Skill shortage vacancies

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Skill shortage vacancies

Proportion of establishments reporting at least one skills shortage vacancy. Find out more about this indicator.

The proportion of employers in Scotland with at least one skills shortage vacancy (SSV) in the 2011 Employer Skills Survey (ESS) was 3% compared to 4% in the 2013 ESS. In the 2015 ESS survey the proportion of employers in Scotland with at least one SSV increased to 6%, which was an increase of 2pp from the 2013 figure. In the 2017 ESS the proportion employers in Scotland with at least one SSV remained at 6%.

The latest data shows that the proportion of employers in Scotland with at least one SSV is 3% (in 2020).

The proportion of employers in Scotland with at least one skills shortage vacancy was 3% in 2020. This figure has fallen since 2017 (6%).

In 2020, 21% of all vacancies in Scotland were skill shortages. This is lower than in 2017 when 24% of all vacancies in Scotland were skill shortages.

In 2020, West Lothian region had the highest incidence of skill shortage vacancies (SSV) (6%) and Ayrshire (1%) and Lanarkshire (1%) regions the lowest.
In 2017, Forth Valley, West and West Lothian regions had the highest incidence of skills shortage vacancies (SSV) (9%). The lowest incidence of SSV was 1% in the Borders region.
In 2020 the density of SSVs was highest in Fife region (32%) and lowest in Dumfries and Galloway (13%). In contrast, in 2017 the density of SSVs was highest in West Lothian region (38%) and lowest in Fife region (13%).
In general, the largest establishments are more likely to have SSVs. This was true in both 2020 and 2017. In 2017, the density of SSVs was greater among small establishments than large establishments. In 2020, the density of SSVs was highest in establishment of sizeband 5 to 24 (23%).
In 2020, the incidence of SSVs was highest in Public Admin (10%). The lowest incidence was in Financial Services (0%).
The incidence of SSVs was highest in the Education Sector in 2017 (11%). The lowest incidence of SSVs was in Primary Sector & Utilities in 2017 (3%).
The density of SSVs was highest in Health and Social Work (26%) in 2020. In a number of sectors base size was too small to report (<30).
The density of SSVs was highest in Business Services sector in 2017 (37%). The lowest density of SSVs was in Information & Communications in 2017 (8%).

This indicator can be broken down by establishment size, region, and sector. These breakdowns can be viewed on the Equality Evidence Finder.