Employers’ provision. In addition to asking questions about skills needs, the Employers’ Survey also asked for information on what training was provided by organisations. In terms of off the job training it was found that 67% of staff in the workplaces surveyed received such training. This is similar to findings from previous surveys, for example Futureskills Scotland, in their profile of the social services sector (Futureskills Scotland, 2005a) found that 76% of workplaces in the sector provided off the job training for their staff compared to just 46% of workplaces across all parts of the Scottish economy. In our Employers’ Survey some of the key findings on training were as follows: • 72% of professional and 71% of managerial staff received off the job training in the last year • 58% of administrative & secretarial staff received off the job training in the last year • 59% of associate professional staff and elementary staff each received off the job training in the last year. Perhaps the most notable trend from these results is that associate professional staff receive a lower proportion of training than the average and also experienced the greatest proportion of skills gaps (see 4.1.3 above). Employers were asked about their provision of any form of training and 96% of those workplaces surveyed were found to offer some form of training to staff in the preceding 12 months. This compares to a Scotland- wide average across all industries of 63% (Futureskills Scotland, 2005b). When asked about the type of training they offered the main type was health & safety, cited by 90% of those employers who trained their staff. Other types of training common across the sector included: • Job specific training, cited by 89% of workplaces surveyed • Induction training, cited by 79% of workplaces • Management training, cited by 75% of workplaces • 25% of workplaces surveyed stated that they provided soft skills training. The relatively small number of workplaces providing soft skills training stands out in light of the view that those types of skills will be important over the next three years. It may be that the pattern of training will change, or needs to change, to meet these future needs.
Employers’ provision. As part of the work for Stages 1 and 2 of the SSA, SfC&D commissioned GEN Consulting to undertake research into the views of employers on the skills needs of their workforce. This survey also asked employers about the training opportunities they provided for their staff members. In terms of off the job training9 it was found that 67% of the workplaces surveyed had provided such training to staff in the preceding 12 months. This is similar to findings from previous surveys, for example Futureskills Scotland, in their profile of the social services sector (Futureskills Scotland, 2005) found that 76% of workplaces in the sector provided off the job training for their staff compared to just 46% of workplaces across all parts of the Scottish economy. In our Employers’ Survey some of the key findings on training were that: • the highest levels of training were found amongst professional and managerial staff with 72% and 71% respectively having received off the job training in the last year, • some of the lowest levels of training were found amongst associate professional & technical staff and elementary staff 59% of whom had received off the job training in the last year.
