10,000 More Jobs In 2 Years

The number of job vacancies in Scotland has risen more than a fifth in the past two years, according to a poll of firms.

The number of job vacancies in Scotland has risen more than a fifth in the past two years, according to a poll of firms.

Ten thousand more positions were available last year compared with 2011.
 
The Employer Skills Survey found spending on training increased by 200-million pounds over the period, bucking the UK trend.

Other key findings of the Scottish survey include:

- The number of employers reporting skills gaps has fallen from 21% in 2011 to 19% in 2013.

- The proportion of employers taking action to tackle skills gaps is up from 75% to 90%.

- More employees are receiving training – up from 58% to 65%.

- The average time spent training has increased to 4.3 days per year, compared to a decrease for the UK as a whole.

Chris Brodie from Skills Development Scotland said there are "big shifts" in where demand for skilled people is coming from and the types of skills that employers are looking for.

He said: “The impact of innovation and new sectors in the economy is likely to create demand for new skills sets that employers as yet can’t articulate or aren’t aware of.

“The rising number of vacancies shows that there is a great deal of work to be done to ensure that Scotland’s future skills needs are met, and SDS are focused on this task.

“Over the last two years, SDS have invested heavily in employer-led research to better understand the skills needs of key sectors.

“We’ve been able to work with employers, sector skills councils, trade bodies and industry leadership groups to develop 10 National Skills Investment Plans covering a range of growing industries from Food and Drink and Tourism, through to Energy and Engineering, Life Sciences, Chemical Sciences and ICT.

“These Skills Investment Plans are truly industry-led and set out a clear statement of the sector’s growth ambition, how demand for skills is changing in that sector, and a clear set of actions that SDS, colleges, universities and employers will take to better align skills provision with skills demand.”