JOB SHORTAGES AND VOCATIONS

1. PROBLEM

Job shortages shape government policy on training and immigration but understanding and measuring them is difficult. The problem is not only determining how many jobs are unfilled but also which jobs or vocations suffer the greatest shortages, what skills and people are required to fill these gaps and where job shortages are most critical to the country.

2. INITIAL APPROACH

Measures to resolve job shortages in the past have assumed that lack of training and qualification is the primary cause of unfilled job vacancies. It seems intuitive that the smallest shortages are likely to occur with jobs which are considered unskilled since practically anyone could or should be able to fulfil these vacancies (i.e basic supply and demand).

3. DISCOVERY

Analysis by RepGraph of Labour Force Survey data showed that in fact the opposite was often true; roles considered to be unskilled or low-skilled are among the ones with the greatest job shortages and vacancy rates. It was also surprising to find that job numbers in medium-skilled occupations are far higher than for unskilled work but that at the same time, these jobs tended to experience smaller vacancy shortfalls than unskilled ones.

4. OUTCOME

RepGraph identified that the greatest shortfalls were in certain health and social care and the results indicated that blanket minimum salary caps applied to work visas can lead to job shortages in key areas such as health and social care. These findings have subsequently been reflected by changes in government policy and led to a reduction of the proposed minimum salary cap from £30,000 to £26,500 and a relaxation of visa requirements for certain key low-skilled jobs, particularly in the healthcare sector.

1

TRAIN DRIVER

Transport

£70k

17

STORAGE/WAREHOUSE
MANAGERS & DIRECTORS

Logistics

£50K / £80k

78

VAN DRIVERS

Logistics

£60k

109

HEAVY GOODS VEHICLE DRIVERS

Logistics

£70K

118

DISTRIBUTION MANAGERS

Logistics

£80k

130

ELEMENTARY STORAGE OCCUPANTS

Logistics

£30k

132

PHYSICAL THERAPIST

Healthcare

£70k

140

COMPUTER NETWORK SECURITY CONSULTANT

Information Technology

£60k

142

INTELLIGENCE ANALYST

Government

£70k

353

DANCERS / CHOREOGRAPHERS

Entertainment

£40k

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