Skill at the heart of labour market success - Empey

19 March 2008

Northern Ireland will need to upskill its workforce over the coming decade to ensure that the Executive’s vision of building a dynamic and innovative economy can be delivered.

That is the message today from Employment and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey following the publication of the 21st issue of the Labour Market Bulletin.

While the Northern Ireland labour market has continued to grow job opportunities, with  historically high levels of employment, inward migration, and low levels of unemployment, significant weaknesses remain with low levels of productivity and private sector earnings, high levels of economic inactivity and the relatively small private sector. These latter factors are in turn aligned to low skills levels.

All these issues are considered in the Department for Employment and Learning’s Labour Market Bulletin which brings together a range of research findings and commentary on labour market issues facing Northern Ireland to inform the policy debate.

Commenting on the publication, Sir Reg said: “We have achieved much over the past few years by increasing job opportunities and indeed, our labour market is so attractive to others that we are seeing unprecedented numbers of people arrive here to work.”

The Minister continued: “However much needs to be done. We have very high levels of economic inactivity with many people not working. As part of our Skills Strategy, we are aiming to give these people the hope and the skills to help them find work. We also need to make sure that those young people entering the labour market are equipped for today’s and tomorrow’s workplace, and we must not forget the need to upskill those already in employment. Government cannot work in isolation; we need the active cooperation of employers and individuals themselves to do this.”

Sir Reg concluded: “In moving forward in these areas it is vitally important that we have a robust and up-to-date evidence base. That is why my Department has a comprehensive programme of research and evaluation and this Labour Market Bulletin places this valuable information in the public domain in a concise and accessible form.”

Included in the Bulletin are a range of indicators recording progress in a number of important areas including:

  • The labour market in Northern Ireland has performed well in recent years with strong growth in employment and commensurate falls in unemployment.  In mid-2007 there were more than three-quarters of a million people in work in Northern Ireland, with 70% of working-age people in a job.
  • The Northern Ireland unemployment rate has been below 5% for the past three years despite rises elsewhere in the UK. The current rate of around 4½% is lower than both the UK and EU averages.
  • However economic inactivity, at around 27%, has not fallen over recent years despite improvement elsewhere and remains higher than the UK average (21%).
  • Migration into Northern Ireland increased sharply over recent years, with net immigration reaching nearly 10,000 in 2005/6. The most recent figures show that population growth is now being driven more by inmigration than by natural increase.

Articles contained in the Bulletin cover a wide range of topics, from the impact of our Higher Education Institutions on the local economy to initial reports of the Pathways to Work Pilot programme to help Incapacity Benefit claimants back into jobs. The Bulletin also includes articles which examine the use of and demand for skills from the perspectives of both the employee and the employer.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The Labour Market Bulletin, published by the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), disseminates analysis and commentary from a wide range of sources, both inside and outside Government, to a wide audience. The Bulletin also contains the results of some of the research that DEL has commissioned to better inform its policy development and service delivery.
  2. The Bulletin covers a range of topics such as the state of the Northern Ireland labour market; skills; education and training (including Higher and Further Education; and welfare reform.
  3. Today’s publication is the 21st issue and is available on the Department’s website on www.delni.gov.uk/labourmarketbulletin21 external link. Hard copies are also available from the Department.
  4. Media enquiries to the Department for Employment and Learning’s Press Office on 028 9025 7872.
  5. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715440 and your call will be returned.