New report highlights sector skills shortages
The Work Foundation has teamed up with the Clare Social Leadership Programme (CSLP) to provide a quantitative and qualitative profile of the third sector
so that any changes can be monitored and mapped over the course of the four-year evaluation of the programme [1]. The document is also to be used as a benchmark of how representative CSLP applicants and participants are of the sector as a whole. Dame Mary Marsh told Caritas: ‘We appointed The Work Foundation as our evaluation partner last year at the start of our programme – before we recruited our first fellows. As we open for applications for the second round of fellowship applications, it is so useful to have this report as an overview and jumping off point for our work.’
The report highlights a ‘recognisable leadership deficit’ while acknowledging third sector leaders have ‘navigated intense periods of change’, citing the 2007 NCVO Voluntary Skills Survey and a paper from the Institute for Public Policy Research which found that the third sector ‘needs to improve its skills in key leadership competences such as strategic thinking, influencing and negotiating and communication and interpersonal skills [2]. ’
According to the Hopkins’ research, the third sector workforce comprises only 2 per cent of the total UK working-age population but is expanding at a greater rate than the public and private sectors. But with lower average wages, fewer employee benefits and usually greater job insecurity along with high levels of competition within the sector for a small supply of talented applicants, skill shortages remain a huge problem and are in danger of holding sector professionalisation back.
See also Viewpoint: ‘What are the leadership and development challenges facing charities currently?’ in Caritas, issue 19, June 2009, pages 10 and 11.
[2] Schmeuker (2009), All inclusive? third sector involvement in regional and sub-regional policy making, IPPR
Author: Clarissa Dann
Clarissa Dann was the editor of Caritas as well as an HR and management online service,he People Bulletin until July 2011.
She is now the editor of the specialist trade finance magazine, Trade and Forfaiting Review which can be viewed at www.tfreview.com but does write on charity finance and investment from time to time.
Clarissa has a background in legal and professional publishing, as well as business journalism and holds an MBA from
There are no comments on this article. Be the first to comment.