Hertfordshire Employers' Skills Framework Survey 2017-18

Abstract

The Hertfordshire Employers’ Skills Framework (HESF) survey is a research study commissioned jointly by the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Hertfordshire County Council to help understand the employers’ perspective of young people skills. The survey set out to enlighten and provide a deeper understanding of what are the different sector employer skills needs for young people (16 – 24 year olds). The findings highlight the different importance that sector employers put on the 12 specific skills identified in the framework, and their perceptions of the ‘work readiness’ of school, college and university leavers. The study also highlights the importance of the three specific Gatsby benchmarks[1] (4, 5 & 6) and the link to the ranking of the ‘personal and people’ and ‘technical and practical’ skills. The outcome of this study is both the ranking of the 12 skills, and the production of a working rubric sheet, detailing the approach that schools, colleges or university learners take to collate this knowledge, skills and experience and use it to find their first job. This is only a start, and the intention is that a further study be commissioned to work with schools, colleges and universities to operationalize this rubric for all of the career pathways that a leaver may choose.