Regional Skills Assessments

What are Regional Skills Assessments (RSAs)?

The aim of Regional Skills Assessments (RSAs) is to provide a coherent evidence base to inform future investment in skills, built up from existing datasets and forecasts.

RSAs are developed and used by SDS and its partners including: Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Government, the Scottish Local Authorities Economic Development Group and the South of Scotland Enterprise.

What's changed?

Covering all Regional Outcome Agreement areas, Rural Scotland and all City and Growth Deal Regions, the RSAs offer the most detailed picture yet of the effect the COVID-19 pandemic is having on regional labour markets across the country. The data contained in this release is the most up to date as of July 2021.

This iteration of the RSAs is based on a hybrid model which includes high level ‘at a glance’ infographics with accompanying context slides to provide further insight. The reports also contain a spotlight chapter and this iteration focuses on Regional Employment and Equalities. They also feature data aimed at illustrating the impact of the pandemic including furlough data, job vacancies and PACE support.

Oxford Economics forecast data has been updated in this release of the RSAs. These reflect, for example, the beginning of restrictions being eased as the Covid-19 vaccination programme is deployed across the country, the current economic conditions for businesses, and continued uncertainty over Brexit.

The RSA Data Matrix remains updated on a monthly basis and the team can be contacted at rsa@sds.co.uk to support with any queries.

RSA Data Matrix

The RSA Data Matrix is an interactive tool, offering data from a variety of sources in a visually engaging format. The data covers three themes:

• Skills Supply: the supply of people within the labour market
• Skills Demand: the demand for skills within the labour market
• Skills Mismatches: where there is a gap between the demand for skills and the supply of skills within the labour market.

The RSA Data Matrix is available below. If you are viewing this page on a mobile device, please click here to view the Data Matrix. 

Associated guidance for details on how to use the interactive tool:

• Guidance Document
• Video tutorial 
• Glossary

A rural cut of data is included in the RSA Data Matrix to support the actions set out in the Skills Action Plan for Rural Scotland Skills Action Plan for Rural Scotland 2019 - 2021. This data is available by clicking the ‘Rural Local Authorities’ button.

If you have any queries, comments, wish to provide any feedback or require this report in an alternative format, please contact rsa@sds.co.uk.