There has been a decline in skills shortage vacancies, according to new figures from the Department for Education.
New data from the 2024 Employer Skills Survey, published today by the DfE, shows that skills shortage vacancies as a proportion of all vacancies fell from 36% in 2022 to 27% in 2024. However, the level of skills shortages remained broadly unchanged from 2017 (22%), highlighting a persistent and entrenched challenge for the UK economy.
A skills shortage vacancy is a vacancy that is hard to fill because of a lack of skills, qualifications or experience among applicants. Overall, 6% of employers had a skill-shortage vacancy; this was a decrease from 10% in 2022, though the same proportion as in 2017.
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The figures also showed a marked decrease in spending on training by companies, with an 18.5% decrease since 2011
Experts also said that larger businesses had benefited from an easing of skills shortages far more than smaller ones.
According to the National Centre for Universities and Business, the findings show that while the most acute pandemic-era pressures may be easing, structural mismatches between skills supply and employer demand continued to constrain business growth – particularly in high-value sectors such as construction, health and social care, and manufacturing.
Dr Joe Marshall, chief executive of the NCUB, said the fall in skills shortage vacancies was encouraging, but “the fact that we remain above 2017 levels – rather than significantly improving – tells us that this is not a short-term issue. The UK’s longstanding skills mismatches continue to hold back innovation, productivity and growth.”
He added that although larger employers with 100 or more staff had seen skills shortages ease significantly – from 34% to 19% – the smallest businesses continue to face the highest skills shortage density at 42%, unchanged from 2022. This suggested that smaller firms lacked the resources and networks to compete effectively for skilled talent, creating a two-tier labour market that risks leaving our most entrepreneurial businesses behind.
“To address this, we need a more joined-up approach between education and industry,” said Marshall. “Universities have a critical role in preparing graduates with the skills employers need – but this requires deeper collaboration, clearer routes into priority sectors, and long-term investment in talent development.”
The NCUB is calling for coordinated action to strengthen the UK’s skills pipeline through: expanded work-based learning and employer-led course design; improved data sharing on regional and sectoral skills needs; targeted support for sectors facing the greatest shortages; and greater support for SMEs to engage with skills provision.
The DfE survey showed that 12% of employers had at least one member of staff who was not fully proficient (ie a skills gap), lower than in 2022 (15%), but similar to 2017 (13%). Overall, 4% of the workforce had a skills gap, down from 5.7% in 2022 and 4.4% in 2017.
Three-fifths (59%) of employers had provided training for their staff in the last 12 months, a decrease from 60% in 2022 and from 66% in 2017. Almost half of all employers (48%) provided on-the-job training (similar to 49% in 2022, but lower than the 53% in 2017) and two-fifths (40%) provided off-the-job training (again similar to the 2022 result of 39%, but lower than 48% in 2017).
Overall, 63% of all employees received training in 2024, higher than in 2022 (60%) but similar to the level seen in 2017 (62%).
The total UK training expenditure in 2024 was £53bn, down from £59bn in 2022 (in 2024 prices) and an 18.5% decrease since 2011. This equated to a spend of £1,700 per employee, down from £1,960 in 2022 and a 29.5% decrease since 2011.
The figures stem from interviews with 22,712 employers across the UK.
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