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Employers polled on key skills

A report from Jobcentre Plus says that 43% of the 3.4m vacancies filled each year in the UK are in service roles - jobs including bar staff, packers and unskilled labourers - and in sales and customer services occupations.

According to the survey carried out among 4,500 UK employers, interpersonal and teamwork skills were the most critical skills required for these occupations, closely followed by verbal communications and motivation and flexibility.

Using the survey results, Jobcentre Plus has published the following list which shows the percentage of employers who identified each skill as key to a particular occupation:

Service (bar staff, packers, unskilled labourers):

• Interpersonal and teamwork (42%)
• Motivation and flexibility (38%)
• Verbal communications (35%)

Sales and customer service (sales assistants, checkout operators, telesales, call centre staff):

• Verbal communications (66%)
• Interpersonal and teamwork (53%)
• Motivation and flexibility (44%)

Operative (process, plant and machine operatives and vehicle drivers):

• Motivation and flexibility (40%)
• Job-specific skills (30%)
• Interpersonal and teamwork (25%)

Skilled trades (chefs, electricians, construction):

• Job-specific skills (45%)
• Motivation and flexibility (41%)
• Interpersonal and teamwork (36%)

Professional occupations:

• Verbal communication and job specific skills (both 67%)
• Academic/professional qualifications and motivation and flexibility (both 63%)

Lesley Strathie, chief executive, Jobcentre Plus said: "This research is important in helping us understand the choices employers make about where to recruit from and which candidates to take on.

"We use the findings to help us continue to deliver a high quality recruitment service to employers and help individuals to understand what employers are looking for. We will repeat the survey annually to provide a benchmark for future years and to track recruitment trends."

Cay Stratton, director, National Employment Panel commented; "What is interesting about these findings is that for each type of occupation, whether it is the more qualified professionals or the unskilled workers, similar skills come up time and time again. Interpersonal and team-work skills and motivation and flexibility are considered critical for almost every occupation - these are skills which can be learned and often require a commitment from the employer to encourage a culture of teamwork which in turn will motivate employees."

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