Skills in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland 2004

This report presents the results of the Employers Skill Survey 2004 for the Highlands and Islands and gives an overview of the main skill-related issues facing employers.  A total of 1,500 employers took part in the survey which considered topics such as training, skill gaps, skill shortages and hard-to-fill vacancies.

Labour market conditions in the Highlands and Islands have continued to strengthen over the last two to three years. The number of people unemployed has fallen, whilst the number of employees in employment has increased.

Levels of recruitment and labour turnover in the 12 months prior to the 2004 survey were similar to levels in 2003, but higher than those recorded in 2002.  The vacancy rate (the number of vacancies as a percentage of employees) in 2004 was lower than in both 2003 and 2002.

Around half of all vacancies were considered hard-to-fill by employers which indicating that the jobs market operates effectively to fill many job vacancies.  Of those vacancies that were hard to fill, only 33 per cent were hard to fill due to a shortage of necessary skills. Skill shortages represent a very small proportion (less than 1 per cent) of total employee numbers.  Where other vacancies are hard-to-fill, it appears this is more related to the characteristics of the job on offer rather than the skills on the applicants, e.g. location of job, low wages, poor terms and conditions etc.

Around one in five workplaces reported a skill gap (where employees do not possess the skills necessary for their post.  These arise mainly, though not exclusively through weaknesses in the softer skills such as organisational and planning skills, customer handling and problem solving); this affected around 9 per cent of employees, a figure that is comparable to earlier surveys.  These skill gaps disproportionately affect posts which require lower levels of skills or qualifications; the sectors affected most by skill gaps are the hotel and restaurant and parts of the public sector.

Turning to training, the majority of Scottish employers had funded or arranged training for staff in the 12 months prior to the survey, while 37 per cent of all employees in Scotland received some form of off-the-job training - slightly down on 2002 and 2003 levels - with the public administration and education, financial intermediation and real estate and energy, water and construction sectors most likely to offer training to staff.

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