Business Survey Report

Introduction

The following report uses data taken from the business survey carried out by the Chamber as a part of LSIP project. This survey asks businesses a series of questions on key indicators - General Business, Skills, Business Growth, Digital Growth, and Net Zero. The survey ran from 28th November'22 and 30th April'23.

Summary

In total, there were 417 businesses involved in the business survey. Of these, 116 can be broadly classified as Manufacturers, 11 fall under Agriculture businesses, 35 were from Construction, 33 were from Business Services sector, 28 were from Health and Social Care sector and 194 from Other sectors. 35.0% of businesses employed fewer than 10 people. 40.0% employed 10-49 people. 17.0% employed 50-249 people. 7.0% employed over 250 people. Looking at the districts, 18.0% businesses belong to Worcester, followed by 18.0% from Wychavon and 16.0% from Wyre Forest. 15.0% businesses belong to Redditch, , 12.0% from Malvern, 8.0% from Bromsgrove and 12.0% businesses were from Outside the region.

The data is collected through survey. The collected data is then cleansed and modified which is later analysed through scripts that provides capability to develop visualisations. This way the whole process is automated and remains sustainable for long time.

Results

Who do you market your product or services to?

Have you considered moving aspects of your business outside of the UK because of a skills shortage?

Do you have a succession plan in place for your workforce?

How far in advance do you plan?

What do you think are the biggest needs in your existing workforce? (On a scale 1-5 with '1' being the least important and '5' being the most important)

What are the barriers preventing these needs from being met? (On a scale of 1-5 with '1' being 'Least relevant' and '5' Most relevant)

Thinking about the availability of staff, where do you anticipate recruiting from in the next 5 years

Do you require accredited training or any staff to have specific qualifications?

Are there organisations or training providers you currently use or have relationships with? E.g. colleges, universities, private training providers, apprenticeship delivery organisations

Are the courses available flexible enough for your needs and delivered in ways that work best for you? (Select one answer only)

If no to the above question (Question 11), what do you need?

Do you feel well informed about how to connect with:

Are there certain cultural/behavioural skills that your existing workforce lack and would benefit from further training in? (On a scale 1-5 with '1' being the least important and '5' being the most important)

Will any of the growth be reliant on:

What, if anything, are potential barriers to this growth in relation to existing skills provision?

What types of systems and processes does your business currently use?

Do you think your current workforce are well equipped to deal with the changes that net zero will demand of your business?

What plans have you made in your business to adapt to this?

Thinking generally across your business, will any of the following skills have an impact on your business in the future?

Do you require new or existing staff to hold any of the following qualifications?

Do your current workforce have

Does your existing workforce need additional support in any of the following areas?