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Management skills gaps have the greatest impact on the work of third sector organisations, is the key finding highlighted in Third Sector Skills Research 2008, published this week by the UK Workforce Hub and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).

Third Sector Skills Research 2008 is an in-depth, qualitative study that builds on the findings in the Voluntary Sector Skills Survey 2007.  It is part of a long-term programme of research carried out by the UK Workforce Hub and NCVO in assessing the skills base of third sector organisations.

Key findings from Third Sector Skills Research 2008 show:

• Formal training and qualifications have increased but these have not always been tailored to suit organisational and individual needs.
  
• Barriers to skills development are higher for smaller organisations. More than any other type of organisation, they require specific solutions adapted to their needs, for example, pooling resources and consortia purchasing of training.
  
• ‘Soft skills’ such as behavioural or attitudinal competencies need to be integrated into an individual’s training and development.
  
• Career pathways into and through the third sector should be more clearly expressed.
  
• Integrating training and learning into the culture of an organisation, is vital for the development of employees and organisations.

Supporting statistics from the Voluntary Sector Skills Survey 2007, UK Workforce Hub

• Around 30% of employers reported under-skilled staff. Small organisations are more likely to report skills gaps.
  
• Over 25% of employers reported skills gaps within marketing, strategic use of IT, legal knowledge and fundraising.
  
• 50% of employers found that skills gaps were caused by a lack of time and funding for training within their organisation.
  
• Over ¾ (77%) of employers provided further training and development as a solution to skills gaps within their organisation.

Supporting statistics from the UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Almanac 2007, NCVO and UK Workforce Hub

• The voluntary sector workforce has increased by 26% in the last ten years and now employs 611,000 employees, considerably more than the number of people working in banks and building societies.

Janet Fleming, Head of the UK Workforce Hub, said:

“The bottom line is, we need a longer term skills strategy for the sector.  It’s not just about individual skills training and giving your workforce the necessary tools to do the job.  What counts is how that training is tailored to suit the working environment of different organisations.

“Good managers regularly identify skills gaps in their teams and plan to resolve them.  We need people in voluntary and community organisations to share this good practice across the sector.   We also need to persuade more funders and commissioners to build the costs of developing skills into grants and contracts.

“We will continue to lobby government for the establishment of a third sector workforce skills body, because this best way to influence public policy on skills and to ensure that colleges and universities deliver courses to meet the sector’s skills requirement.”

Author: Jenny Clark and Veronique Jochum
Publisher: NCVO
Published: July 2008
Paperback, 43 pages
ISBN: 978-0-7199-1771-4
£10  (£7 NCVO Members)

An executive summary of the research can be downloaded for free by clicking on the link below - and the full report can be purchased online from the NCVO website.
 
Download: 
Executive Summary (pdf, 36Kb)

Source: VolResource Newsletter No. 349 / UK Workforce Hub