Labour Market Information

What is labour market information?

It is information which relates to past, present and predicted data on:

Types of employment
Wages
Qualifications
Skills
Working conditions
Job openings.

Why is it useful?

It can help young people understand:

Where the jobs will probably be in the future
What skills and qualifications are likely to be in demand
What working conditions might be like
The importance of gaining qualifications and skills.

Why is it sometimes so difficult to understand?

Labour market information tends to come in two types:

Hard information - often very detailed, statistical information used for high level economic forecasting and planning. Although much of it is available on the internet it has not been produced for the general public. You can be left thinking "What does this mean for my students?"
Soft information - industry reports, surveys, news items and data that has already been interpreted with young people in mind. The messages will be broader and easier to understand, for example, "New shopping complex gets the go ahead" - meaning demand for planning, design and construction skills followed by retail, catering and security occupations.

How much should I trust any future predictions?

As so much in the worlds of business, economic and finance is capable of sudden and unpredictable change, no labour market predictions can be totally relied upon. But being aware of what might happen can help young people with their decision-making and planning.

However some trends are likely to remain true:

Local trend	What this means for young people?
There are increased opportunities for higher skilled work; fewer opportunities for unskilled work.	They must ensure they have the qualifications and skills that are in demand. Or be prepared to train full or part-time.
In general, small and medium sized firms are the main recruiters of young people.	When looking for work they should contact a wide range of companies - small, medium and large.
Skill shortages could limit company growth in the year ahead.	Training is important to learn the skills needed by employers.
Employers are looking for people who are keen to keep on learning.	Encourage young people to be enthusiastic about training when applying for jobs.
More companies are involved in the training of their own staff.	Young people need to be prepared to keep learning new skills.
Job-related qualifications are liked by employers.	When planning their future young people should find out about the whole range of qualifications they could gain.
Employers like their staff to have employability skills.	Employability skills such as communication, team working, using new technology, using numbers and problem-solving are useful in all jobs.
The majority of employers think that work experience helps prepare young people for work.	When applying for work, young people should stress the skills they gained on work experience.

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