Sector Skills Assessment for Northern Ireland 2011
Skillset has conducted a comprehensive UK-wide analysis of demand for skills in the Creative Media Industries and Fashion and Textiles sectors, and produced a suite of Sector Skills Assessments (SSAs), which include assessments for each UK nation.
You can download the SSAs for the Creative Media and Fashion and Textiles industries in Northern Ireland on this page. To summarise their findings:
Creative Media
In Skillset's consultation with employers and Creative Media representatives there was agreement that the growth of digital communications and global supply networks presented major opportunities for strong to medium term growth across the sector if some of the barriers listed below can be overcome.
The major opportunities for the sector as a whole are hampered by current silos between some parts of the Creative Media sector. For example, more established Television and Film companies are not embracing new digital content areas as quickly as they perhaps should. Digital Content providers for broadcast, web, mobile phones and Computer Games industry are restricted by the small size of too many companies and a lack of development opportunities. Too many people are reliant on too few resources. Business and leadership and management skills are too often lacking.
The main areas of skills needs and shortage are as follows:
- Multi-skilling
- Multiplatform skills
- Management, leadership, business and entrepreneurial skills
- IP and monetisation of multiplatform content
- Sales and marketing
- Diagonal thinking
You can download the full SSA below:
Sector Skills Assessment for the Creative Media Industries in Northern Ireland
Fashion and Textiles
The fashion and textiles sector in Northern Ireland accounts for almost 2,000 firms employing over 10,000 people. Fashion and textiles employment in Northern Ireland is centred around the manufacture of textiles which employs over 40% of the workforce. The manufacture of clothing and washing and dry-cleaning services are also significant employers.
Excluding the self-employed workforce, gross value added (GVA) for the sector in the Northern Ireland is estimated at £150 million, with GVA per head measured averaging over £34,000 with wholesaling functions having the highest GVA per head.
Skills gaps are skills deficiencies identified by employers within their existing workforce. In keeping with the wider Northern Irish economy, 14% of establishments reported a skills gap. However, 16% of establishments reported suffering from a proficiency based skills gap, lower than the overall figure for Northern Ireland. Contrasting this, 11% of employees in the fashion and textiles sector were reported as suffering from a proficiency based skills gaps which was above the 8% reported by the wider workforce.
The sector will continue to lose a substantial amount of jobs within the operative elements of the sector to 2017, although the pace of change will be less pronounced than seen in previous years. Administrative, skilled trades and elementary occupations are all also expected to see large declines in workforce proportions, whereas managerial and technical positions will proportionally make up a larger part of the workforce.
You can download the full SSA below:
Sector Skills Assessment for the Fashion and Textiles Sectors in Northern Ireland
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