30% organisations are affected by skills gaps; a problem which is increasing.  Skills gaps are reported for managers, professionals and technical occupational areas.  For the voluntary workforce, skills gaps include general support and working with the public.  No organisations in the prosecution sub-sector reported skills gaps, whereas all other sub-sectors reported skills gaps similar to the national average.  Internal skills gaps were reported by 19% of organisations in the sector, compared to 16% in England as a whole.  Skills gaps are reported for customer handling skills, office administration, team working, together with technical and practical skills. 

The key gaps for training and workforce development are both technical and generic, including: IT skills; knowledge of the legislation and regulations (especially given the rapidly changing environment); plus generic skills in leadership, supervision, general management and team working. 

Only three in five organisations have a professional development policy in place and even fewer had career progression and staff retention policies.

Source: UK Skill Needs Assessment 2006