yes, correct respondent speaking

Yes - transferred 2

Definite appointment

Soft appointment

Refusal

Refusal – company policy

Refusal – taken part in other survey recently

Nobody at site to answer questions

Not available in deadline

Company too small/

<2 employment

Duplicate – already called about this survey

3

4

MAKE APPOINTMENT

5 CLOSE

6

7

8

9

10

11

September 2005 1

GfK NOP Social Research



A. INTRODUCTION

A1. READ OUT: Good morning/afternoon my name is ............. I am calling from NOP, an independent research agency. We are conducting a major research project amongst employers in Wales concerning recruitment of staff and skills levels within workforces, so that we better understand the future skills needs of Wales. All information collected will be treated in strict confidence by NOP, in accordance with the Data Protection Act. (ADD IF NECESSARY: The research is being conducted on behalf of the Future

Skills Wales Partnership).

If code 1 at S2

READ OUT: All information collected in the survey will be treated in strict confidence by NOP, in accordance with the Data Protection Act. (ADD IF NECESSARY: The research is being conducted on behalf of the Future Skills Wales Partnership).

INTERVIEWER NOTE: Stress if necessary that:

•

The survey is conducted on behalf of the Future Skills Wales Partnership which includes the Welsh

Assembly Government, ELWa (Education & Learning Wales), WDA/Welsh Development Agency,

Sector Skills Councils and a whole host of public and Private sector representative bodies (read out the following list if necessary).

ACCAC (the Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales), Basic Skills Agency,

Careers Wales, Confederation of British Industry in Wales, Dysg (the Learning and Skills Development

Agency’s operation in Wales), Higher Education Wales (The national organisation representing the higher education sector in Wales), HEFCW (Higher Education Funding Council for Wales), JobCentre

Plus, ESTYN (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales), Federation of Small

Businesses, Fforwm (the national organisation representing further education colleges in Wales), Local

Government Data Unit - Wales, National Training Federation for Wales, Secondary Heads Association,

Sector Skills Development Agency, Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Wales TUC, and Welsh Local

Government Association

•

Establishments have been randomly chosen from Yellow Pages

•

No information about individuals or organisations will be identified in the results unless they ask someone to contact them

•

Respondents will be given the choice to receive a copy of the report of the findings at the end of the interview

•

If respondent has any queries about the survey, they may contact Joanne Corke of the FSW

Partnership on 01443 663716 or Viv Young at NOP on 020 7890 9840.

ASK: The interview should take no more than 15 - 20 minutes of your time, depending on your answers.

Would it be convenient to conduct the interview now or should I call back?

September 2005


2

31


IF RESPONDENT ATTEMPTS TO TRANSFER: We are interested in the activities at this particular site.

It is unlikely that anyone else will know about this as well as you do.

SINGLE CODE

Yes - continue

Definite appointment

Soft appointment

Refusal

Refusal – company policy

Refusal – taken part in other survey recently

1

3

4

5

Continue

MAKE APPOINTMENT

CLOSE

6

7

Nobody at site to answer questions

Not available in deadline

Company too small/

<2 employment

Duplicate – already called about this survey

8

9

10

11

ASK ALL

32

September 2005


3



B3.

How many employees - full-time and part-time (by part-time we mean people working between 8 and 31 hours a week)- do you have at this site

? Please include yourself and all those on the payroll (INCLUDING directors and out-workers such as sales representatives but not self-employed or outside contractors/agency staff).

TYPE IN EXACT NUMBER AND CATI WILL AUTOMATICALLY CODE – KEEP

RAW DATA HERE.

IF RESPONDENT IS UNSURE, PROMPT FOR APPROXIMATE NUMBER OR BEST

ESTIMATE. IF STILL DON’T KNOW, ASK THE FOLLOWING (and code first which applies):

Is it:

1

2 - 4

5-9

2

3

10 -24

25 -49

50 -99

100-199

4

5

6

7

200- 249

250- 299

8

9

300+

Don’t know

10

A3.

Would you like the interview to be conducted in English or Welsh? DO NOT READ

OUT

English

Welsh

1 CONTINUE

2 READ OUT: I will need to arrange for our Welsh interviewer to call you back.

When is the best time of day to contact you?

Note day/ time

Say Welsh, but don’t want to make an appointment so will do now

3 CONTINUE

September 2005


4

33


READ OUT

For your information, the results from the survey will be held by the Future Skills Wales Partnership and relevant Sector Skills Councils in the form of a database of results with individual company names removed. All information will be used only for statistical purposes unless you ask for someone to contact you.

B. ESTABLISHMENT DETAILS

Firstly, I would like to ask you some background information about this establishment or site. By establishment or site, I mean this single location, even if it encompasses more than one building.

ASK ALL

B1.

Your establishment has been classified as … (READ OUT SIC DESCRIPTION

HELD ON DATABASE)

Is this correct?

Yes 1 GO TO B3

ASK IF CODE 2 AT B1

B2.

What is the main product or service of this establishment? WRITE IN.

INTERVIEWER: PROBE AS NECESSARY

Eg. What is the main activity of this establishment?

What exactly is made or done at this establishment?

What material or machinery does that involve using?

TO BE CODED TO 4 DIGIT SIC 2003

(IF DK, THANK AND CLOSE)

B4A.

From the following, how would you describe your establishment? Is it . . . ? READ

OUT. SINGLE-CODE

a)

b) c) d)

1

Head 2

Or, one of multiple sites, but not head office

3

(Don’t know) 4 ( )

34

September 2005


5


Future Skills Wales 2005 b) And is it ….. READ OUT. MULTI-CODING ALLOWED

c)

d)

e) f)

1

Public sector 2

3 organisation

A 4

(please 5

(Don’t know) 6 ( )

ASK IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SIC CODES AT QUESTION B1 (75.11, 75.12, 75.13, 75.14,

75.21, 75.3) c) Do you consider yourself to be part of… READ OUT. SINGLE CODE.

INTERVIEWER: if local office of a central government department, treat as central government.

If local council or body overseeing local government or local education authority, treat as local government

Central government 1

Or Local government 2

DO NOT READ OUT: Neither

DO NOT READ OUT: Other

(SPECIFY)

DO NOT READ OUT: Don’t know / not sure

3

4

5

B5. [If single site, code 1 at B4] Are you….? [If not single site, codes 2- 4 at B4) Thinking of the wider organisation, is it . .?. READ OUT. SINGLE CODE

a)

b)

d)

e)

Other 2

Union 3

(Other) 4

1

Don’t know 5

ASK ALL

B6.

Within the last year, has the financial turnover (FOR PRIVATE SECTOR-CODE 1

AT B4b)/ financial budget (FOR PUBLIC SECTOR- CODE 2, 3, 4 AT B4b) at this site increased or decreased, or has it stayed roughly at the same level? SINGLE

CODE ONLY

Increased

Decreased

Roughly at the same level

Don’t know

Too early to tell - have been in business less than a year

1

2

3

4

5

September 2005 6


35

36


C.

Current vacancies and recruitment difficulties

C1. I would now like to ask you about vacancies at this establishment. How many vacancies, if any, do you currently have at this establishment for full or part time staff?

PROBE FOR BEST ESTIMATE

[WRITE IN NUMBER…….. (ALLOW DK . If 0 or DK, GO TO D1]

ASK ALL WITH VACANCIES AT C1

C2 IF C1>1:

Are any of these vacancies proving hard to fill?

/ IF C1=1:

Is the vacancy proving hard to fill?

Yes

No

Don’t know

1 Go to C2

2

Go to D1

3

Go to D1

If Yes at C2 AND C1>1 (IF YES AT C2 AND C1=1, GO TO C3)

C2b - How many of your <textfil – no of vacancies at C1> are proving hard to fill?

[WRITE IN NUMBER…….. (ALLOW DK . If 0 or DK, GO TO D1]

C3. In which specific occupation(s) do you currently have hard to fill vacancies at this establishment? I will record details for up to 6 different occupations.

PROMPT FOR FULL DETAILS TO ALLOW 2 DIGIT SOC CODING (e.g. what is the job title? What type of manager are they? ) RECORD DETAILS FOR UP TO

6 OCCUPATIONS

C4

How many hard to fill vacancies do you currently have for

<OCCUPATION

AT C3>

?

PROBE FOR BEST ESTIMATE

C3 – occupation type

C4 – number of hard to fill vacancies

Occupation 1

Occupation 2

Occupation 3

Occupation 4

Occupation 5

Occupation 6

<text>

<text>

<text>

<text>

<text>

<text>

TOTAL HARD TO FILL VACANCIES

[INTERVIEWER NOTE : total number of hard to fill vacancies at C4 must not be greater than C2B]

There is no C5

September 2005


7



Calculate the number (K) of different occupations for which a hard-to-fill vacancy exists at this establishment.

K=

Questions C6-C9 are asked in turn for each of the K occupations with a hard-to-fill vacancy. If K>2, select two of the hard-to-fill vacancy types at random and ask questions C6-C9 about these vacancy types.

INTRODUCTION:

I’d now like to ask you some questions about your hard-to-fill vacancies / vacancy.

C6 What are the main reasons that the <OCCUPATION-k> vacancy is/ vacancies are proving hard-to-fill?

(DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL MENTIONED)

C6

Lack of skills the organisation demands

Lack of qualifications the organisation demands

Lack of work experience the organisation demands

Low number of applicants with the required attitude, motivation or personality

1

2

3

4

Not enough people interested in this type of work

Low number of applicants generally

Wages lower than other firms

Benefits trap/problem with benefits

Location of the firm/poor public transport

Unattractive/poor terms and conditions of employment

9

10

Lack of/poor career progression 11

Job entails shift work /long/unsocial/irregular hours 12

Too much competition from other employers 13

5

6

7

8

Other (WRITE IN) 15

No particular reason 16

Don’t know 17

There is no C7

September 2005


8

37


IF CODES 1, 2 OR 3 AT C6, ASK C8.

C8 Which of the following skills, if any, have you found difficult to obtain from applicants for

<OCCUPATION-k>

?

(READ OUT AND CODE ALL MENTIONED) .

CATI TO ROTATE PRECODES, BUT ALWAYS KEEP CODES 1,2,11 IN SAME ORDER.

CODE 13 (OTHER) SHOULD ALWAYS APPEAR AT THE END OF THE LIST.

General IT user skills 1

IT professional skills 2

Other technical and practical skills 11

Communication skills 3

Customer handling skills 4

Team working skills 5

Problem solving skills 6

Management skills 7

Using numbers 8

Literacy skills 9

Welsh language skills 10

None 12

And what else? (WRITE IN) 13

(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know 14

If CODE 11 ‘Other Technical and practical skills’ at C8, ASK

C9 You said you have found it difficult to obtain other technical and practical skills from applicants for

<occupation>. Exactly what types of technical and practical skills are you finding difficult to obtain?

If necessary: we are interested in skills that are specific to your industry or this job

[PROBE FOR DETAIL]

Open question

There is no C10

38

September 2005


9



ASK ALL WITH HARD TO FILL VACANCIES C2=YES

C11. Which measures have you taken, or do you plan to take, at this establishment to fill the hard-to-fill vacancies, OVER AND ABOVE what you would do normally?

(DO NOT

READ OUT. CODE ALL MENTIONED)

Offered higher pay or more incentives than normal 1

Offered enhanced terms and conditions 2

Considered a wider range of applicants 3

Changed the job specification by giving some of the tasks to other staff 4

Changed the job specification by automating some of the tasks 5

Hired part-time staff 6

Hired contract staff 7

Built links with schools/colleges/universities 8

Used more extensive range of recruitment channels than normal 9

Spent more on recruitment or used more expensive methods 10

Recruited staff from overseas 11

Been prepared to provide more training to less qualified recruits 12

Retrain existing staff 13

Contracted work out 14

Other (WRITE IN) 15

No particular measures taken/planned 16

September 2005


10

39

40


D. Skill Gaps

I’d now like to turn to the skills within your existing workforce. Please do not think about any external recruitment problems that you may face.

ASK ALL.

D1. Thinking about your current employees, would you say that there is a gap between the types of skills that your current employees have now, and those that your company needs to meet its business objectives?

If necessary: We are only interested in skills gaps that are holding back current business objectives for your company/ organisation

Yes

No

1

2

Go to

(D2)

Go to

(D3)

D2. How significant is this skills gap, in terms of the effect on your establishment’s ability to meet its business objectives? Would you say that the skills gap is having a ……

(READ OUT. CODE ONE ONLY)

Very significant/major effect 1

Significant effect 2

Minor effect 3

Or, no real effect 4

READ OUT

You said there were [ number of staff from B3] staff at this establishment, including yourself. I would like you to break this number down into 9 specific occupation categories with no overlap. If staff have more than one job, please only include them in their main function.

IF NECESSARY, INTERVIEWER READ OUT THE NINE CATEGORIES:

The nine categories are:

•

Managers and Senior Managers

•

Professional

•

Associate Professional & Technical Occupations

•

Administrative

•

Skilled

•

Personal Occupations

•

Sales and Customer Service Occupations

•

Process, Plant and Machine Operatives

•

Elementary Occupations

I will be able to give you examples to help you categorise your staff. Some of these categories may not apply to your establishment, but are intended to cover ALL possible occupations.

IF NECESSARY: I will be able to fax or e mail you a sheet listing the different categories to help you with this if necessary

TAKE FAX NUMBER/ E MAIL ADDRESS AND FAX / E MAIL SHEET TO RESPONDENT.

September 2005 11




D3. Do you employ any of your staff at this establishment as:

(

READ OUT EACH

BOLD HEADING ONLY). This will include:

CATI TO LIST 2 DIGIT SOC SUBGROUPS

IF NECESSARY, REMIND RESPONDENT: If staff have more than one job role, please only include them in their main function.

ALLOW NULL = NONE OF THIS TYPE OF STAFF EMPLOYED

1. Yes

2. No

FOR ALL CODE 1 (YES) AT D3, ASK.

D4. Thinking about <textfil 1 digit SOC category from D3> how many in this group are employed as… (INSERT EACH SUBGROUP OF MAIN GROUPS CODED AT D3]

IF MORE THAN 100 EMPLOYEES AT B3, ADD IF NECESSARY: This can be an approximate number

D3 D4

Yes No

Number of employees

Managers & Senior Managers, ADD IF NECESSARY

The types of occupation that might fit in this category are:

[IF ‘MANUFACTURING’ (SIC ON SAMPLE – 01 to 45) directors/ chief executives of major organisations, finance and functional managers, farm managers

[IF ‘SERVICES’ (SIC ON SAMPLE: 50-74 & 93) directors/ chief executives of major organisations, functional managers, quality managers, restaurant managers.]

[IF ‘PUBLIC SECTOR’ SIC ON SAMPLE 75-99 excl 93): senior officials, social services managers, officers in armed forces, housing managers),

Corporate Managers,

ADD IF NECESSARY

[IF ‘MANUFACTURING’ (SIC ON SAMPLE – 01 to 45) for example directors/ chief executives of major organisations, functional managers, quality managers]

[IF ‘SERVICES’ (SIC ON SAMPLE: 50-74 & 93) for example directors/ chief executives of major organisations, functional managers, quality managers.]

[IF ‘PUBLIC SECTOR’ SIC ON SAMPLE 75-99 excl 93): for example senior officials in national and local government, social services managers, officers in armed forces),

Managers and Proprietors in Agriculture and Services,

ADD IF

NECESSARY

[IF ‘MANUFACTURING’ (SIC ON SAMPLE – 01 to 45) farm managers, conservation managers, recycling managers]

[IF ‘SERVICES’ (SIC ON SAMPLE: 50-74 & 93) conference managers, restaurant managers, shopkeepers.]

[IF ‘PUBLIC SECTOR’ SIC ON SAMPLE 75-99 excl 93 housing managers, refuse disposal managers, leisure services managers)

1 2

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

September 2005 12


41

42


Professional occupations,

ADD IF NECESSARY


[IF ‘MANUFACTURING’ (SIC ON SAMPLE – 01 to 45) professional engineers, IT strategy professionals, accountants, scientific researchers]

[IF ‘SERVICES’ (SIC ON SAMPLE: 50-74 & 93) accountants, IT strategy professionals, architects.]

[IF ‘PUBLIC SECTOR’ SIC ON SAMPLE 75-99 excl 93): doctors, teachers, social workers, librarians.]

Science & technology professionals,

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, professional engineers, IT strategy professionals, chemists)

Health professionals

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, doctors, pharmacists, vets)

Teaching and Research professionals

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, education officers/ inspectors, teachers, lecturers, scientific researchers)

Business & public service professionals

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, solicitors, accountants, social workers, clergy, librarians)

Associate professional and technical occupations,

ADD IF

NECESSARY


1 2

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

[IF ‘MANUFACTURING’ (SIC ON SAMPLE – 01 to 45) science and engineering technicians, IT technicians.]

[IF ‘SERVICES’ (SIC ON SAMPLE: 50-74 & 93) insurance underwriters, investment advisers, writers/journalists, sales reps, fitness instructors]

[IF ‘PUBLIC SECTOR’ SIC ON SAMPLE 75-99 excl 93) nurses, junior ranks of armed services, community workers, housing officers, train drivers.]

Science & technology associate professionals

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, science and engineering technicians, IT technicians

Health & social welfare associate professionals

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, nurses, community workers, paramedics, therapists

Protective service occupations

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, junior ranks of armed forces, police)

Culture, media & sport occupations

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, fitness instructors, writers/ journalists, graphic designers

Business & Public service associate professionals ADD

IF NECESSARY

For example, insurance underwriters, sales reps, housing officers, train drivers)

Administrative and Secretarial occupations,

ADD IF

NECESSARY

The types of occupation that might fit in this category are: office assistants, local government assistants, receptionists, PAs

Administrative occupations,

ADD IF NECESSARY

:

For example, wage clerks, local government assistants, civil service executive officers,}

Secretarial and Related occupations,

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example secretaries, receptionists & PAs, telephonists

1 2

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

1 2

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

September 2005


13



Skilled trades occupations,

ADD IF NECESSARY

: The types of occupation that might fit in this category are: electricians, gardeners, motor mechanics, TV engineers, chefs


ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, farmers, gardeners


ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, electricians, TV engineers, machine setters, mechanics)

Skilled construction & building trades

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, roofers, decorators, plasterers)

Textiles, printing and other skilled trades

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, printers, chefs, florists)

Personal service occupations,

ADD IF NECESSARY

The types of occupation that might fit in this category are: travel agents, hairdressers, nursery nurses, teaching assistants.]

Caring personal service occupations ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, care assistants, nursery nurses, dental nurses)

Leisure and other personal service occupations

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, travel agents, hairdressers, undertakers, teaching assistants)

Sales and customer service occupations,

ADD IF NECESSARY

The types of occupation that might fit in this category are:, sales

assistants, telesales, call centre agents, customer care occupations

Sales occupations

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, sales assistants, telesales, rent collectors, market traders)

Customer Service occupations

ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, call centre agents, customer care occupations

Process, plant and machine operatives,

ADD IF NECESSARY

The types of occupation that might fit in this category are: machine operators, assemblers, van drivers, construction, scaffolders


ADD IF NECESSARY

For example, machine operatives, assemblers, machinists )


ADD IF

NECESSARY

For example, van, fork lift, bus, taxi drivers)

Elementary occupations,

ADD IF NECESSARY


1

2

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

1 2

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

1 2

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

1 2

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

[IF ‘MANUFACTURING’ (SIC ON SAMPLE – 01 to 45) labourers, packers, cleaners]

[IF ‘SERVICES’ (SIC ON SAMPLE: 50-74 & 93) bar staff,

/catering assistants, security guards, cleaners]

[IF ‘PUBLIC SECTOR’ SIC ON SAMPLE 75-99 excl 93) cleaners, road sweepers, traffic wardens]

1 2


ADD IF

NECESSARY

For example, farm workers, labourers, packers

Elementary administration and service occupations

ADD IF

NECESSARY

For example, security guards, cleaners, catering assistants, traffic wardens )

(1 – 99999)

(1 – 99999)

September 2005


14

43

44


THERE IS NO D5 OR D6

READ OUT:

IN EACH CATEGORY OF STAFF, I’D LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY YOU THINK ARE

FULLY PROFICIENT AT THEIR JOB. BY FULLY PROFICIENT I MEAN SOMEONE WHO

IS ABLE TO DO THEIR JOB TO THE REQUIRED LEVEL.

ASK ALL, ASKING FOR EACH OCCUPATION WITH 1+ EMPLOYEES AT D4.

CATI TO LIST ONLY THOSE 2 DIGIT SOC OCCUPATIONS CODED AT D4

D7. How many of your existing

[INSERT NUMBER] staff employed as

<OCCUPATION>

D4> would you regard as fully proficient at their job?

Managerial occupations

Corporate Managers

Managers and Proprietors in Agriculture and Services

Professional occupations

Science & technology professionals)

Health professionals)

Teaching and Research professionals

Business & public service professionals

Associate professional and technical occupations

Science & technology associate professionals

Health & social welfare associate professionals

Protective service occupations

Culture, media & sport occupations

Business & Public service associate professionals

0-NUMBER

GIVEN AT D4

Administrative & secretarial occupations

Administrative

Secretarial and Related occupations)

Skilled trades occupations



Skilled construction & building trades

Textiles, printing and other skilled trades

Personal service occupations

Caring personal service occupations

Leisure and other personal service occupations

Sales and customer service occupations,

September 2005


15



Sales occupations

Customer Service occupations

Process, plant and machine operatives



Elementary occupations

Elementary trades, plant and storage related occupations)

Elementary administration and service occupations)

(CATI TO CALCUATE LACK OF FULL PROFICIENCY (P) FOR EACH CATEGORY. THIS IS DEFINED

P=D4 – D7)

If more than one occupation at D7 lacking full proficiency), CATI to randomly select TWO occupations for follow up at D8 and D9

September 2005


16

45


ASK D8 – D10 FOR EACH OCCUPATION IN TURN WHERE P >0

D8 And still thinking about your <occupation at D7> staff that lack full proficiency, which, if any of the following skills do you feel need improving?

(READ OUT AND CODE ALL

MENTIONED)

CATI TO ROTATE PRECODES, BUT ALWAYS KEEP CODES 1,2,11 IN SAME ORDER.

CODE 13 (OTHER) SHOULD ALWAYS APPEAR AT THE END OF THE LIST.

General IT user skills 1

IT professional skills 2

Other technical and practical skills 11

Communication skills 3

Customer handling skills 4

Team working skills 5

Problem solving skills 6

Management skills 7

Using numbers 8

Literacy skills 9

Welsh language skills 10

None 12


(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t know 14

If CODE 11 ‘Other Technical and practical skills’ at D8, ASK

D9 You said that other technical and practical skills need improving. Exactly what types of technical and practical skills need improvement amongst <occupation> staff? [PROBE FOR DETAIL]

If necessary: we are interested in skills that are specific to your industry or this job

Open question

There is no D10

46

September 2005


17



ASK WHERE P>0 FOR ANY OCCUPATION TYPE at D7

D11. Thinking more generally about all types of staff, which of the following measures, if any, have you taken at this establishment to overcome a lack of full proficiency amongst some of your staff?

(READ OUT AND CODE ALL MENTIONED

Increased recruitment 1

Provided further training/development amongst the existing workforce 2

Changed working practices 3

Reallocated work within the company 4

Expanded recruitment channels 5

Increased/expanded trainee programmes 6


(DO NOT READ OUT) No particular measures taken 11

(DO NOT READ OUT) Don’t Know 12

ASK ALL LACKING FULL PROFICIENCY IN >1 OCCUPATION AT D7

D12.

You told me that the following occupations lacked full proficiency [CATI to list all occupations types at D7 that lack full proficiency, i.e. P>0]. In which occupation types is a lack of full proficiency most critical in terms of holding back business objectives? [If more than 2 occupations at D7 where P>0, read out] I will list up to two occupation types.

[List up to 2 occupations where P>0]

[IF 1 OCCUPATION LACKING FULL PROFICIENCY AT D7

You told me that <occupation type at D7 that lacks full proficiency, i.e. P>0) lacks full proficiency. Is this lack of full proficiency critical in terms of holding back business objectives?]

September 2005


18

47


E. Off-the-job training

I AM NOW GOING TO ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT OFF-THE-JOB TRAINING. BY OFF-

THE-JOB TRAINING, I MEAN ALL TRAINING THAT WAS DELIVERED AWAY FROM THE

IMMEDIATE WORK POSITION. IT CAN BE GIVEN AT YOUR PREMISES OR ELSEWHERE. IT

INCLUDES ALL SORTS OF COURSES – FULL OR PART-TIME; CORRESPONDENCE, DISTANCE

OR E-LEARNING; HEALTH AND SAFETY TRAINING AND SO ON – AS LONG AS IT IS FUNDED OR

ARRANGED BY YOUR ORGANISATION FOR EMPLOYEES WORKING AT THIS SITE.

E1 ASK ALL.

Has your organisation funded or arranged any off-the-job training for any of your employees over the past 12 months at this site?

Yes

No

Don’t know

1

2

3

Go to

(E2)

Go to

(E4)

Go to

Section F

ASK IF HAVE ARRANGED/FUNDED TRAINING CODE 1 AT E1

E2 And for which of the following categories of employees at this site has off-the-job training been funded or arranged over the past year?

PROGRAMME CATI TO LIST ONLY 1 DIGIT SOC OCCUPATIONS FROM D6

MULTI-CODE

Code all that apply


Professional occupations

Associate professional and technical occupations

Administrative & secretarial occupations

Sales and customer service occupations,

Skilled trades occupations




19

48

September 2005




E3. Is the off-the-job training you provide for staff at this establishment mainly … READ OUT. CODE

ONE ONLY

Statutory, that is, because it is a legal requirement for your staff to be trained in this area (add if necessary: for example Health and Safety training)

1

Or Non statutory, that is, not legally required

2

Or, evenly split between the two? 3

(Don’t know) 4

E4 Why have you not arranged or funded any off-the-job training for your employees over the past 12 months. Is it because of any of the following

…… (READ OUT. CODE ALL

THAT APPLY)

Staff have sufficient skills to do their job 1

Cost of off-the-job training 2

Time constraints 3

No money available for training 4

There is no suitable training available 5

Lack of information on training available 6

Other training method preferred (e.g. on-the-job training) 7

Trained staff will be poached by other employers 8

Any other reason (WRITE IN) 9

There is no E5

F. Final Section

F1.

Do you currently have any skills or training issues on which you would like information or help in identifying the most appropriate source of advice? I can pass on your details on to Business Eye or

ELWa and ask someone to call you. [If necessary: we will only pass on your name, address and telephone number, NOT your answers to this survey]

Interviewer notes: BUSINESS EYE is a free, impartial information service for Wales created to find the answer to your business questions. Whether you are an established company, a new idea, a sole trader or an employer of hundreds, Business Eye can put you in contact with support from the public, private or voluntary sectors.

ELWa helps businesses to improve results through making the most of their people.

1. Yes

2. No

September 2005 20


49


F2. The results will be reported in the autumn of 2005, and we can arrange for the Future Skills Wales

Partnership to send you a summary of results. Would you like to receive a copy? EMPHASISE: If you do want a copy we will only pass on your name and address, and not your answers to this survey.

Yes 1 CHECK CORRECT

ADDRESS AND POSTCODE

ON SAMPLE

No 2 Continue

Thank and close

50

September 2005


21

NOTES:


51

CONSTRUCTION SKILLS 2005 FUTURE SKILLS WALES 2005 SECTOR SKILLS SURVEY

CONSTRUCTION SKILLS

FUTURE SKILLS WALES

2005 SECTOR SKILLS SURVEY

PARTNERS

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