Calendar year 2019

Employer Skills Survey

Data guidance

Published

Description

This document describes the key data from the Employer Skills Survey 2019. Findings from this survey were originally published in research reports (opens in a new tab) 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 (opens in a new tab) 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

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

Core Indicators

Filename
core_indicators_17_19.csv
Geographic levels
National; Regional
Time period
2017 to 2019
Content

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

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable nameVariable description
employeesNumber of employees
estab_sizeEstablishment size - Filter by establishment size
estab_typeEstablishment type - Filter by establishment type
has_htfvNumber of establishments with at least one hard-to-fill vacancy
has_skillgapNumber of establishments with at least one skill gap (i.e. 1+ employee not fully proficient)
has_ssvNumber of establishments with at least one skill-shortage vacancy
has_trainedNumber of establishments that arranged or paid for any training in the past 12 months
has_vacNumber of establishments with at least one vacancy
htfv_denHard-to-fill vacancy density (HtF vacancies as a share of vacancies)
htfv_incPercentage of establishments with at least one hard-to-fill vacancy
htfv_sumNumber of hard-to-fill vacancies
sample_sizeUnweighted base of establishments
sample_size_w_vacUnweighted base of establishments with vacancies
sectorSector - Filter by sector
single_or_multi_siteSingle site or one of multiple sites within organisation - Filter by single or multi-sites
skillgap_denSkill gap density (the proportion of employees judged not fully proficient)
skillgap_incPercentage of establishments with at least one skill gap (i.e. 1+ employee not fully proficient)
skillgapsNumber of skill gaps (employees not fully proficient)
ssv_denSkill-shortage vacancy density (SSVs as a share of vacancies)
ssv_incPercentage of establishments with at least one skill-shortage vacancy
ssv_sumNumber of skill-shortage vacancies
train_days_employeeAverage number of days training per employee
train_days_traineeAverage number of days training per trainee
traineesNumber of employees trained in the past 12 months
training_daysTotal number of training days for employees
training_denProportion of employees that received any training in the past 12 months
training_incPercentage of establishments that arranged or paid for any training in the past 12 months
vac_denVacancy density (vacancies per 100 employees)
vac_incPercentage of establishments with at least one vacancy
vac_sumNumber of vacancies
weight_baseNumber of establishments in population

Investment in training

Filename
iit_19.csv
Geographic levels
National; Regional
Time period
2019
Content

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

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable nameVariable description
employeesNumber of employees
estab_sizeEstablishment size - Filter by establishment size
iit_sample_sizeSample size in the Investment in Training follow-up survey
sectorSector - Filter by sector
sum_off_job_mnTotal investment through off-the-job training
sum_on_job_mnTotal investment through on-the-job training
sum_total_mnTotal investment through all training
total_per_employeeInvestment in training per employee
total_per_traineeInvestment in training per trainee
traineesNumber of trainees

Vacancy measures by occupational group

Filename
vac_indicators_soc.csv
Geographic levels
National
Time period
2019
Content

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

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable nameVariable description
htfv_denHard to fill vacancy density (as a percentage of vacancies for the SOC code)
htfv_sumNumber of hard to fill vacancies
sample_estab_w_vac_for_x_occNumber of establishments with at least one vacancy at the 4 digit SOC level
sectorSector - Filter by sector
soc_1_labelled1 digit SOC code and name - Filter by 1 digit SOC code (SOC2010)
soc_2_labelled2 digit SOC code and name - Filter by 2 digit SOC code (SOC2010)
soc_3_labelled3 digit SOC code and name - Filter by 3 digit SOC code (SOC2010)
soc_4_labelled4 digit SOC code and name - Filter by 4 digit SOC code (SOC2010)
ssv_denSkill shortage vacancy density (as a percentage of vacancies for the SOC code)
ssv_sumNumber of skill-shortage vacancies
vac_sumNumber 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.