Report highlights skills needs

Skills shortages were reported in the construction industry

Job vacancies in Northern Ireland's private sector are on the increase but are proving harder to fill, according to a survey.

The Northern Ireland Skills Monitoring Survey 2000, published on Tuesday, found that the number of vacancies had doubled since 1998.

Vacancies were reported by 21% of employers but more than 60% of posts were considered difficult to fill.

Dr Sean Farren, the minister for higher and further education, training and employment, said the report highlighted employers' needs.

"The executive is committed to developing a world class workforce in Northern Ireland, a workforce which reflects and meets the needs of employers," he said.

Sean Farren: Welcomed the report

"But to do that we need to fully understand what those needs are. We need hard information and data on what skills employers need.

"This report provides us with that information and data. It is based on gold standard research and provides government with the most comprehensive picture it has yet received on this crucial area."

The report also showed that 57% of all positions were considered to be difficult to fill for reasons other than a lack of skills.

The most frequent reason given was that not enough people were interested in that particular type of work.

Two thirds of employers said that such vacancies placed a strain on the management of existing staff to cover the shortages.

The report also showed that skills shortages were most frequently reported in the business services and construction industries, and for associate professional and technical, managerial and craft and related occupations.

Report findings

21% of employers reported vacancies

64% of vacancies difficult to fill

7% of employers found it difficult to retain staff

15% of employers reported a skills gap

Dr Farren said a number of key messages were contained in the survey.

"The level of vacancies reported reflects the growing number of jobs being created," he said.

"That is encouraging evidence that our economy is continuing to strengthen.

"However, the growth in the opportunities created brings with it the challenge of ensuring that vacancies are filled efficiently and effectively.

"That challenge is highlighted by the increased difficulty in filling vacancies."

'Excellent overview'

The report was published by the Northern Ireland Skills Task Force, and is thought to be the largest ever survey of the skills needs of the province's private sector.

It was part of the task force's programme of research to investigate the current and future demand and supply for skills.

Bill McGinnis OBE, Chairman of the Northern Ireland Skills Task Force, presented the report to Dr Farren.

He said: "The survey gives us an excellent overview of skill needs across the economy and complements other research we have commissioned which focuses specifically on priority skill areas.

"There is a lot of valuable information in the report and it also raises a number of issues for us to consider.

"I would also like to thank again those employers who gave up their valuable time to respond to the survey."