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Development of Engineering Skills Balance Sheets

Client
Semta

Completion date
May 2008

Research description
The purpose of this research was to set out a detailed skill needs assessment and assessment of current provision for Engineering and associated sectors across each of the nations and regions of the UK, building on work undertaken previously in Sector Skills Agreements (SSAs).

The Sector Skills Balance sheets reviewed the demand for skills from employers, the available supply of education and learning, key gaps and mismatches. The aim of the Skills Balance Sheet was to secure for each sector the range and level of skills in its labour force that are necessary to achieve productivity at internationally competitive levels. The following analysis was included within each Sector Balance Sheet:

• Sector profile - numbers employed and numbers of establishments, size profile of establishments and concentrations of employment;

• Workforce demographics - working status, gender, disability, occupation, ethnicity and age;

• Employment trends - historical trends, recent employer experience and expectations and future projections;

• Competitiveness and productivity - analysis covering each individual sector, including analysis of Gross Value Added;

• Skills issues - drivers of skills change, changing skills needs, current skills and qualifications, recruitment issues and skills needs and gaps;

• Mapping provision - Vocational education and training, Apprenticeships and Work Based Learning, Secondary education and Higher Education qualifications relevant to the Engineering industry;

• Vocational Education and Training - NVQs, Apprenticeships, Young Apprenticeships and uptake in Further Education and Work Based Learning;

• Secondary Education - GCSEs and 'A' Levels;

• Higher Education - Student enrolments, student achievement and net flows of students into and out of regions/nations;

• Quality issues - Overall indicators of satisfaction with current provision and summary of Ofsted inspection outcomes in England;

• Employer training commitment and views - Overall commitment to training, use of different training providers, assessing staff training needs, training delivery methods, barriers to training, expenditure and access to funding for training;

• Implications for action - Upskilling those with no qualifications, improving management and leadership skills, addressing gender imbalances, tackling an ageing workforce, projected restructuring hotspots, addressing weaknesses in FE College provision, improving HE provision and targeting 'at risk' employers.

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