Description:
This indicator measures the proportion of establishments in Scotland with skills under-utilisation using the Employer Skills Survey (ESS).
The headline figure presented is the incidence of skills under-utilisation. In the UK ESS 2022, under-use of skills was measured by asking employers how many staff, if any, had both qualifications and skills more advanced than required for their current job role. It should be noted that the survey can only capture what employers are aware of and report.
The indicator provides a measure of skills under-utilisation within Scotland. This helps to inform policy, planning and service delivery and deliver on our strategic priorities of improving productivity and Inclusive Growth.
Source of Data:
The data for this indicator are gathered through the Employer Skills Survey (ESS). The 2022 survey was carried out by the Department for Education. It follows a longstanding UK-wide ESS series (including Scotland) which was conducted biennially from 2011 to 2017. In 2020, Scotland carried out its own Scottish Employer Skills Survey. Fieldwork for the 2020 survey was undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, with fieldwork between 20 October and 22 December 2020. Results (including comparisons over time) should be considered within this context. When comparing differences over time, it should also be noted that fieldwork for the 2020 survey (October to December) was carried out later in the year than for previous UK surveys (May to October). The 2022 survey had a longer fieldwork period, between June 2022 and March 2023. This will mean that any seasonal differences (for example, in recruitment patterns) will be reflected in the figures.
The UK Employer Skills Survey 2022 involved 5,207 telephone interviews with employers across Scotland and 72,918 telephone interviews with employers across the UK. The 2022 survey was a core and modular survey. Questions on skills utilisation were asked in Modules B and D. This means that the Scotland sample size for the skills utilisation question is 2,547 employers. The sample was representative of businesses across Scotland in terms of size, sector and geographic region. The research provides a comprehensive source of intelligence on the skills challenges that UK employers face both within their existing workforces and when recruiting, the levels and nature of investment in training and development, and the relationship between skills challenges and training activity.
Employers with at least two people on the payroll were in scope, and interviews were conducted at an establishment level with the most senior person at the site with responsibility for human resources and workplace skills.
The Scotland release from the UK ESS 2022 survey is available here.
DfE’s UK-wide release from the 2022 survey is available here.
Definitions:
The headline figure presented is the incidence of Skills Under-Utilisation. This is the proportion of establishments with at least one employee with skills and qualifications more advanced than required for their current job role.
The disaggregated data set also includes data on the density of Skills Under-Utilisation. This is the proportion of all staff with skills and qualifications more advanced than required for their current job role.
The disaggregated data set also includes regional breakdowns. The break by region reported is by Regional Outcome Agreement (ROA). Please refer to the Scotland report (Annex A) for how ROA matches to local authorities.
The disaggregated data set also reports breakdowns by sizeband. It should be noted that there is a change in sizeband reported from the 2020 survey onwards: 100+ instead of 250+. The sample was structured to separate businesses with 100 to 249 employees from large businesses with 250 employees or more. However, weighting on a size by sector basis meant that for some cells within the 250+ group there were either zero interviews or a very small number of interviews achieved. To overcome this issue, the 100 to 249 and 250+ groups were merged for weighting and reporting purposes.
Criteria for Change:
This evaluation is based on: any difference within +/- 1 percentage point (pp) of last year's figure suggests that the position is likely to be maintaining than showing any change. An increase of 1 pp or more suggests the position is worsening; whereas a decrease of 1 pp or more suggests the position is improving.
For information on general methodological approach, please click the link.