Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the sectors worst affected by skills shortages; and what steps his Department is taking to help fill those vacancies.

BEIS works closely with the Department for Education which leads on the collection of skills data for business sectors. The Employer Skills Survey[1] 2019 found that skill-shortage vacancy density was highest in the Construction and Manufacturing sectors.

BEIS is working with other relevant departments and industry to address skills and workforce issues with a focus on construction and manufacturing where the data suggest skills challenges.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-skills-survey-2019-uk-excluding-scotland-findings