Skills in Walsall - State of Play July 2010

The current level of skills among Walsall’s working age population is generally low. However, there has been improvement since 2006 and the rate of improvement far exceeds that in the West Midlands and England as a whole:

 Working Age Residents With No Qualifications 2005-2008:

  2005 2006 2007 2008
Walsall 21.6% 28.4%  24.7%  18.6%
West Midlands 17.6% 17.4%  17.0%  16.0%
England 14.0% 13.6%  12.9%  12.3%

Source:   Annual Population Survey, ONS

Subsequently, Walsall has a lower proportion of residents with qualifications at all levels.  There are very few highly skilled residents who have qualifications at Level 4 or above:

 Working Age Residents Qualified to Levels 2, 3 and 4 - 2008:

  Level 2 or Higher Level 3 or Higher Level 4 or Higher
Walsall 60.1% 37.0% 20.2%
West Midlands 65.8% 45.2% 26.2%
England 69.4% 49.5% 30.5%

Source:   Annual Population Survey, ONS

The rate of improvement at Level 2 in Walsall again exceeds that for both West Midlands and England.  However, at Levels 3 and 4 the reverse was the case in that the rate of improvement was much lower for Walsall.

 

NVQ attainment for Economically Active Walsall Residents by Age Group:

 % of Economically Active with NVQ Level 4+

   Walsall Black Country  West Midlands  England
 ALL  20.6% 22.4%  28.1% 32.2%
 16 - 19 Yrs  0.0% 0.0% 2.1% 1.8%
 20 - 29 Yrs  22.3%  25.3% 28.4% 32.9%
 30 - 49 Yrs 23.1% 24.8% 31.3% 36.1%
 50 - Retirement 19.9% 20.0% 27.7% 30.7%

  Source:   APS from NOMIS on 20 July 2010

% of Economically Active with NVQ Level 3 Only

   Walsall Black Country West Midlands England
ALL 15.0% 15.3% 16.7% 16.1%
16 - 19 Yrs  20.9% 17.6% 22.4%  23.8%
20 - 29 Yrs 18.3% 19.3% 21.0% 21.3%
30 - 49 Yrs  15.4% 14.4% 16.1% 14.3%
50 - Retirement  9.3% 12.5% 12.6% 13.1%

  Source:   APS from NOMIS on 20 July 2010

% of Economically Active with NVQ Level 2 Only

  Walsall Black Country West Midlands England
ALL 19.3% 19.3% 17.6% 16.0%
16 - 19 Yrs  41.2% 39.4% 38.9% 38.2%
20 - 29 Yrs 19.9% 21.0%  18.2% 16.5%
30 - 49 Yrs  19.3% 19.8% 17.4% 15.2%
50 - Retirement 12.5% 10.8% 12.5% 11.7%

  Source:   APS from NOMIS on 20 July 2010
% of Economically Active with No Qualifications

   Walsall       

Black Country            

 West Midlands                       England      
ALL                                        14.4% 14.5% 11.2% 8.5%
16 - 19 Yrs                       10.7% 10.2% 12.0% 9.4%
20 - 29 Trs  13.1% 10.6% 8.7% 6.0%
30 - 49 Yrs  12.8% 13.1% 9.2% 6.9%
50 - Retirement  20.5%  22.8% 17.2% 14.0%

Source:   APS from NOMIS on 20 July 2010


Business Needs

Over a third of local businesses who responded to Walsall’s latest Business Needs Survey (2009) found skills a barrier to recruiting new staff.   22% have problems accessing staff with the appropriate higher level skills. This figure supports national data which shows that in 2009, 21.8% of employers in Walsall had at least one member of staff who was not fully proficient at their job.

According to the Regional Skills Assessment 2009, in order to meet Skills Action Plan targets for 2011, Walsall will need:

  •      19,000 more working age adults qualified to NVQ Level 4 or above;
  •   26,000 more qualified to Level 3 or above;
  •      26,000 more qualified to Level 2 or above.
  Actual 2008 Target 2011
NVQ Level 4 and Above 20.2% 34.0%
NVQ Level 3 and Above 37.0% 56.0%
NVQ Level 2 and Above 60.1% 79.0%

Key Sectors and Clusters for Walsall
Sectors and Clusters driving employment growth across the Black Country:
  •                         Business and Professional Services;
  •                         Health and Social Care (Care Workers, Healthcare Assistants);
Sectors and Clusters that are classed as ‘emerging’, are:
  •                       Education;
  •                       Environmental Technologies;
  •                       Tourism and Leisure
Declining Sectors and Clusters include:
  •                           Engineering  and Transport technologies,
  •                           A range of other manufacturing industries including Food & Drink

Key Drivers of Change:

  •                         Need to exploit new technology, new value added markets;
  •                         Legislation relating to low carbon and sustainability issues;
  •                         Demands of an ageing population – healthcare, medical technologies, financial services;
  •                         More demanding consumers – higher quality products, better customer service;
Resultant skill needs:
  •                 Higher level (graduate/post graduate) sector and business specific technical skills;
  •                 Leadership and management;
  •                 Business development skills to exploit new market opportunities;
  •                  ICT skills to exploit new technology;
  •                  Inter-personal skills such as communication, working in teams, problem solving skills.  
According to the Regional Skills Assessment 2009, in order to meet Skills Action Plan targets for 2011, Walsall will need:
  •                           19,000 more working age adults qualified to NVQ Level 4 or above;
  •                           26,000 more qualified to Level 3 or above;
  •                           26,000 more qualified to NVQ Level 2 or above. 
                            2008                Target 2011
    NVQ Level 4 and Above                     20.2%                  34.0%                   
    NVQ Level 3 and Above                     37.0%                  56.0%
    NVQ Level 2 and Above                     60.1%                  79.0%

 Changing Workforce Demographics

  • Large numbers of older people moving from urban areas to surrounding districts and beyond. Younger people moving in opposite direction;
  • Expansion of minority ethnic communities, many of which have young age profile in urban areas. These are less likely to participate in education and training and more likely to be disadvantaged in the labour market;
  • NEET population tends to be particularly high in urban areas. 16% was the rate of unemployment for 16-24 year olds in 2008; 
  • Employment rates for older people in Walsall are encouraging with 71% of adults aged 50 to retirement age in employment, close to regional average of 72%;
  • 13% of the workforce in Walsall is from the BME population, slightly higher than regional average. However, in the area only 57% are in paid employment compared to 72% of the white population.