Rhys Davies, First Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2024, Cardiff: Wales Institute for Social and Economic Research and Data, Cardiff University.
Skills are integral to supporting the development of the United Kingdom as a high wage-high growth economy. This report examines key trends in qualifications held, the different types of skills used at work, trends in job related training and learning at work and the degree to which workers can use the qualifications, skills and experience that they possess. The report paints of a picture rising long terms trends in skills requirements, increasing opportunities for learning at work and falling levels of skills mismatch. The marked recovery in job related training demonstrates how the skills system has responded to an historically tight labour market.
- The demand for graduate level qualifications continues to increase. In 2024, almost half of workers (46%) report that they would today need a graduate level qualification for them to get their current job. This is compared to around one in five in 1986.
- Despite more workers holding graduate qualifications, the rate of over-qualification in Britain continues to decline. Just over a third of workers in 2024 report that they hold qualifications that are higher than those currently required for their jobs compared to 39% in 2006.
- The rising trend in computer use continues unabated, with almost eight out of ten workers in 2024 regarding computing skills as essential or very important. This increase in computer use has coincided with a growth in literacy skills associated with their use.
- Participation in job related training has increased markedly between 2017 and 2024. In 2024, almost eight out of ten workers had participated in job related training during the previous 12 months. Almost half (46%) had participated in training lasting longer than 10 days. Recent increases in job related training have been driven in part by workers undertaking internet or correspondence-based courses.