Cindy Rampersaud responds to Employer Skills Survey data highlighting skills gap in Health and Social Care and Construction industries
Today the Department for Education published the 2019 Employer Skills Survey (PDF) , a definitive source of intelligence for understanding the skills challenges faced by employers.
The results found that Business Services and Health and Social Work sectors in the UK had the highest volumes of skill-shortage vacancies. The density of skill-shortage vacancies was highest in Construction and Manufacturing sectors, where approaching two-fifths of vacancies were proving hard-to-fill because of applicants lacking the appropriate skills, qualifications or experience.
Commenting on the results, Cindy Rampersaud, Senior Vice President for BTECs and Apprenticeships at Pearson, said:
“The DfE’s Employer Skills Survey released today once again highlights the skills shortages in both the ‘Health and Social Work’ and ‘Construction and Manufacturing’ sectors. The events of 2020 have shown us just how important these key workers of today and tomorrow are to our society - the healthcare professionals, engineers and construction workers who will be central to supporting our communities and helping to rebuild our economy.
“The FE sector plays a vital role in preparing young people and adults with the knowledge and skills for careers in these sectors. Pearson’s BTECs, for example, are a vital route into the health and social care sector with 1 in 4 candidates accepted by nursing degree programmes via this qualification.
"Our priority is to continue to engage with the FE sector and employers to ensure our learning provision is the best it can be to prepare young people and adults with the knowledge and skills needed for the jobs of the future.”
You can also read a longer blog on this topic from Cindy, published earlier this month.