The HCA Academy, the skills arm of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), has commissioned Arup to undertake a major piece of research into skills gaps in key professions across the place-making sector. The study will assess how the recession has affected the supply and demand of skills in the sector.

We need your help to ensure we get the best possible coverage of individual professionals and organisations across a variety of sectors, and across the English regions.  If you or your organisation work in planning, architecture, economic development, regeneration, housing, engineering, sustainability, property, transport, community development or construction, then we want to hear your views. 

The study will provide the sector with the opportunity to:

• understand how the recession has affected skills issues for the place-making sector
• identify the numbers of people employed in the different occupational groups
• assess the current supply and demand of skills, compare how this has changed since 2007 and establish whether the same range of issues are affecting all occupational groups
• evaluate existing training provision
• recommend how the market can bridge remaining skills gaps

Survey of organisations

To answer questions on behalf of your organisation, it's labour requirements, changing skills needs, and recruitment and training issues, click here: www.hcaskillssurvey.co.uk/organisation.htm.  This survey should take around 10 minutes to complete.

Survey of individuals

To answer questions as an individual employed in a profession involved in developing sustainable communities, about your skills and training experiences, click here: www.hcaskillssurvey.co.uk/individual.htm.  This survey should take 5 - 10 minutes to complete. 

Mini-surveys

We are also running two mini-surveys of professionals in the sector who have been made redundant over the past couple of years, and of recent graduates of related subjects.  We are particularly interested in their unique perspectives on the impact of the recession and changing skills needs.  These surveys are very short, and should take less than five minutes to complete. 

For the survey of professionals who have been recently made redundant, click here: www.hcaskillssurvey.co.uk/redundancies.htm

For the survey of recent graduates, click here: www.hcaskillssurvey.co.uk/graduate.htm

Thank you very much for your help, which will be invaluable in assisting national and regional decision-makers to understand which gaps still need to be addressed and where to target efforts to ensure that the sector accelerates programmes that meet market demand. If you have any questions about the survey, please get in touch with Lynne Miles at Arup, on lynne.miles@arup.com.

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