Trends suggest that working patterns may shift from full-time contracts to more part-time, job sharing. Sector information

Applicants mostly lack technical and practical skills, but other skills shortages include: problem solving; management; communication; and team working. Sector information

High concentrations of employment in the sector are based in the South East, North West, Greater London and the East of England. Regional and national dimension

Employment in the sector is expected to decline over the next ten years especially amongst the Elementary occupations. Occupations

Over the next ten years, it is predicted that the number of women working in the sector will increase slightly. Equal opportunities

The sector has an ageing demographic profile and needs to attract younger people into the workforce to replace those retiring and leaving the sector. Equal opportunities

Employers recruit new entrants from across a range of backgrounds into the business support functions.  In terms of sector specific occupations, employers recruit good generalist engineers and scientists and provide specialist training in-house and they also use apprenticeship training programmes. Education and training

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Sector information

This contains an overview of the sector as a whole, details future trends in employment together with skill gaps and workforce development issues.

Data and charts

Links to the charts contained within this sector are listed.

Regional / national dimension

Information on regional trends and differences, together with trends in the home nations including Scotland and Wales.

Occupations

Information and trends on sectoral occupations.

Equal opportunities

Key information on equal opportunity issues specific to the sector.

Education and training

Education and training information and issues including work-based learning, apprenticeships, vocational qualifications, and further and higher education courses.

Research

A list of recent research publications which is intended to be a starting point for those wanting more detail on the sector.

Discussion points

Thought-provoking and challenging questions to start discussions.

Sector summary

This summary gives a brief overview of the key trends in the sector.

Links and sources

This contains direct links to all the materials used to compile this sector. More in-depth and detailed information can be found in the source materials as only key points have been extracted. In addition, websites and further sources which may be of interest have been included.