The Department for the Economy today published the findings of
the Northern Ireland Employer Skills Survey 2024, which examines
the skills challenges faced by businesses.
The survey gathered insights from 3,388 employers, focusing on:
Recruitment and skill-shortage vacancies; Workforce skills gaps;
Training and development; Apprenticeships; High-performance
working practices; and use of artificial intelligence.
A skills shortage vacancy arises when a post is hard to fill
because of a lack of skills, qualifications or experience among
applicants.
Key findings:
- There are 29,900 vacancies in 2024 - a decrease of 9,600
since 2022.
- 25% of all vacancies were skills-shortage vacancies (down
from 35% in 2024).
- 7,500 skill-shortage vacancies in 2024, falling from 13,700
in 2022.
- 11% of employers reported skills gaps in 2024 and the
proportion of employees with skill gaps fell from 4.6% in 2022 to
4% in 2024.
- 17% of employers currently offer apprenticeships, while 24%
said they plan to offer apprenticeships in the future, a decrease
on 32% in 2022.
Economy Minister Dr welcomed the progress
but cautioned that employers continue to face challenges.
She said: “While this survey shows that the volume of
vacancies and skills shortages has fallen from 2022, employers
still face challenging circumstances in filling many posts.
Developing the skills of our workforce will be essential if we
are to achieve the objectives outlined within my Economic
Vision.
“Skills are at the heart of this vision and my Department
is investing heavily across the skills ecosystem, however both
government and business must ensure that we continue to
prioritise investment in skills as this will be key to achieving
our economic aspirations.”
The Minister also emphasised the importance of apprenticeships in
bridging the skills gap and urged more employers to consider
apprentices. She said: “Apprenticeships have a
proven track record of providing the specific skills employers
need. I encourage more employers to explore the potential of
apprenticeships to develop the skills and talent they require to
succeed.”
Notes to editors:
1. The Employer Skills Survey 2024, which can be found at:
www.economy-ni.gov.uk/publications/employer-skills-survey-2024,
was listed as a project to be delivered under the DfE Research
Programme 2024-27, published in July 2024.
2. Headline results from the survey for the UK were published on
24 July 2025. The full UK report is scheduled to be published on
27th November 2025.
