Data collection exercise through employer survey in private enterprises

The Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) regularly conducts studies that help it in pursuing its functions. One such study that is currently under implementation is the Skills Studies 2016.

 Context

Mauritius aspires to move up the next level in terms of its economic development. One of the enablers to achieving such an objective is having a labour force equipped with the appropriate skills.Training and education providers and the skills development system in general need to supply such skills. Therefore, up to date information on skills needs at enterprise level is one of the essential inputs in informing their articulation and translation into curricula and other skills development programmes relevant to industry requirements.

Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study would be to find out the current patterns of skills in the traditional major industrial sectors, as well as assessing the current skills needs and the skills needs in the medium and longer term. This study would also provide an indication of the different skills needs which would be required in less developed industrial sectors. Sectors to be covered include:

1. Agriculture and Fishing;
2. Construction and allied services;
3. Tourism and Hospitality;
4. Financial and Insurance Services activities;
5. ICT – BPO;
6. Manufacturing (Textile & Non-textile);
7. Freight, Logistic and Transport, Storage;
8. Wholesale and retail trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles;
9. Business Services (Professional, scientific and technical activities) and Real Estates;
10. Life Sciences;
11. Health care and Wellness

The specific objectives of the study are to:

1. assess skills needs in the short to medium term (0 to 3 years);
2. map the current education and skills levels of employees across occupational groups, and in different sectors of the economy,
3. identify the critical skills and hard-to-fill posts in different sectors,
4. involve business associations in developing data collection instruments,
5. assess the capacity of enterprises to anticipate skill needs,
6. analyse the involvement of enterprise in training and workforce development,
7. assess the degree of mismatch in skills across occupational groups; and
8. assess the attitude of employers towards the recruitment of employees with STEM skills.

Outcomes of Skills Studies 2016

This study will be an important tool which could be used by policy makers, private and public training institutions, employers and other interested parties as it would:

• provide an overview of the skills status in the  11 above-mentioned sectors of the Mauritian economy;
• inform training providers in mounting training courses as per the requirement of each sector and the whole economy;
• help policy makers and relevant institutions to devise measures to boost skills levels in the country; and
• identify gaps in terms of skills requirements in both current and emerging industries.

Data Collection phase

The study is presently at the data collection phase. The data collection exercise will be based on a mixed method approach whereby quantitative findings will be supplemented by qualitative ones. Quantitative data will be collected via face to face interview based on structured questionnaire addressed to around 1400 employers cutting across sectors mentioned above. While qualitative data will be gathered via focus group discussions and/or individual expert interviews.

Request to employers:

Randomly selected employers who will be contacted in the context of the above study are kindly requested to extend their support to the interviewer (from Syntheses Mauritius Ltd) in the enumeration of the questionnaire.Employers are also kindly requested to assign a management representative well acquainted to training and human resource development in their establishment to respond to the survey.

The HRDC assures selected employers participating in the study that all information submitted will be treated in strict confidentiality and findings will only be disseminated in an anonymous and aggregate format. The HRDC also wishes to thank in anticipation all participants for their collaboration in this national endeavour.Should you have any query related to the study please contact the HRDC on 4544009 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.