HC Deb 12 November 2003 vol 413 c350W
Mr. Boswell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research he has conducted into the differential in the qualifications required for future jobs between(a) newly-created jobs and (b) replacement jobs; and what estimate he has made of the number of jobs in each category. [136458]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

Research conducted by the Department into the area in question consists of the Projections of Occupations and Qualifications 2000/2001 commissioned from the University of Warwick Institute for Employment Research and Cambridge Econometrics and covering estimates for the period 1999 to 2010. New projections have been commissioned by the Sector Skills Development Agency and will be published in early 2004.

This research estimates that about two million additional jobs will be created over the period 1999 to 2010. However, there will be a net requirement for about 13.5 million job openings to cover these new jobs and to replace people retiring and dying and moving into and out of their jobs.

The research did not cover the differential in the qualifications required for these two categories of jobs. However, the same research suggests that, between 1999 and 2010, the number of people employed with qualifications at levels 4 and 5 will increase from 7.10 million to 9.43 million, the number of people employed with level 3 qualifications will increase from 5.10 million to 5.38 million, the number of people employed with qualifications at level 2 will fall from 6.17million to 6.12 million and the number of people employed with qualifications at level 1 will increase from 5.78 million to 6.25 million.