Research

Welcome to the Research section of the UK Qualifications and Skills Team. We produce robust labour market intelligence, specialising in data and research around workforce demographics, skills and qualifications. Our research is undertaken in house and our skills, knowledge base and experience cover research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation and reporting. Our specialisms include:

• Workforce data
• Skills research
• Primary and secondary research
• Design of questionnaires for quantitative and qualitative surveys and topic guides for focus group discussions
• Identification of sample frame and sample design
• Interviewing techniques
• Data collection using SNAP and Survey Monkey
• Quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis
• Data and statistical analysis using SPSS and Excel
• Development of case and theme based analytical frameworks
• Technical and descriptive report writing
• Interpretive and analytical report writing including identification of key issues and policy implications

Workforce data collection in the FE sector:

• The Staff Individualised Record (SIR) is one of the largest workforce data collection activities to collect demographic and employment data from colleges in FE England. Analysis of data from SIR is used by colleges and stakeholders for a variety of purposes, including trend analysis, benchmarking and international comparisons. More details about the current data collection (SIR19 for 2010/11) are available from the SIR consultation portal. Please note that certain sections of the portal are available to providers only, with a valid username and password. Providers can also access the OLAP tool, more details of which can be found here.
  
  

Significant improvements are being developed for the Staff Individualised Record 2011/2012 (SIR 20) which is due to take place in autumn 2012. Please click SIR guidance (PDF document, 80KB) for more information. More detailed information and guidance will be available soon. 

Workforce data collection is also being undertaken from the adult and community and work-based learning sectors via aggregate surveys collecting data on demographics, employment and qualifications.

• Please read the report of the first, large scale, representative ACL Workforce survey (PDF document, 439KB)
• The WBL survey is now being undertaken. If you are a WBL provider, please click on this link to make a return. A PDF version of the survey questionnaire can be viewed here WBL questionnaire (PDF document, 50KB). The survey is open until 01 January 2012. 

Research and LMI on skills and qualifications

• Sector Skills Assessment (SSA) for the Education sector – an analysis of skills gaps and shortages and future priority skills areas in the education sector. Undertaken for the UKCES, an SSA combines top down data from national sources with bottom up labour market intelligence generated by the sector, to provide an understanding of skills priorities across the four nations of the UK.
• Various evidence-based stakeholder consultations for the reviews of national occupational standards and qualifications in the lifelong learning sector

Further information on research undertaken as part of Lifelong Learning UK, including previous years' Staff Individualised Record (SIR) workforce data collection is available from the archived LLUK website.

For further information, please contact Chitro Ghose.