Skills for the Future: Demand for and Supply of High-Skilled Labour Across England

This study maps employer demand for higher-level qualifications (at Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) Level 4 and above), the supply of residents with these qualifications, and the resulting demand-supply gaps across England’s 38 Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) areas (as defined in 2023). It combines online vacancy data and official labour market sources to examine patterns of higher-level skills demand, supply and mismatches across places. By combining spatial analysis, correlation evidence and econometric modelling, the analysis identifies structural factors associated with local demand-supply gaps and highlights the importance of place-based skills policies.

“High-level skills mismatches differ significantly by place. Large demand-supply gaps appear in both dynamic areas, such as Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Greater Manchester, and in some structurally weaker economies. A large gap does not always signal labour market failure, and a small gap does not always signal success. Context matters.”

Dr Konstantinos Kollydas

The findings show that high-level skills mismatches differ significantly by area and that policy responses should reflect local differences in demand, supply and labour market structure. LSIPs provide a framework to coordinate these actions locally. In high-demand areas, there is a need to expand higher-level pathways and graduate retention. In low-demand and low-supply areas, skills policy could connect more closely with local growth strategies, business support and sector development.

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Meet the Author

Dr Kostas Kollydas is a Research Fellow who joined City-REDI in 2021. He is an applied economist, and his research fields lie broadly in skills, labour economics and the economics of education. He has strong experience using large UK survey and administrative datasets, including the Annual Population Survey, the Employer Skills Survey and Graduate Outcomes. Kostas was seconded to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) between 2022 and 2023, where he led the analysis for the R&D Workforce and Skills project. At City-REDI, he has worked on projects covering graduate retention and attraction, local labour supply, and skills for innovation. He currently leads the Skills theme within the Local Policy Innovation Partnership Hub.

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Publications

Addressing Local Economic Disparities: Learning From Policy Failure in the UK

This report examines why, after more than four decades of national policy, the UK remains one of the most interregionally unequal countries in the industrialised world. Drawing on the academic discipline of policy failure, it applies a common framework to eight major UK instruments – from the Regional Development Agencies

Communities in Their Places Evidence Review

The LPIP Hub “Communities in their Places” evidence review shows that while communities are central to addressing local economic, social and environmental challenges, their ability to do so varies widely depending on policy frameworks, resources and local capacity. It highlights that “community” is a complex, overlapping concept, but strong social

Towards A Place-Based Qualitative Data Observatory

This research briefing responds to Local Policy Innovation Partnership (LPIP) Hub work on data devolution, transparency, and place productivity. Building on this existing research, it argues that current UK data infrastructures do not yet accommodate the heterogeneous forms of qualitative data on which local, regional and national policymakers increasingly rely.