This research explores skills gaps and skills shortages in paid employees within the voluntary sector in England in 2007. It was commissioned by the UK Workforce Hub to provide information on the skills and workforce development of voluntary sector employees in the UK.

The aim of this research is to explore and examine the nature, scope and impact of skills shortages and skills gaps in the paid workforce of the UK voluntary sector. It will provide reliable measures at a national level by sector and size of organisation. The analysis covers areas including:

• employers' experiences of hard to fill vacancies and the reasons for these
• employers' views on recruitment over the next three years
• how many employers have skills gaps in their workforce, the types of functions and skills affected, the causes of these gaps, any actions taken to overcome them, and the impact these deficiencies have
• the extent to which organisations have a formal training plan and training budget

This report from the Centre for the Economics of Education provides a detailed analysis of the current economic value of the full range of vocational level 2 and level 3 qualifications held by the English workforce, focusing particularly on the economic return to National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ).

The report addresses questions such as: which level 2 and level 3 vocational qualifications give particularly high wage or employment returns? Which sectors or occupations, if any, now see positive returns to NVQ2 and NVQ3 qualifications? It considers in general how wage returns to different qualifications vary by age acquired, subject, by region and by mode of acquisition.

The publication of the two Skills Strategy White Papers, the Further Education White Paper, and the commissioning of the Leitch Report represent a heightened policy interest in skills. The Committee commends the Government for its sustained focus on skills. It is vital that this policy focus is continued within the new Departmental structure, and that higher education is not allowed to dominate the work of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Skills and prosperity - a fundamental link?
The Committee nevertheless raise a number of concerns about the direction of current policy. The Government's approach to skills is one predicated on a direct relationship between prosperity - both social and economic - and skills.

Evidence suggests that skills are only part of a very complex equation, and simply boosting training will not necessarily lead to increased prosperity - particularly in economic terms.

What is needed is more coherent support for employers to develop their businesses as a whole, addressing skills needs alongside other issues such as capital investment, innovation and workforce planning.

Improving the national stock of qualifications has been a central aim of skills policy - and Lord Leitch's ambitions are also framed in these terms. However, an increased national stock of qualifications will not necessarily be an accurate indicator of an increased national stock of skills. What is more, the tying of funding to courses leading to full qualifications goes directly against what many employers and individuals say would be of most benefit to them - ''bite-sized'' learning that can be built up over time.

A coherent skills system?
The current infrastructure for delivering the Government's ambitions for skills is extremely complicated, and there is still significant work to be done to minimise overlaps between different intermediary bodies, reducing inefficiency and duplication of effort.

A comprehensive review to map functions and funding flows across agencies is needed, as is a thorough value-for-money analysis of the system as a whole. This need not necessarily pave the way for further major institutional upheaval, but would allow evidence-based improvements and the release of resources over a period of time to tackle skill needs more effectively.

The system also often appears highly complex from a user perspective. Comprehensive adult Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) is vital, but many people have little or no access to it.

The Committee warmly welcomes the Leitch Report's proposals to improve the system of adult IAG, through the Learndirect brand, and the Government's response. The Leitch Report is the most recent in a very long line of reviews identifying significant weaknesses in the IAG system and so it is essential that the Government demonstrates absolute commitment to remedying this situation as a matter of urgency.

This is the progress report to the meeting of the Public Services Forum held on 15th May 2007.

The Public Services Forum (PSF) Learning and Skills Task Group was established in summer 2006 and given a remit by the PSF to look at the following issues:

• scope out the major long-term skills priorities for public services in the context of workforce development and the overall aim of improving public service



• address a small number of key strategic public sector skills issues on a cross-sector basis.



• develop an action plan for employers and trade unions to take forward and that would influence the LSC's remit on skills.

Education Secretary Alan Johnson launched unionlearn's annual report 'One year on' at their conference on 11th June 2007. The report reveals a very successful year for the organisation.

Unionlearn have ncreased the number of union learning reps by 3,000 to 18,000. And the number of people who accessed courses through the union route went up by 50 per cent to 150,000.

Gordon Brown launched unionlearn last year with the aim of helping unions to open up more learning opportunities for their members, particularly those disadvantaged in the labour market.

The reports shows you how much more has been achieved over the past year and includes unionlearn's strategic plan, targets and new structure.

The report recommends that the UK commits to a compelling new vision - to become a world leader in skills by 2020. This means increasing skills attainment at all levels by 2020 so that:

• 95% of working age adults have basic skills in both functional literacy and numeracy - rising from 85% and 79% respectively in 2005
• more than 90% of adults are skilled to GCSE level or to vocational equivalents - rising from 69% in 2005
• the number of Apprentices in the UK is boosted to 500,000 each year, with improved quantity, quality and esteem for intermediate skills
• more than 40% of adults are skilled to graduate level and above - up from 29% in 2005

'Economically valuable skills' must be delivered through a demand-led approach, facilitated by a new culture of learning, and an appetite for improved skills amongst individuals and employers. To attain these goals, the system must become more efficient, responding to market needs, and Government, employers and individuals must all engage and invest more in skills development.

The report identifies necessary institutional reforms and simplification. Lord Leitch recommends radical change across the whole skills spectrum by:

• Increasing skill attainments at all levels
• Routing public funding of vocational skills through Train to Gain and Learner Accounts
• Strengthening the employer voice on skills through creation of a new Commission for Employment & Skills, increasing employer engagement and investment in skills, reforming Sector Skills Councils who will simplify and approve vocational training
• Launching a new 'pledge' for employers to voluntarily train more employees at work. If insufficient progress has been made by 2010, introduce a statutory right for employees to access workplace training
• Increasing employer investment in higher level qualifications, especially in Apprenticeships and in degree and postgraduate levels; significantly more training in the workplace
• Raising people's aspirations and awareness of the value of skills, creating a new universal adult careers service to diagnose skill needs with a skills health check available for all
• Government to introduce compulsory education or workplace training up to age 18 following introduction of new Diplomas and expanded Apprenticeship route
• Integrating the public employment and skills services to deliver sustainable employment, enabling more disadvantaged people to gain skills and find work, developing employer-led Employment and Skills Boards

The prize for achieving this new ambition is huge - a more prosperous and productive society, with higher rates of employment, and lower levels of poverty and inequality. The report estimates a potential net benefit of at least £80 billion over 30 years, equivalent to an annual boost of £2.5 billion.

Lord Leitch concludes: "Skills were once a key lever for prosperity and fairness. Skills are now increasingly the key lever."

The National Employers Skills Survey 2005 provides detailed information on the incidence, extent and nature of skills problems facing employers, in terms of both recruitment and skill gaps within their existing workforce. Here are some of the headlines from the Key Findings report:

• The incidence and extent of recruitment difficulties and, specifically, skills-related recruitment difficulties in the labour market in 2005 show very little change compared with 2004.



• At the time of interview, 7 per cent of establishments reported having any hard-to-fill vacancies (HtFVs), and 4 per cent spontaneously cited skill shortages among applicants as at least part of the reason why these vacancies were proving hard to fill.



• The proportion of establishments reporting any (unprompted) skill-shortage vacancies (SSVs) has remained unchanged at 4 per cent since 2001.



• In 2005, employers experienced (unprompted) skill shortages among applicants for 17 per cent of all vacancies, equivalent to 5 (unprompted) SSVs per 1,000 employees.



• 65 per cent of employers had funded or arranged any training or development for any of their workforce in the previous 12 months



• Employers funded or arranged 162 million days of training over the previous 12 months, equivalent to 7.5 days of training per annum for every worker in the country.



• Employers spent approximately £33.3 billion on training over the previous 12 months. Total training spend is equivalent to £1,550 per employee and just under £2,550 per person trained.

The National Employers Skills Survey 2005 provides detailed information on the incidence, extent and nature of skills problems facing employers, in terms of both recruitment and skill gaps within their existing workforce. It also explores employers' activities and expenditure in relation to training.

This is the regional report for London and is one of 9 Regional Profiles. The aim of the report is to provide a succinct analysis of changing patterns of employment by ethnic groups and for migrants.

Here are some of the key findings to emerge for London:

• Ethnic minorities accounted for 27% of employment in London in 2004, compared with 17% in 1994.



• The largest single ethnic group is people of Indian origin, accounting for almost 7% of total employment in 2004.



• Ethnic groups account for a much larger share of employment in the London than in England as a whole.

This National Report, provides an overview and some cross-regional comparisons, while the Regional Profiles focus in more detail on each English Region, presenting results in a common and consistent fashion.

The aim of the report is to provide a succinct analysis of changing patterns of employment by ethnic groups and for migrants. It provides a technical description of sources and methods as well as covering other issues related to definition and classification.