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3. Workforce Development
Areas of Support
Figures 3a, 3b and 3c show the percentage of all organisations who have:
a) Used external support;
b) Have internal capacity; and
c) Anticipate future support needs;
In each of the specific workforce development areas. The graphs are arranged in descending order of anticipated future support needs.
Figure 3a: External Support, Internal Capacity, Anticipate Future Support Needs
Figure 3b: External Support, Internal Capacity, Anticipate Future Support Needs
Figure 3c: External Support, Internal Capacity, Anticipate Future Support Needs
The main areas where organisations have used external workforce development support are:
- Developing the skills and knowledge of paid staff (34%)
- Understanding and updating on employment legislation (26%)
- Disclosure requirements (21%)
The main areas where organisations have internal capacity for workforce development are:
- Identifying learning and skills development needs of paid staff (55%)
- Developing and implementing equal opportunities policies (52%)
- Staff discipline and /or grievance procedures (47%)
The main areas where organisations anticipate needing future workforce development support are:
- Developing the skills and knowledge of trustees (29%)
- Developing the skills and knowledge of paid staff (28%)
- Understanding and updating on employment legislation (26%)
Developing the skills of paid staff is by far the most commonly accessed area of external support (34%) and it remains a highly anticipated future need (28%). Understanding and updating on employment legislation is also an area where external support is often used (26%) and is a high priority for future access (26%). Focus groups also found that many people struggled with the legalities surrounding employment and this was an area where support was needed.
Very few organisations accessed external support for more advanced workforce development issues, such as career planning (1%) and performance management systems (3%), however many more organisations saw these issues as future support needs (12% and 16% respectively).
Developing the skills and knowledge of trustees is the highest anticipated future support need for workforce development, which is similar to the high priority given to increasing the capacity of the board / management committee noted in relation to organisational development. Issues surrounding a lack of capacity on boards and management committees were also regularly raised during the focus groups.
Internal Capacity & External Support Costs
Figure 3d shows that the cost of internal support for organisational development is less than 10% of annual turnover for the majority of organisations. However, 3 organisations said that the cost of workforce development was more than half of their annual turnover.
Figure 3d: Internal Cost of Workforce Development
Figure 3e shows the cost of external workforce development support for each financial size of organisation. The majority of small and medium sized organisations (with an annual turnover of less than £500k) tended to spend less than £1k on workforce development per year, which indicates a low use of paid-for external workforce development support. Larger organisations reported investing more in external support, but 60% of organisations with a turnover of more than £2m reported spending less than £5,000 on support for workforce development.
Figure 3e: Cost of External Workforce Development Support
Figure 3f shows that the majority of workforce development support is paid-for, with only 27% of organisations reporting more than half of support being provided free of charge.
Figure 3f Workforce Development Support Received Free of Charge
Figure 3g shows the vast majority (88%) of organisations reporting that external organisational development support as providing value for money. Only 2% of organisations reported that external workforce development support had not been value for money.
Figure 3g: Value for Money of External Workforce Development Support
Figure 3h shows that external workforce development is most commonly reported (45%) to be required once per year, while 27% require support up to once a quarter and 17% up to once a month.
Figure 3h: How Often External Workforce Development Support is Required
External Support Provision
The table below shows which agencies and organisations have provided external workforce development support and the average quality score of that support.
Source of Support | % of All Organisations Using Support | Mean Support Quality Score (Max 5) |
|---|
Private Company / Consultancy * | 21.9% | 4.2 |
|---|
SCVO | 17.5% | 3.6 |
|---|
Local Authority | 16.1% | 3.8 |
|---|
Local CVS | 14.6% | 3.5 |
|---|
Another national voluntary organisation provider * | 11.7% | 3.8 |
|---|
Intermediary body for your sector * | 10.2% | 4.2 |
|---|
Other * | 10.2% | 4.2 |
|---|
Another local voluntary organisation provider * | 8.8% | 3.8 |
|---|
Local Volunteer Centre | 8.0% | 3.7 |
|---|
Local Enterprise Company / Business Gateway | 8.0% | 3.6 |
|---|
Volunteer Development Scotland | 7.3% | 3.7 |
|---|
Charitable Trust * | 4.4% | 3.7 |
|---|
learndirect Scotland | 4.4% | 3.3 |
|---|
Communities Scotland | 3.6% | 3.6 |
|---|
* A list of specifically identified providers is presented in Appendix A
Private companies or consultants are the most common source of external workforce development support, with over a fifth of participating organisations accessing their support. They are also rated highly in terms of quality.
Intermediary bodies are also one of the highest rated sources of workforce development support (4.2).
Quality of external workforce development support is rated fairly high across all types of providers, with learndirect Scotland receiving the lowest (but not poor) score.
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