The survey, conducted by the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI), asked UK charities to identify skills gaps within the sector, the reasons for them, and possible solutions to the problems. It was the fourth conducted by the FSI, and the first since 2012/13, allowing for analysis of the changing views and needs of charities. The survey was conducted with 381 charities with turnovers of up to £1.5million, more than half of which had turnovers of less than £250,000. The type of charity represented in the survey varied greatly, with charities dedicated to children/young people, education and training, community welfare, health, disability, arts and culture, environment, homelessness, animals, religion and sport all represented to varying degrees.

Positives and negatives

More than half of the charities surveyed rated their performance as “excellent” or “very good” in the following skills areas: team working, basic computer literacy/IT, leadership, working in partnership with other organisations and health and safety. Areas of poor performance included impact reporting, marketing, strategic use of IT and engaging and working with businesses.

Difficulties in hiring

The position of fundraiser was by far the most difficult to fill according to respondents, almost three times more so than the second placed position of volunteer manager. This is despite a drop in the percentage of charities identifying fundraising as the most difficult position to fill from 57% to 32% in 2012/13. Marketing/communications, administration, project managers, finance and CEO/Director were among the next highest ranked.

Cause of these difficulties

Past surveys have revealed salary to be the main reason for hard-to-fill vacancies, and the latest is no different, though this figure has dropped from 58% in 2012/13 to 36% in 2013/14. The sharpest rise has been in applicants lack of experience, up from 9% in 2012/13 to 25% in 2014/15.

Areas for upskilling

Areas identified as requiring upskilling included lobbying, government relations, website development, social media, marketing planning, business planning and online fundraising.

Causes of skills gaps

By far and away the two biggest causes for skills gaps as seen by charities are the lack of funding for training and development (64%), and the lack of time available for employees to attend training (56%). These figures have been consistently high looking back over past surveys. Meanwhile, there has been a 10% rise (from 13% to 23%) in charities identifying a lack of available training locally.

Impacts of skills gaps

Four impacts stand head and shoulders above the rest: increased workload for colleagues (61%), increased time taken to deliver work (51%), decreased ability to take on new work (43%), and no room for development of services (40%). Each of these figures has increased since the last survey in 2012/13.

Actions to address skills gaps

Once more, four main actions stand out: using resources and training from voluntary sector and infrastructure bodies (43%), further training provisions (42%), using volunteers instead of paid employees (42%), and visiting other organisations delivering similar activities (38%).

Access to business volunteers/support

More than 80% of respondents said they would appreciate support from business volunteers with fundraising, while over 60% said the same for providing training on a specific skill or function, helping to deliver a project, and serving as a trustee.

When asked what the barriers were to taking advantage of business support, the top three answers from respondents were time and resource (54%), uncertainty about the best way to approach businesses (46%), and no business contacts (35%).

You can read the report’s detailed findings here >

Do the results of this survey tally with your experiences in the charity sector? Let us know your views on the skills gaps you face, the reasons for them, and what you think could be done to address them. Email bbfnews@bbf.uk.com.