Employer Skills Survey 
Calendar year 2019

Description

This document describes the key data from the Employer Skills Survey 2019. Findings from this survey were originally published in research reports (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employer-skills-survey-2019) in October 2020. This document brings together some of the key indicators and filters from the survey as official statistics for the first time. Future releases are likely to expand the number of indicators and filters available.

The technical documentation (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-skills-survey-2019-uk-excluding-scotland-technical-documentation) should be referenced alongside this data. It provides information on sampling, data sources and the methodology used in producing the data.

Coverage

This release includes key data from the Employer Skills Survey 2019, with comparison data for some indicators from 2017. The Employer Skills Survey 2019 covered England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as Scotland did not take part in the Employer Skills Survey that year. Therefore, comparisons to the 2017 survey are comparisons to England, Wales and Northern Ireland only. Fieldwork for the 2019 survey took place from May to December 2019.

This release covers:

- Vacancy incidence, density and volume in 2017 and 2019
- Hard to fill vacancy incidence, density and volume in 2017 and 2019
- Skill-shortage vacancy incidence, density and volume in 2017 and 2019
- Skill gap incidence, density and volume in 2017 and 2019
- Average days of training per employee and trainee, total number of training days and number and proportion of employees trained and establishments arranging and paying for training in the past 12 months in 2017 and 2019
- Vacancy measures by occupational group in 2019
- Employer investment in training in 2019

Data can be broken down by:

- UK nation and English region
- Sector (13 sector groups)
- Single or multi-site
- Establishment type
- Establishment size
- Occupational group

Data files

All data files associated with this release are listed below with guidance on their content. To download any of these files, please visit our data catalogue.

Data files

Core Indicators

Filename: core_indicators_17_19.csv
Geographic levels: National; Regional
Time period: 2017 to 2019
Content summary: The total volume, incidence and density of skill gaps, vacancies, hard to reach vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies, as well as average and total days of training, number and proportion of employees trained and establishments arranging or paying for training, in 2017 and 2019. Indicators can be broken down by UK nation, English region, sector, site type, establishment type and establishment size.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name         |  Variable description
--------------------  |  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
employees             |  Number of employees
estab_size            |  Establishment size - Filter by establishment size
estab_type            |  Establishment type - Filter by establishment type
has_htfv              |  Number of establishments with at least one hard-to-fill vacancy
has_skillgap          |  Number of establishments with at least one skill gap (i.e. 1+ employee not fully proficient)
has_ssv               |  Number of establishments with at least one skill-shortage vacancy
has_trained           |  Number of establishments that arranged or paid for any training in the past 12 months
has_vac               |  Number of establishments with at least one vacancy
htfv_den              |  Hard-to-fill vacancy density (HtF vacancies as a share of vacancies)
htfv_inc              |  Percentage of establishments with at least one hard-to-fill vacancy
htfv_sum              |  Number of hard-to-fill vacancies
sample_size           |  Unweighted base of establishments
sample_size_w_vac     |  Unweighted base of establishments with vacancies
sector                |  Sector - Filter by sector
single_or_multi_site  |  Single site or one of multiple sites within organisation - Filter by single or multi-sites
skillgap_den          |  Skill gap density (the proportion of employees judged not fully proficient)
skillgap_inc          |  Percentage of establishments with at least one  skill gap (i.e. 1+ employee not fully proficient)
skillgaps             |  Number of skill gaps (employees not fully proficient)
ssv_den               |  Skill-shortage vacancy density (SSVs as a share of vacancies)
ssv_inc               |  Percentage of establishments with at least one skill-shortage vacancy
ssv_sum               |  Number of skill-shortage vacancies
train_days_employee   |  Average number of days training per employee
train_days_trainee    |  Average number of days training per trainee
trainees              |  Number of employees trained in the past 12 months
training_days         |  Total number of training days for employees
training_den          |  Proportion of employees that received any training in the past 12 months
training_inc          |  Percentage of establishments that arranged or paid for any training in the past 12 months
vac_den               |  Vacancy density (vacancies per 100 employees)
vac_inc               |  Percentage of establishments with at least one vacancy
vac_sum               |  Number of vacancies
weight_base           |  Number of establishments in population


Investment in training

Filename: iit_19.csv
Geographic levels: National; Regional
Time period: 2019
Content summary: The total investment through all training, off-the-job training and on-the-job training, as well as investment in training per employee and trainee in 2019. Indicators can be broken down by UK nation, sector and establishment size.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name       |  Variable description
------------------  |  ----------------------------------------------------------
employees           |  Number of employees
estab_size          |  Establishment size - Filter by establishment size
iit_sample_size     |  Sample size in the Investment in Training follow-up survey
sector              |  Sector - Filter by sector
sum_off_job_mn      |  Total investment through off-the-job training
sum_on_job_mn       |  Total investment through on-the-job training
sum_total_mn        |  Total investment through all training
total_per_employee  |  Investment in training per employee
total_per_trainee   |  Investment in training per trainee
trainees            |  Number of trainees


Vacancy measures by occupational group

Filename: vac_indicators_soc.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2019
Content summary: The total number of vacancies and establishments with at least one vacancy at 4 digit SOC level, number of hard to fill and skill-shortage vacancies, as well as hard to fill and skill-shortage vacancy density in 2019. Indicators can be broken down by UK nation, occupational group and sector.

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name                 |  Variable description
----------------------------  |  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
htfv_den                      |  Hard to fill vacancy density (as a percentage of vacancies for the SOC code)
htfv_sum                      |  Number of hard to fill vacancies
sample_estab_w_vac_for_x_occ  |  Number of establishments with at least one vacancy at the 4 digit SOC level
sector                        |  Sector - Filter by sector
soc_1_labelled                |  1 digit SOC code and name - Filter by 1 digit SOC code (SOC2010)
soc_2_labelled                |  2 digit SOC code and name - Filter by 2 digit SOC code (SOC2010)
soc_3_labelled                |  3 digit SOC code and name - Filter by 3 digit SOC code (SOC2010)
soc_4_labelled                |  4 digit SOC code and name - Filter by 4 digit SOC code (SOC2010)
ssv_den                       |  Skill shortage vacancy density (as a percentage of vacancies for the SOC code)
ssv_sum                       |  Number of skill-shortage vacancies
vac_sum                       |  Number of vacancies

Footnotes:

1. The sum of vacancies by occupation is slightly lower than the total number of vacancies shown in the core indicator file. (This is also the case for hard-to-fill and skill-shortage vacancies.) This is because the survey only collects detailed information on up to 6 different occupations per establishment, in order to prevent excessively long interviews. If the intention is to show the total number of vacancies, use the core indicator file.
2. For some vacancies, there is insufficient information from respondents to code a particular occupation (i.e. a 4 digit SOC code). In these cases, the vacancy is shown as 'not codeable to this level of SOC'. The vacancies are shown at a higher levels of occupational aggregation (e.g. a 3, 2 or 1 digit SOC code) where there is enough information to allow this.
