Skills and talent 2021

Attract, Retain, Grow – the skills and talent pipeline for Oxfordshire’s innovation ecosystem

Advanced Oxford is a not-for-profit membership group comprised of organisations within the Oxfordshire region that are all committed to the development of a vibrant innovation ecosystem. Access to skills and talent is critical to the region's success as an engine-room for innovation and STEM-based businesses. We are undertaking a research project to look at the skills and talent pipeline. Please help us to build a robust evidence base for skills investment and policy by sharing your experience and insight.

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* 1. Tell us about you and your organisation

Your name

Your company/organisation

Your role in the company/organisation

What sector do you work in, e.g. life sciences, automotive, space....?

Does your company have a presence/site in Oxfordshire (Yes or No) - while our research is focused on Oxfordshire, we are happy to receive responses from innovation-based companies based in other locations.

How many staff does your company/organisation have (Full time equivalents)?

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* 2. Is your company growing in size (related to the number of staff you have)? (please select one answer)

No - I expect my company/organisation to stay the same size in the next two years

No - I expect my company/organisation to contract in the next two years

Yes - I expect my company/organisation to grow by up to 10% in the next two years

Yes - I expect my company/organisation to grow between 10 and 25% in the next two years

Yes - I expect my company/organisation to grow between 25 and 50% in the next two years

Yes - I expect my company/organisation to grow more than 50% and less than 100% in the next two years

Yes - I expect my company/organisation to grow by more than 100% in the next two years

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* 3. Tell us about your recruitment and HR function

My company has someone who is responsible for HR/recruitment working within my organisation

My company outsources our HR/recruitment function

My company has more than one person working on HR/recruitment activities within my organisation

My company's HR/recruitment function is delivered by another organisation, such as another company in a group, a headquarters or commercial function or an investor organisation

Other (please specify)

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* 4. What types of skills or roles do you find it most challenging to find? Please tell us about these, e.g. engineering skills, data scientists, software engineering (any specific language?), laboratory technician. Please add as many as relevant.

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* 5. Tell us about your experiences in using apprenticeships within your company/organisation.

We employ apprentices/ use apprenticeship programmes within our company/organisation.

We do not, and have never used, apprenticeships.

We employed apprenticeships in the past, but do not at present

We are interested in using apprenticeships in the future, but have taken no action to progress this

We are actively planning to use apprenticeships in the next 24 months

We are interested in using apprenticeships but have no idea how to proceed

We recruit people who have completed apprenticeships elsewhere

Other - tell us about your views or plans in relation to apprenticeships

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* 6. If your company uses apprenticeships, please indicate at what levels you offer (please tick as many as is relevant).

Intermediate (level 2)

Advanced (level 3)

Higher (level 4)

Degree apprenticeships (level 5 - 7)

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* 7. Please provide any further comments or information on apprenticeships (optional). We are interested in hearing views on the apprenticeship levy, quality and knowledge of training partners and providers etc.

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* 8. Innovate UK supports Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), access to skill and talent through an associate, supported by an academic researcher or University - these are poorly used in Oxfordshire and we are interested to know why

I have never heard of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

I am using or have used a Knowledge Transfer Partnership

I am aware of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, but have not considered using one

I am aware of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, but do not know how to proceed

Other (please specify)

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* 9. Are you using the Kickstart scheme?

Yes

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* 10. Considering scientific and technical roles only, what level of qualification does your organisation ask for - recognising that you will likely recruit to a range of roles, please select as many as relevant.

Level 2, e.g. GSCEs at grades C, or 4 and above

Level 3, e.g. A levels, International Baccalaureate, NVQ level 3

Level 4 or 5, e.g. higher apprenticeship or foundation degree

Level 6, e.g. degree apprenticeship, BA or BSc

Level 7, e.g. Masters degree

Level 8, e.g. DPhil or PhD

Post-doctoral research experience

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* 11. How do you find talent for your organisation, again focusing on scientific and technical roles - please score each option indicating how frequently you use this route for attracting talent.

	Always	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never/ N/A	We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
Internships	Internships Always	Internships Often	Internships Sometimes	Internships Rarely	Internships Never/ N/A	Internships We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
Work experience placements	Work experience placements Always	Work experience placements Often	Work experience placements Sometimes	Work experience placements Rarely	Work experience placements Never/ N/A	Work experience placements We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
Other in-house/company training schemes	Other in-house/company training schemes Always	Other in-house/company training schemes Often	Other in-house/company training schemes Sometimes	Other in-house/company training schemes Rarely	Other in-house/company training schemes Never/ N/A	Other in-house/company training schemes We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
School leavers	School leavers Always	School leavers Often	School leavers Sometimes	School leavers Rarely	School leavers Never/ N/A	School leavers We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
Further Education colleges or providers	Further Education colleges or providers Always	Further Education colleges or providers Often	Further Education colleges or providers Sometimes	Further Education colleges or providers Rarely	Further Education colleges or providers Never/ N/A	Further Education colleges or providers We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
Apprenticeship programmes run by my company	Apprenticeship programmes run by my company Always	Apprenticeship programmes run by my company Often	Apprenticeship programmes run by my company Sometimes	Apprenticeship programmes run by my company Rarely	Apprenticeship programmes run by my company Never/ N/A	Apprenticeship programmes run by my company We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
Apprentices trained within other organisations	Apprentices trained within other organisations Always	Apprentices trained within other organisations Often	Apprentices trained within other organisations Sometimes	Apprentices trained within other organisations Rarely	Apprentices trained within other organisations Never/ N/A	Apprentices trained within other organisations We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
Graduates and post-graduates	Graduates and post-graduates Always	Graduates and post-graduates Often	Graduates and post-graduates Sometimes	Graduates and post-graduates Rarely	Graduates and post-graduates Never/ N/A	Graduates and post-graduates We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
Academia (individuals who have undertaken post-doctoral training/lab heads/faculty members etc)	Academia (individuals who have undertaken post-doctoral training/lab heads/faculty members etc) Always	Academia (individuals who have undertaken post-doctoral training/lab heads/faculty members etc) Often	Academia (individuals who have undertaken post-doctoral training/lab heads/faculty members etc) Sometimes	Academia (individuals who have undertaken post-doctoral training/lab heads/faculty members etc) Rarely	Academia (individuals who have undertaken post-doctoral training/lab heads/faculty members etc) Never/ N/A	Academia (individuals who have undertaken post-doctoral training/lab heads/faculty members etc) We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
Industry - same sector as your organisation	Industry - same sector as your organisation Always	Industry - same sector as your organisation Often	Industry - same sector as your organisation Sometimes	Industry - same sector as your organisation Rarely	Industry - same sector as your organisation Never/ N/A	Industry - same sector as your organisation We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
Industry - other sectors	Industry - other sectors Always	Industry - other sectors Often	Industry - other sectors Sometimes	Industry - other sectors Rarely	Industry - other sectors Never/ N/A	Industry - other sectors We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future
NHS (question for health or life sciences related companies)	NHS (question for health or life sciences related companies) Always	NHS (question for health or life sciences related companies) Often	NHS (question for health or life sciences related companies) Sometimes	NHS (question for health or life sciences related companies) Rarely	NHS (question for health or life sciences related companies) Never/ N/A	NHS (question for health or life sciences related companies) We have not used this route previously, but anticipate that we may in the future

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* 12. Where do you attract talent from (location) - again please indicate how likely it is that you will recruit from different locations - please consider the location where the individual was based, prior to being recruited to your organisation.

	Often	Sometimes	Rarely	Never
Oxfordshire	Oxfordshire Often	Oxfordshire Sometimes	Oxfordshire Rarely	Oxfordshire Never
London	London Often	London Sometimes	London Rarely	London Never
Other parts of south east of England, e.g. Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent	Other parts of south east of England, e.g. Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent Often	Other parts of south east of England, e.g. Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent Sometimes	Other parts of south east of England, e.g. Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent Rarely	Other parts of south east of England, e.g. Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Kent Never
Rest of UK	Rest of UK Often	Rest of UK Sometimes	Rest of UK Rarely	Rest of UK Never
Europe	Europe Often	Europe Sometimes	Europe Rarely	Europe Never
US	US Often	US Sometimes	US Rarely	US Never
Australia/Canada/New Zealand	Australia/Canada/New Zealand Often	Australia/Canada/New Zealand Sometimes	Australia/Canada/New Zealand Rarely	Australia/Canada/New Zealand Never
Rest of the World	Rest of the World Often	Rest of the World Sometimes	Rest of the World Rarely	Rest of the World Never

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* 13. If you recruit internationally (outside UK) what skills or experience do you typically need to source from the international labour market?

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* 14. Please assess how Brexit has affected your company/organisation's experience of recruiting and retaining talent (positive or negative)

Entirely negative

Neither negative nor positive

Entirely positive

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 15. Tell us about the impacts of Brexit on your acquisition and retention of talent - please select as many as are relevant

	Agree	Disagree	I have no data/experience of this issue
Brexit has had no impact on retention of staff within my company/organisation	Brexit has had no impact on retention of staff within my company/organisation Agree	Brexit has had no impact on retention of staff within my company/organisation Disagree	Brexit has had no impact on retention of staff within my company/organisation I have no data/experience of this issue
Brexit has had no impact on acquisition of staff within my company/organisation	Brexit has had no impact on acquisition of staff within my company/organisation Agree	Brexit has had no impact on acquisition of staff within my company/organisation Disagree	Brexit has had no impact on acquisition of staff within my company/organisation I have no data/experience of this issue
Brexit has had a positive impact on acquisition of staff within my company/organisation	Brexit has had a positive impact on acquisition of staff within my company/organisation Agree	Brexit has had a positive impact on acquisition of staff within my company/organisation Disagree	Brexit has had a positive impact on acquisition of staff within my company/organisation I have no data/experience of this issue
My company/organisation has lost existing staff due to Brexit	My company/organisation has lost existing staff due to Brexit Agree	My company/organisation has lost existing staff due to Brexit Disagree	My company/organisation has lost existing staff due to Brexit I have no data/experience of this issue
My company/organisation finds it more difficult to attract EU national candidates since 1st January, 2021	My company/organisation finds it more difficult to attract EU national candidates since 1st January, 2021 Agree	My company/organisation finds it more difficult to attract EU national candidates since 1st January, 2021 Disagree	My company/organisation finds it more difficult to attract EU national candidates since 1st January, 2021 I have no data/experience of this issue
My company/organisation recruits more UK nationals since 1st January, 2021	My company/organisation recruits more UK nationals since 1st January, 2021 Agree	My company/organisation recruits more UK nationals since 1st January, 2021 Disagree	My company/organisation recruits more UK nationals since 1st January, 2021 I have no data/experience of this issue
Recruitment to some roles has become more difficult	Recruitment to some roles has become more difficult Agree	Recruitment to some roles has become more difficult Disagree	Recruitment to some roles has become more difficult I have no data/experience of this issue

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* 16. Tell us about any changes you have put in place or experienced relating to the costs or time associated with recruitment as a result of Brexit.

	Improved/quicker/cheaper	Worse/slower/more expensive	No change	I have no data/experience of this issue
Time to recruit	Time to recruit Improved/quicker/cheaper	Time to recruit Worse/slower/more expensive	Time to recruit No change	Time to recruit I have no data/experience of this issue
Recruitment costs	Recruitment costs Improved/quicker/cheaper	Recruitment costs Worse/slower/more expensive	Recruitment costs No change	Recruitment costs I have no data/experience of this issue
Ease of getting visas	Ease of getting visas Improved/quicker/cheaper	Ease of getting visas Worse/slower/more expensive	Ease of getting visas No change	Ease of getting visas I have no data/experience of this issue
Costs of getting visas	Costs of getting visas Improved/quicker/cheaper	Costs of getting visas Worse/slower/more expensive	Costs of getting visas No change	Costs of getting visas I have no data/experience of this issue
Relocation costs	Relocation costs Improved/quicker/cheaper	Relocation costs Worse/slower/more expensive	Relocation costs No change	Relocation costs I have no data/experience of this issue
Salaries	Salaries Improved/quicker/cheaper	Salaries Worse/slower/more expensive	Salaries No change	Salaries I have no data/experience of this issue

Please tell us about any other impacts of Brexit that have not been covered in the questions above

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* 17. Do you have any initiatives or activities operating within your company/organisation to address equality, diversity or inclusion issues?

Yes

Not currently, but we have previously

Not currently, but we are planning some activity

If you answered yes, or indicated that you have previously had activities, please tell us a little about what you are doing or what you did.

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* 18. Looking forward to 5 years time, what changes in your skills requirements do you expect to see? Please mention new areas of skills requirement, please mention areas where you may require fewer skilled staff.

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* 19. Please provide us with your e mail address if you are happy for us to contact you about this research or to invite you to events related to this work. We would like to keep in touch, but this is OPTIONAL.

Email Address

Phone Number