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Skills Gaps

Once you've started thinking about what career you would like in the future, and the kind of work you would like to do, it's a good idea to find out about skills gaps.

Skills gaps happen when industries need certain skills, but can't find enough people who have them. There are two different ways to describe skills gaps:

  • General - the skills shortages that affect all kinds of industries.
  • Specific - the skills gaps that affect individual industries.

The General Skills Gap

Right now, the UK workforce as a whole suffers from five main skills deficiencies:

  1. Basic skills - things like reading and writing (literacy), and being able to work with numbers (numeracy). These are seen as the basic building blocks on which to build other skills.


  2. Generic skills - also called Key Skills. These skills are the ones you can transfer into just about any kind of job. Click here to find out more about Key Skills


  3. Maths skills - mathematical ability that's significantly above basic numeracy.


  4. Intermediate level skills - the specific skills needed for particular craft, technician and associate professional jobs. They usually require qualifications at levels 3 and 4. Click here to find out more about Intermediate level skills


  5. Specialist Information and Communications Technology skills - the professional skills needed in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, and by ICT specialists in other industries.

So by developing any or all of the above skills, you'll help to put yourself ahead of the competition in the work place.

Specific Skills Gaps

As we've just seen, the ICT and Computing industry is a really good example of an industry with specific skills gaps. Because the technology in ICT moves so fast, there are never enough people with the right kinds of skills to go round.

Another good example is Hairdressing - salons really want to employ people with specialist skills like barbering, or Indian head massage. Skills to work with long hair, or Afro-Caribbean hair, are also in real demand.

So, by finding out what skills gaps there are in your chosen career:

  • You can choose your course or training carefully.
  • You'll be learning the skills employers really want.
  • You'll put yourself ahead of the competition for jobs.

How to find out about skills gaps

To find out about the skills gaps in your chosen industry or occupation, get in touch with the relevant professional body, Sector Skills Council (SSC), or training organisation.

There is also a list of all the Sector Skills Councils on the Sector Skills Development Agency's (SSDA) web site

If you cannot find the SSC you are interested in, try searching for the professional body that represents that industry. The majority of SSCs and professional bodies carry out regular surveys to analyse skill demand and job growth within their sector - so you may be able to find this information through their web sites.