2007 Employer Skills Survey Published

18 December 2007

The results of the recent Jersey Employer Skills Survey have been announced. The survey, which takes place every three years, examines a number of issues, including the size and structure of the Island’s workforce, recruitment activity and skills’ deficiencies as well as gauging the extent of other challenges that local businesses have to face.

The survey, commissioned by the Minister for Economic Development, Senator Philip Ozouf, was conducted by a leading research company, IFF Research Ltd, who specialise in skills and employer surveys. A total of 761 Jersey employers, made up of a representative sample of all sector and size organisations, were interviewed by telephone using a pre-determined questionnaire.

Overall, the survey has found that Jersey businesses have seen no significant change since the survey was last carried out in 2004. It reveals that more organisations are now growing in terms of workforce rather than cutting back. It did, however, find that one fifth of employers are experiencing challenges in attracting staff and there is an increase in employer concerns about the ability of their businesses to adapt to new policy and regulatory change.

The survey results go on to say that recruitment activity has remained constant since 2004. Over half of the employers have recruited over the course of the past year, and just over a fifth currently have a vacancy.

The results conclude that skills shortages are the most common cause of hard-to-fill vacancies, although this is significantly reduced from the 2004 figures. One in five employers say their staff are not fully proficient and gaps most commonly relate to personal attributes, communication, technical, practical and customer handling skills. Almost half of the employers with these skills gaps report a detrimental effect for their businesses in terms of the ‘bottom line’.

Addressing the results of the survey will be one of the first tasks for the newly formed Skills Jersey Executive, which was recently announced by Senator Ozouf. He says, “Raising skills is important if we are to maintain our competitiveness and boost economic growth. This survey indicates that there is awareness amongst employers of the need to train. Some of the results are not surprising in view of the fact Jersey’s economy is running at nearly full capacity. This report helps us to understand where skills gaps are and the Skills Executive will work with employers to address them”.