Scotland
Access to training
Key points
- Although there has been some improvement over the last decade, people with no academic qualifications are still 2½ times less likely to receive job-related training than those with some qualifications.
- The less qualifications a person has, the less job-related training they are likely to receive. For example, around 10% of employees with no qualifications report that they have received job-related training in the last three months. By contrast, among those with a higher educational qualification, the proportion receiving job-related training rises to 40%.
- This pattern is reflected in the proportions receiving training according to the nature of their occupation. So, for example, less than 20% of plant and machine operatives have received job-related training in the past three months compared to more than 40% of those in professional occupations.
- Access to training also differs significantly by industry, with by far the best access being in the public sector.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: By level of education
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Graph 3: By occupation
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Graph 4: By industry
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Definitions and data sources
The first graph is concerned with the question of whether work-based training is a benefit that is enjoyed at least as much by those with low levels of qualification as others. It shows the proportion of employees who have had some job-related training in the last three months, with the data shown separately for those with some previous qualifications and those without. The qualifications include both academic and vocational qualifications and both current qualifications (e.g. GCSEs) and qualifications which have been awarded in the past (e.g. O levels).
The second graph shows a breakdown by level of their highest educational qualification. As there are many possible qualifications, these have been grouped into a limited number of groups after taking advice from the Scottish Executive.
The third graph shows a breakdown by occupation group. Note that the major occupations under the title 'personal service' are related to healthcare and childcare services. Those under 'elementary' relate to routine occupations.
The fourth graph shows a breakdown by by broad industry group.
The data source for all the graphs is the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The figures for each year are the average for the four quarters of the relevant year. To improve their statistical reliability, the data for the second, third and fourth graphs is the average for the latest three years. The training includes that paid for by employers and by employees themselves.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: medium. The LFS is a large, well-established, quarterly government survey of households designed to be representative of the population as a whole. But a single, undifferentiated notion of 'training,' without reference to its length or nature, lessens the value of the indicator.