South East Cornwall Business Survey 2009

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A Report to

Rame Peninsula Trust CIC,Looe Area Partnership,

Saltash CIC,Cornwall CouncilAnd

Business Link

South East CornwallBusiness Survey

2009


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Title: SE Cornwall Business Survey 2009 Date: July 2009

Status: Issued

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Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 11.1 SAMPLE SELECTION AND METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................... 11.2 ANALYSIS AND REPORTING................................................................................................................ 2

2 KEY FINDINGS.................................................................................................................................. 33 AREA PROFILES............................................................................................................................... 94 SAMPLE DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................................. 165 MAIN FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................. 21

5.1 STAFFING AND RECRUITMENT.......................................................................................................... 215.2 SKILLS AND TRAINING ..................................................................................................................... 315.3 INNOVATION................................................................................................................................... 445.4 BUSINESS GROWTH AND ASPIRATIONS ............................................................................................. 525.5 PREMISES ..................................................................................................................................... 605.6 CONSTRAINTS................................................................................................................................ 69

6 APPENDIX VERBATIM COMMENTS............................................................................................ 876.1 REASONS FOR NOT UNDERTAKING TNA............................................................................................ 876.2 DISSATISFACTION WITH PREMISES ................................................................................................... 906.3 BUSINESS ISSUES .......................................................................................................................... 92

7 APPENDIX - QUESTIONNAIRE ..................................................................................................... 1178 APPENDIX DATA OUTPUT ........................................................................................................ 132

8.1 TOPLINE DATA ............................................................................................................................. 1328.2 DATA CUT BY LOCATION............................................................................................................... 1738.3 DATA CUT BY URBAN VS RURAL .................................................................................................... 2318.4 DATA CUT BY COMPANY SIZE ....................................................................................................... 290


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their contact details to be made available to Business Link; these were subsequently flagged as

possible candidates for business support and their details were forwarded through the Business

Link Partner Referral system. At the time of writing it is too early to collate numerical feedback

and assess the success of this activity; however it is intended that the report will be amended

accordingly when that data becomes available.

1.2 Analysis and Reporting

The results of the analysis contained within the report are presented in top line format showing

the proportion of valid responses to each of the questions asked and also by the area within

which the business was located. Please note that where base samples are displayed in tables

and charts the (n) values represent the actual number of respondents answering the particular

question.

Percentage values are presented for those questions that were asked to all those businesses

that participated in the research. It should be noted that there are some questions that were onlyasked to a smaller subset of all respondents. Presenting percentage values for small subsets of

interviewees often tends to distort the level of responses made; therefore the use of absolute

values or integers have been used in tables where the sample size is small.

Several questions enabled respondents to provide more than one response; for these multiple

responses questions the values presented in the charts or tables may total more than 100%. To

facilitate clarity for the reader percentage values presented have been rounded to the nearest

integer and therefore may not total exactly 100%.

The main body of the report is structured in the following manner:

Section 2 presents the Key Findings;

Section 3 presents key differences between each of the 5 town area locations;

Section 4 contains the Sample Characteristics;

Section 5 contains detailed results of the analysis;

Section 6 Appendix contains respondents verbatim comments.

Section 7 Appendix contains a copy of the CATI based questionnaire.

Section 8 Appendix contains data outputs.


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2 Key Findings

The key findings of the research are presented below, organised by key themes:

Staffing and recruitment;

Skills and training; Innovation use of computers and the Internet;

Innovation - intended innovations and needs;

Business growth and aspirations;

Premises;

Constraints.

Staffing and recruitment:

36% of businesses state that they do not employ staff or had no recent experience of

recruiting. Word of mouth is the most popular source for recruiting staff, used by 27% of

businesses; 25% used local newspapers and 23% used Jobcentre Plus. Page 21

51% of companies would consider recruiting people returning to the labour market, 39%

would recruit school leavers, 38% would consider recruiting people with a disability,

33% would recruit graduates and the same proportion (33%) would consider recruiting

overseas immigrants. 31% of businesses stated that they do not employ staff / dont

recruit. Page 23

48% of businesses never experienced difficulties related to skill shortages or constraints

within the labour market when looking to recruit new staff; while a further 33% stated that

they do not employ staff. 14% sometimes had difficulties and 5% often experienced

difficulties in recruiting staff. Page 24

Recruiting for the general workforce was the area of difficulty for 49 of the 77 businesses

that sometimes or often experienced difficulties in recruiting staff. 28 businesses

experienced difficulties linked to recruiting people as part of the skilled workforce. Page 24

33 of the 77 businesses experiencing problems when recruiting identified a lack of

motivation to work as one of the difficulties they faced. 27 businesses had difficulties

linked to a shortage of people with the right experience; while 23 experienced difficulties

because of a shortage of people with the necessary skills/qualifications. Page 25

58 out of 77 businesses that experience difficulties recruiting staff stated that this

happened all the time. 11 businesses experienced difficulties recruiting during the

summer and 5 had problems recruiting in during the spring. Page 26

Only 45 (11%) of all 400 businesses currently provided opportunities for graduates. 35 of

those businesses offering graduate opportunities did so in the form of a work placement;

while 7 offered opportunities through management training schemes. 42 (12%) of the 355

companies that currently do not provide graduate opportunities would consider doing so

in the future. A lack of graduate level jobs within the business was the main reason for

not providing opportunities for graduates; cited by 51% of the 299 businesses that do not

currently offer graduate opportunities and would not consider doing so in the future. Pages26 - 28


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interviewees stating that no such training is available locally, 7% said training is too

expensive, 7% stated that no funding was available and 4% said no relevant training

courses are available. Pages 40 - 41

Innovation - Use of Computers and the Internet:

52% of all businesses rated the use of computers and ICT as an essential factor within

their business; with a further 13% rating it as fairly important. The use of computers and

other ICT was rated as not very important or not at all important by 28% of businesses.

Page 41

38% of businesses interviewed do not have any presence on the World Wide Web. 53%

of all businesses interviewed have their own website, 13% have a dedicated page on

someone elses website and 2% have some other form of World Wide Web presence.

95% of those with a web presence provided full contact details on their website/web

page. 41% have had their website optimised for search engines, while 18% included an

online catalogue. 49% of those with a web presence do not intend to make any changes

to their website. 14% were looking to make alterations linked to the provision of full

contact details, 12% were considering general updating or replacement of the website

and 7% were looking to make changes linked to search engine optimisation. Pages 44 - 46

75% of the 148 businesses that currently do not have a Web presence indicated that they

did not plan to change this position in the future. 22% of those without a Web presence

intend to establish one by having their own website; with the remainder intending to have

a dedicated page on another organisations website. Page 45

42% of all businesses felt that use of the Internet and the World Wide Web was essentialfor the future of their business; a further 19% believed that it was fairly important.

However, just under a third (30%) felt that the Internet and World Wide Web were either

not very important or not at all important for the future of their business. Page 47

368, representing 92% of all businesses, stated that they do not make use of social

networking websites for business purposes; of which 353 (96%) indicated that they had

no plans to do so in the future. Page 48

Innovation Intended Innovations and Needs:

55% of businesses indicated that they currently have no plans to innovate their business.

Customer care is the chosen area of innovation for 21% of business; while 15% were

intended to undertake innovations linked to the environment. 13% of businesses are

intending to develop alternative markets for their goods and services and 12% are

seeking to innovate through technology integration. Page 48

52% of businesses believe that they can access the support they would require to enable

them to innovate and the majority (72%) said that they did not need any support to

facilitate innovation. The main areas where businesses felt they could benefit from

support to aid their ability to innovate were: help with finance (15%), help with sales or

marketing (12%) and support with technology (11). Page 49

The majority of interviewees recognise the need for their business to be innovative, with

28% saying there is a fair need to innovate and 30% stating that it is essential. In terms


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of their ability to be innovative, 43% of interviewees said that their business was very

capable and 38% felt their business was fairly capable in terms of its capacity to

innovate. Page 50

Business growth and aspirations:

58% of businesses have aspirations to grow moderately over the next 12 months and a

further 5% wish to grow substantially. 34% are happy with the current size of their

business, 1% of businesses are seeking to become smaller and 2% are looking to sell

the business and/or retire. 62% of interviewees said that they would like to see their

business grow moderately over the next 5 years; with an extra 10% looking to grow

substantially over the same period. Approximately 1 in 5 (21%) of businesses indicated

that they wished to stay the same over the next 5 years. Page 52

79% of the 291 businesses with aspirations to grow intended to do so via an increase in

turnover/sales; 28% were looking to grow via their existing product or market mix, 26%

intended to introduce new products/services and 23% were looking to move into new

markets. Page 53

42% of those businesses aspiring to grow expect that they would have to take on more

staff to facilitate this growth. 31% stated that they would be a requirement to invest in

more capital equipment, 20% would need to seek external funding/borrowing, 19%

would need to expand premises/add more sites and 19% would need to train and/or up-

skill staff. Nearly 1 in 5 (17%) of those businesses with aspirations to grow did not know

what they would need to help them grow. Page 54

Internal finance was the preferred source of funding for 65% of those businesses lookingto achieve growth in the short to medium-term. 19% expected to use grant funding to

help finance their growth aspirations and 12% would fund growth by use of a commercial

loan from a bank. 12% of businesses did not know how they expected to fund their

intended growth. Page 55

109 businesses stated that intended to stay the same or to become smaller. Just over

half (58) of these 109 businesses did not wish to grow because they were happy with the

size we are. 33 did not want to grow as they wished to remain independent and 28 said

that they were looking to retire or close down the business. Page 56

74% of businesses have not undertaken any type of formal business planning in the last12 months. Over the last 12 months 17% of businesses had produced or up-dated a

business plan for the short to medium term and 13% had produced or up-dated a formal

marketing plan. In the context of the next 12 months 70% of businesses indicated that

they did not plan to undertake any formal business planning; 18% stated that they

intended to produce or up-date a business plan for the short to medium term and 14%

would produce or up-date a formal marketing plan. Pages 57

6% of interviewees stated that their organisation had used external business support

agencies over the past 12 months and 4% had employed external business or marketing

consultants. In relation to the next 12 months 7% of businesses indicated that they

intended to use external business support agencies and the same proportion would

employ external business or marketing consultants. Page 57


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Premises:

90% of interviewees stated that the head office of the business was located at the

address from where they were being interviewed. 8% of businesses interviewed had head

office locations outside of Cornwall. 61% of businesses owned the premises at which

they were located, 24% were in rented premises and 12% of premises were leasehold.Pages 60 - 61

Respondents are generally satisfied that their existing premises are suitable to meet their

current (83% satisfied) and future (77% satisfied) business requirements. Pages 61 - 62

A lack of space emerged as the main reason for the dissatisfaction felt by 24 of the 57

businesses who expressed some dissatisfaction with their current premises. 5

interviewees were dissatisfied with their current premises because of bureaucratic issues

linked to Council planning procedures and 5 gave the appearance and/or condition of

their premises as the reason for the dissatisfaction they felt. Page 63

55 (14%) of interviewees indicated that their business required additional premises. 14 of

the 55 businesses that required additional premises said that these premises needed to

have office space; 12 needed premises that offered workshop space and 9 needed

warehouse space. 6 interviewees said that their business required land to develop and

a further 3 indicated that they just required land. 5 of the 8 businesses that wanted land

required 3 acres or under; 2 required 10 acres of land; 1 required 100 acres and the

remaining business wanted 200 acres. Page 64

19 of the businesses who indicated that they would like additional premises wanted

premises of less than 50 square metres; a further 17 wanted premises that were 50 to100 square metres in size. Only 5 businesses indicated that they would require premises

that were more than 200 square metres. 23 of the 55 businesses that required additional

premises expressed a preference for the additional premises to be freehold; 12 wanted

leasehold premises and 20 did not express any preference. Page 65

10 of the 55 business requiring additional premises indicated that they would prefer these

premises to be located in the rural area of Liskeard. Saltash town centre was the

preferred location for 7 interviewees and 7 indicated a preference for the rural area of

Saltash. None of the 55 businesses expressed a preference for additional premises

located in Callington town centre. Page 66

Transport connections appear to be important requirements for businesses when looking

for additional premises for their business. 40 of the 55 businesses looking that expressed

a desire for additional premises states that good road access was a requirement for 40.

20 required public transport links; 16 wanted wider broadband and 14 wanted additional

premises that had a water frontage. Page Table 5.69 Facilities Required67

Constraints:

Only 5% of businesses felt there were no constraints on business growth within SE

Cornwall. The state of the UK economy was cited by 66% as a constraint on business

growth; 48% cited high fuel and energy costs as a constraint; 30% saw a lack ofcustomers as a constraint and 29% perceived the level of business taxation as

constraining business growth. Other factors considered as constraining business growth


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by at least 1 in every 5 interviewees include: increased competition (25%),

environmental legislation and the cost of waste disposal (23%), the state of the global

economy (21%) and health and safety (20%). Page 70

The picture is brighter in relation to those factors that interviewees perceived as

constraining their own business, with 26% saying that there were no constraints

impacting upon their own business. The state of the UK economy was identified as a

constraint upon their business by 33% of businesses. High fuel and energy costs were

seen as impacting upon their business by 28% of interviewees, 14% were affected by a

lack of customers, 14% felt constrained by the level of business taxation and 10% felt

constrained by the impact of environmental legislation and the cost of waste disposal.

Page 70

64% of businesses state that the necessary business support services were available to

enable them to meet challenges and constraints facing their business. Provision of

support linked to finance and grant is the area where businesses felt that businesssupport services could currently be of help, mentioned by 21% of businesses interviewed.

12% felt that business support services could help their business with business growth

and 12% felt they could provide assistance with sales and marketing. 59% of businesses

interviewed indicated that there were no particular areas where business support services

could provide them with help. Pages 74 - 75

29% of businesses interviewed indicated that they dont know of any business support

organisations. Awareness of business support organisations was greatest for Business

Link, with 34% of business aware. 12% were aware of the Federation of Small

Businesses, 12% are aware of business support provided by a trade association and the

same percentage (12%) were aware of accountants as a source of business support.Pages 76 - 77

45% of businesses indicated that they do not use business support and therefore had

not accessed any business support within the last 12 months; a further 13% stated that

they did not know. 13% of businesses had received support from Business Link; 6%

had used an accountant and 5% each mentioned receiving business support from a

consultant or the Federation of Small Businesses. Page 78

Business Link is the most trusted first port of call for business support for 13% of

businesses; while accountants were the most trusted source of business support for11%. 29% of interviewees did not know which organisation they would most trust to

provide them with business support. Pages 79 - 80

Heating and fuel costs is the most pressing issue facing businesses interviewed, cited by

41% as a major issue or somewhat of an issue. The level of Uniform Business Rates is

an issue for 32% of businesses; while traffic congestion and the quality of the road

network were both identified as issues by 19% of those interviewed. Other important

issues identified include: access to public transport (17%); access to relevant business

support (16%); access to customers and provision of car parking for staff and visitors

both with 14%; availability of a good Internet connection (13%) and access to

experienced/skilled staff (12%). Page 80 - 81


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3 Area Profiles

This section of the report presents a mini profile for each of the towns and surrounding catchment

areas based upon the results of the analysis. The purpose of the mini profiles is to provide an

insight into the key issues covered in the research as they impact upon each of the five majorcentres of population within SE Cornwall. The profiles will focus upon those factors and issues

where there would appear to be some key differences that maybe related to where the towns are

located within SE Cornwall.

Callington, Gunnislake and Calstock Area:

The towns of Callington, Gunnislake and Calstock are located in the north of the SE Cornwall

region. Over the recent period these towns have experienced considerable growth in the number

of housing developments being built; possibly reflecting their growth as commuter towns serving

Tavistock and Plymouth. Neither Gunnislake nor Calstock are industrial towns and despite beingwell known as the birth place of Ginsters, Callington similarly is not considered to be an industrial

town.

Callington is situated on the crossroads of the A388 and the A390, which provide direct links to

Liskeard, Launceston, Tavistock, and Saltash and beyond; the A390 also serves Gunnislake.

Gunnislake and Calstock have a direct rail-link to Plymouth that Callington lacks; although

Callington is served by a regular bus service.

Training: Fewer businesses in the Callington/Gunnislake and Calstock area experience

difficulties recruiting staff than in any of the other area, with only 9% sometimes or often having

difficulties recruiting. In part this may be due to the 46% of businesses that do not employ staff.

11% of businesses provide graduate opportunities; with a lack of graduate level jobs cited asthe reason by 61% of businesses for not offering graduate opportunities; 16% indicated that they

did not have a need for graduates.

A quarter (25%) of businesses in the area have conducted a TNA; with 41% of those not doing

so stating that they do not have employees; another 38% indicated that they had no need. 15%

of those not having conducted a TNA would like to receive help to do so. 16% of businesses in

Callington/Gunnislake and Calstock have higher skill level training needs. 22% support their staff

with training linked to recognised qualifications; encompassing a full range of skill areas. 81% of

businesses within the area currently say they have no training needs.

Innovation:53% of Callington/Gunnislake and Calstock businesses feel that it is essential or that

there is a fair need for their business to innovate. However, 56% have no plans to innovate and68% said they did not need support to innovate. 74% of businesses within the area rate their

business as very or fairly capable in terms of its capacity to be innovative.

67% of businesses rated the use of computers and ICT as very or fairly important in their

business; while 54% rated the Internet and World Wide Web as fairly important or essential for

the future of their business. 63% of businesses in the Callington/Gunnislake and Calstock area

have a Web presence, the second highest proportion doing so across the 5 town areas.

Business growth and aspirations:68% of businesses in the area aspire to grow over the next 5

years. 88% planned to achieve growth via increased turnover/sales, 54% through their existing

product/market mix and 36% by moving into new markets. 41% anticipate a need to invest in

more capital equipment in order to grow. 73% of Callington/Gunnislake and Calstock businesses

with growth aspirations would use internal finance to fund growth; the highest percentage to do

so across all the 5 town areas.


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26% of Liskeard businesses have conducted a TNA; 10% of those not having conducted a TNA

would like help to do so. 47% of those not conducting a TNA do not have employees; while 32%

stated they had no need. Only 6% of businesses in the Liskeard area have higher skill level

training needs and only 9% had supported staff with training linked to recognised qualifications.

74% of businesses within the area currently have no training needs. 10% of businesses

experience barriers to training because no such training is available locally; 9% said no funding

is available for training.

Innovation:Although 58% of Liskeard businesses believe it is essential or there is a fair need

for their business to innovate, 65% have no plans to do so. 78% said they did not need support

to innovate and 74% rated their business as very or fairly capable in terms of its capacity to

innovate. Only 40% of businesses felt that they could currently access support to help their

business innovate; the lowest proportion for the 5 town areas.

63% of businesses thought the use of computers and ICT in their business was very or fairly

important; 68% rate the Internet and World Wide Web as fairly important or essential for the

future of their business. 62% of businesses in the area have some form of a Web presence.Business growth and aspirations:75% of businesses in the area aspire to grow over the next 5

years; making this joint first alongside the Saltash area in terms of the percentage of businesses

looking to grow. For 79% growth would be achieved by increasing turnover/sales. 21% intended

to grow by introducing new products/services. 39% would take on more staff and 31% would

invest in more capital equipment as part of their intended growth. 61% would fund growth by

using internal finance and 26% would look to access grant funding.

Premises:82% of businesses were satisfied to some extent that their premises meet their current

needs and 79% are satisfied that they will meet their future business needs. 11 businesses

indicated that they would like additional premises.

Constraints: 6% of businesses perceived there to be no constraints on businesses in SE

Cornwall; rising to 22% in relation to their own business. 37% feel constrained by high fuel and

energy costs, 28% by the state of the UK economy and 20% feel constrained by the level of

Uniform Business Rates. 59% of businesses believe the necessary business support services

are in place. 22% felt business support services could help them with finance and grants and

20% feel they could benefit from support to help them with business growth. 37% of businesses

indicated that they did not use business support; the lowest percentage for all the areas.

Businesses in the Liskeard area appear to face greater issues than many of the other areas. For

example, 56% of businesses considered heating and energy costs to be an issue and 43%

perceived the level of Uniform Business Rate to be an issue; both of these were the highest for

all the town areas. Other factors considered to be issues include: access to public transport(24%), access to relevant business support (20%) and the availability of a good Internet

connection (16%).

Looe Area:

Situated at the bottom of a steep valley on the mouth of the River Looe the twin towns of East

and West Looe are probably best known for their fishing harbour and as a tourist destination. The

harbour is located in East Looe, which also contains the main shopping centre, the sandiest

beach and Looe railway station. West Looe is located on the opposite side of the river and is

joined to East Looe by bridge. West Looe is quieter than East Looe and while having fewer shopsit is well served with restaurants and hotels.


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The location of East and West Looe has restricted the development of a major road network to

the extent where it could be said that there is only one road in and one road out. The towns

railway station provides a daily service to the main Penzance to Paddington line via Liskeard.

Training: 22% of businesses in the Looe area sometimes or often experience difficulties

recruiting staff; with this most common in relation to finding people for the general workforce (14out of 18 businesses). 13% of businesses provide graduate opportunities, slightly higher than in

the other areas. However, only 8% of those businesses not currently offering graduate

opportunities would consider doing so in the future, the lowest percentage for all the areas,

despite only 39% stating that their business had no graduate level jobs; 16% did not offer

graduate opportunities because they cannot afford to.

Only 18% of businesses within this area have undertaken a Training Needs Assessment; slightly

under half of the figure for Saltash (37%). The main reasons for not having conducted a TNA are

a lack of need and do not have employees. 6% of Looe businesses have a requirement for

higher skill level training; while only 15% had supported staff with qualification related training.

78% of businesses within the Looe area indicated that they had no training needs. For 59% ofbusinesses there was either no need or no barriers to training. Where barriers exist they

appear to be linked to the cost of training, with 13% saying training was too expensive and 11%

saying there is no funding available.

Innovation:59% of Looe businesses have no plans to innovate and 73% stated they had no need

for support to facilitate innovation; this is despite 68% saying that there was a fair need or that it

was essential to innovate. This may in part be explained by 93% of businesses within this area

that felt they were fairly or very capable in terms of their capacity to innovate; the highest

percentage across all of the town areas.

A similar picture emerges in relation to the use of ICT. 58% of businesses rate the use of

computers and ICT as very or fairly important and the same percentage rated use of theInternet and World Wide Web as fairly important or essential for the future of their business.

However, 48% of businesses in the Looe area do not have a Web presence, the highest for all

the areas.

Business growth and aspirations:72% of businesses have aspirations to grow over the next 5

years; with 75% looking to achieve this through increased turnover/sales. Only 17% of those

businesses seeking to grow intend to introduce new products or services; the lowest proportion

for all the areas. Businesses in the Looe area seem to exhibit higher levels of uncertainty of what

they require to grow than businesses within the other areas; with 28% stating that they do not

know what they require to facilitate growth and 17% indicating that they do not know how they

would fund their growth aspirations.Premises:80% of Looe businesses are satisfied that their premises meet their current needs and

78% are satisfied that they also meet future business needs. At 9% the Looe area has the lowest

percentage of businesses that require additional premises; with retail premises being the most

sought after.

Constraints:Only 2% of Looe businesses believe there are no constraints on businesses in SE

Cornwall; rising to 27% for those who believe that there are no constraints upon their own

business. 29% of Looe businesses say they are constrained by the state of the UK economy

and 28% feel constrained by high fuel and energy costs. Looe businesses give the impression

that they are fairly self-reliant as 70% indicate that they do not believe that business support

services could currently help them.

There are some factors that Looe businesses perceive to be somewhat of an issue or a major

issue within the area. 53% of businesses considered heating and energy costs to be an issue


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and 29% rated the level of Uniform Business Rate as an issue. There are however other factors

that appear to be more of an issue in the Looe area than in most other areas of SE Cornwall. For

example, access to public transport was considered an issue by 26% of Looe businesses

compared to 24% in Liskeard 16% in Torpoint, 11% in the Callington/Gunnislake and Calstock

area and 8% in Saltash. Other factors which rate highly as issues in the Looe area are: quality of

the road network (29%), traffic congestion (33%) and provision of car parking (22%).

Saltash Area:

Saltash is located on the banks of the river Tamar directly opposite the St Budeaux area of

Plymouth; to which it is joined by the toll bridge. Saltash has the largest population of any of the

South East Cornwall towns. Since the construction of the Saltash Tunnel much of the traffic that

used to pass through Saltash has been removed from the town centre. Saltash has seen

considerable growth in the recent past with a number of new housing developments springing up

and the construction of business units on the outskirts of the town.

Saltash is well served in terms of transport links, with the A38 providing direct access to the rest

of Cornwall and also to Devon and beyond. Saltash is located on the mainline rail network but the

train service received is not as frequent as that experienced in Liskeard. There is a regular bus

service to Plymouth that serves Saltash and the local area.

Training: 20% of businesses within the Saltash area do not have employees; the lowest

percentage of all the areas. 19% of Saltash businesses sometimes or often experienced

difficulties recruiting staff. 12% of businesses currently provided graduate opportunities; with

15% of those not currently doing so prepared to consider doing so in the future. 56% of those not

offering graduate opportunities did not do so because of a lack of graduate level jobs; while 15%

said they could not afford to offer graduate opportunities.

At 37% Saltash has the highest proportion of businesses to have conducted a TNA; 10% of those

not having conducted a TNA would like help to do so. 21% of those not conducting a TNA do not

have employees, the lowest percentage across the 5 towns; while 40% had no need. 17% of

businesses in the Saltash area have higher skill level training needs, the highest for all the areas.

15 (18%) of Saltash businesses supported staff with training linked to recognised qualifications

over the last 12 months; of which only 2 had received funding. 66% of Saltash businesses

currently have no training needs. 11% of Saltash businesses undertake all training in-house.

Innovation:55% of businesses felt it was essential or there is a fair need for their business to

innovate and 57% of all Saltash businesses were planning to do so. 23% were looking to

innovate in the area of customer care and 21% were considering innovations linked to cleantechnologies. 71% of businesses did not need support to innovate and 88% rate their business

as very or fairly capable in its capacity to be innovative.

Use of computers and ICT was very or fairly important for 64% of Saltash businesses and use

of the Internet and World Wide Web was also deemed as fairly important or essential by 64%

of Saltash businesses. 60% of Saltash businesses currently have some form of a Web presence.

Business growth and aspirations:75% of Saltash businesses have aspiration to grow over the

next 5 years; with 76% hoping to achieve growth by increasing turnover/sales. 29% plan to

introduce new products/services and 21% would grow through their existing produce or market

mix. 51% expected that they would have to take on more staff; 29% expected they would be

required to invest in more capital equipment and 22% expected that their growth plans would

create a requirement to expand premises or add more sites. Internal finance was the preferred


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method to fund intended growth, mentioned by 70% of Saltash businesses with growth

aspirations. 16% would look to access grant funding.


needs; dropping to 71% who are satisfied that their current premises will meet future business

needs. 16 businesses in the Saltash area indicated that they would like additional premises.

Constraints: 5% of businesses in the Saltash area perceived there to be no constraints on

businesses based in SE Cornwall. 18% believed that there were no constraints currently

affecting their business; the lowest percentage within the 5 town areas. 39% of businesses in the

Saltash area felt constraints linked to the state of the UK economy, 23% felt constrained by high

fuel and energy costs and 20% feel constrained by a lack of customers. 72% of businesses

believe the necessary business support services are in place; the highest of all the areas closely

followed by Torpoint on 69%. One possible explanation for this may be the greater potential for

businesses located in Saltash and Torpoint to access business support services available in

Plymouth. 15% felt business support services could help them with finance and grants, 10%

could benefit from support with sales and marketing and 10% with support with businessgrowth. 45% of businesses indicated that they did not use business support within the last 12

months

36% of Saltash businesses considered heating and energy costs to be an issue; 27% had

issues with the quality of the road network and 30% perceived the level of Uniform Business

Rate to be an issue. Other factors considered to be issues by Saltash businesses include: traffic

congestion (24%), access to customers (19%) and access to experienced/skilled staff (14%).

Torpoint and Rame Peninsula Area:

Torpoint is located in the south east of the district. Torpoint lies at the mouth of the river Tamar

and is connected by three chain ferries to Devonport dockyard and the city of Plymouth which lie

on the opposite side of the river. Because of its location Torpoint has been described as a

gateway to South East Cornwall and the Rame peninsula. Torpoint was originally developed to

provide housing for workers at the dockyard, and naval facilities were also built around the town.

To some extent Torpoint and the Rame Peninsula could be considered as lacking a good

transport network. The area is characterised by a large number of narrow roads and a lack of a

railway network. Many of the smaller towns and villages are served by a subsidised public bus

network. The decline of Devonport dockyard has focused attention on the development of local

employment, although the presence of the ferry link to Plymouth means that Torpoint itself hasbecome to some extent a commuter town for people who work in Plymouth.

Training:25%of businesses in the Torpoint area do not have employees. 25% of businesses in

the Torpoint area indicated that they sometimes or often experienced difficulties recruiting staff.

The Torpoint area has the lowest percentage of companies that offer graduate opportunities,

with only 8% of businesses currently doing so. 16% of those not currently offering graduate

opportunities would consider doing so in the future. 53% of those not offering graduate

opportunities did not do so because of a lack of graduate level jobs; 13% said they did not have

a need.

34% of businesses in the area have conducted a TNA and 10% of those not having conducted a

TNA would like help to do so. 25% of those not conducting a TNA do not have employees; while40% stated that they had no need. 15% of Torpoint businesses have higher skill level training

needs and 23% of businesses had supported staff with training linked to recognised qualifications


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over the last 12 months. 68% of businesses in the Torpoint area currently had no training needs;

while 11% of all Torpoint businesses felt there was a barrier to training because no such training

is available locally.

Innovation:53% of Torpoint businesses believe it is essential or that there is a fair need for

their business to innovate; with 45% having plans to do so. 25% were looking to undertakeinnovations linked to customer care. 70% of businesses did not need support to innovate and

78% rated their business as very or fairly capable in its capacity to be innovative.

Use of computers and ICT was very or fairly important for 63% of businesses in the Torpoint

and Rame Peninsula. 62% of businesses deemed the use of the Internet and World Wide Web

as fairly important or essential for the future of their business. 71% of businesses in the

Torpoint area currently have some form of a Web presence; the highest proportion of businesses

doing so in the 5 town areas.

Business growth and aspirations:69% of Torpoint businesses plan to grow over the next 5 years;

mainly through increasing turnover/sales (76%). 38% plan to introduce new products/services,

38% would grow through their existing produce or market mix and 38% would look to move intonew markets. 54% expected that they would have to take on more staff; 40% expected to

invest in more capital equipment and 38% expected to expand premises or add more sites.

56% would fund the growth by use of internal finance, 26% would look to access grant funding

and 22% would use a commercial loan from their current bank.


needs and 77% are satisfied that their current premises will meet the future needs of their

business. 13 of the businesses in the Torpoint area indicated that they would like additional

premises.

Constraints:4% of businesses in the Torpoint and Rame Peninsula area felt that there were no

constraints on SE Cornwall businesses; rising to 32% in relation to their own business. 32% of

Torpoint businesses were experiencing constraints linked to the state of the UK economy and

25% felt constrained by high fuel and energy costs. 69% of businesses believe the necessary

business support services are in place. 33% felt business support services could help them with

finance and grants, 14% could benefit from support with sales and marketing and 14% with

support with business growth. 41% of Torpoint and Rame Peninsula businesses did not use

business support within the last 12 months.

32% of Torpoint businesses consider heating and energy costs to be an issue and 26%

perceive the level of Uniform Business Rate to be an issue. Other factors considered to be

issues by Saltash businesses include: traffic congestion (18%), access to relevant business

support (17%), the quality of the road network (15%), access to public transport (15%) andprovision of car parking for staff and visitors (15%).


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4 Sample Description

This section describes the sample characteristics of those SE Cornwall businesses that agreed

to participate in the 2009 South East Cornwall Business Survey. The charts presented within this

section relate to those participants that completed the CATI interviews; from which participantsfor the face-to-face interviews were drawn. The information presented within this section relates

to the following sample characteristics:

Interviewees position within the business;

Legal status of the business;

Industry sector within which the business operates;

Size of the business in terms of Full-Time Equivalent employees;

Age of the business;

Business location in terms of town where located and whether they are rural or urban

Figure 4.1 Sample: Respondent Position

4%

3%

3%

4%

5%

13%

14%

56%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Other

Company Secretary

Office Manager / Administrator / PA

Director

Managing Director

Partner / Managing Partner

General Manager / Manager / Branch

Manager

Owner / Proprietor

n = 400

Base: All Respondents

56% of those interviewed were the owner or proprietor and 13% were a partner of the

business. 14 respondents occupy other positions within the organisations interviewed. These

include: Licensee (2); Youth work co-ordinator (1); Warehouse Manager (1); Treasurer (1);

Training Co-ordinator (1); Sales Manager (1); Sales Administrator (1); Quality manager (1); Plant

Services Co-ordinator (1); Landlord (1); Duty Manager (1); Club Secretary (1) and Acting Centre

Manager (1)


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Figure 4.2 - Sample: Legal Status

3%

1%

1%

1%

21%

32%

42%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Other

PLC

Charity / Voluntary

Company Limited by Guarantee

Partnership

Private Limited Company

Self employed / Sole trader

n = 400


42% of interviewees are either self-employed or a sole trader; 32% were in Private Limited

Companies and 21% were in a partnership. 11 interviewees worked in organisations with

other legal statuses, including: Membership based organisations (4); Not sure (3); Co-

operative (2); Family business (1) and Public sector amenity (1).

Figure 4.3 Sample: Industry Sector

1%

1%

2%

2%

5%

5%

7%

7%

10%

11%

13%

17%

21%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Mining and Quarrying

Financial intermediation

Education

Creative Industries

Health and social work

Transport, Storage and Communications

Manufacturing

Construction

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

Other community, social and personal services

Real estate, renting and business activities

Hotels, Restaurants

Retail / Wholesale

n = 400


Retail / wholesale is the most widely represented business sector; with 21% of all businesses

taking part classified as operating within this sector. 17% of businesses were classified as in the


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hotel and restaurant sector; 13% were involved in real estate, renting and business activities

and 11% were operating in the other community, social and personal services activities sector

(Figure 4.3, page 17).

Figure 4.4 Sample: Total Number Of Employees (Full Time Equivalent)

26%

44%

14%

11%

5%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

None

1 to 4

5 to 9

10 to 24

25 and over

n = 400


The analysis shows that 44% of businesses employ between 1 and 4 employees with a further

14% employing 5 9 persons in terms of full time equivalent employees. 26% of interviewees

stated that their business had no employees (Figure 4.4).

Figure 4.5 Sample: Age Of Business

1%

54%

14%

14%

14%

4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Don't know / confidential

10+ years

6 to 10 years

3 to 5 years

1 to 2 years

Less than 1 year

n = 400


54% of the organisations have been trading for more than 10 years; with a further 14% trading for

6 10 years. 4% of businesses could be considered as fledgling businesses, having only been

trading for less than a year.


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Figure 4.6 Sample: Town Where Located

18%

21%

21%

21%

20%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Torpoint / Rame Peninsula

Looe

Saltash

Liskeard

Calstock / Gunnislake / Callington

n = 400


In order to help identify and understand the needs and challenges of businesses within SE

Cornwall attention was paid, as far as it was possible to achieve within the research period, to

interview a cross-section of businesses from across SE Cornwall, that were evenly distributed

across the 5 main population centres and represented both rural and urban businesses. Figure

4.6 above shows the percentage of businesses interviewed within each of the main population

centres within the SE Cornwall region.

Figure 4.7 Sample: Urban Or Rural Location

Rural, 54%

Urban, 46%

n = 400


The values presented in Figure 4.7 shows that 46% of businesses interviewed were classified as

urban and 54% were classed as rural.

Further analysis of town of location by urban / rural (Table 4.1, page 20) shows 24% of rural

businesses are located in the Calstock / Gunnislake and Callington area, 23% are located around

Looe and 23% are located around Liskeard. Only 12% of rural businesses were located in the

Saltash area.


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5 Main Findings

This chapter presents the findings of the research arranged by the key research themes, namely

staffing and recruitment, skills and training, innovation, business growth and aspirations,

premises and constraints.

5.1 Staffing and Recruitment

The analyses presented within this section relate to recruitment. The types of issues covered

include the sources businesses use when looking to recruit staff, the core competencies they

look for, the relative importance of skills and formal qualifications and the difficulties faced when

looking to recruit new employees.

What sources does your company use, or has used, to recruit new staff?

Table 5.1 Recruitment Sources Used

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula

Looe Saltash LiskeardCalstock/

Gunnislake/Callington

Respondents 400 73 82 82 82 81

Do not employ staff 36% 30% 35% 24% 39% 48%

Word of mouth 27% 32% 26% 35% 18% 22%

Local newspaper 25% 29% 21% 29% 30% 14%

Jobcentre Plus 21% 19% 21% 26% 27% 14%

Recruitment Agency 4% 4% 5% 5% 2% 1%

Internet 3% 1% - 5% 5% 2%

National newspaper 1% 3% 1% - 1% 1%

Other 11% 15% 12% 10% 6% 12%


36% of companies stated that they do not employ staff or that they had no recent experience of

recruiting. Traditional recruitment sources are the most popular sources used by those

businesses that do recruit staff, with 27% using word of mouth, 25% using local newspapers,

and 21% recruiting via Jobcentre Plus. This pattern of recruitment sources used is broadly

consistent across all of the different town areas with the exception of the Liskeard area where

word of mouth with 18% is only the third most popular recruitment source behind local

newspapers (30%) and Jobcentre Plus (27%). 11% of respondents used other recruitment

methods which are presented in Table 5.2 (Page 22).


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Table 5.2 Other Recruitment Methods

Other Recruitment Methods Used Responses

Shop windows/notice boards/On vehicles 14

Colleges/universities 7

Via the industry, parent organisation, council, etc 6

No recent experience of recruiting staff/No responsibility for recruiting 5

Business/trade magazines/Directories 5

Previous contact (e.g. family, friends, etc) 4

Fill vacancies internally 3

Recommendation 1

People approach use 1


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When looking to recruit new employees, would you consider the following?

Table 5.3 Types Of Staff Considered

TotalTorpoint/

Rame

Peninsula


Gunnislake/

Callington

Respondents 400 73 82 82 82 81

People returning to the labour market 51% 49% 55% 65% 50% 37%

School leavers 39% 40% 43% 44% 38% 31%

People with disability 38% 36% 43% 44% 39% 26%

Graduates 33% 32% 39% 35% 34% 25%

Overseas migrants 33% 30% 41% 34% 30% 27%

Apprenticeships 31% 33% 30% 34% 27% 32%

People with relevant qualifications/Skills 3% 4% 1% 5% 2% 2%

People within specific age groups 1% 1% 1% - - 4%

People with relevant experience 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% -

Anyone/Do not discriminate 1% - - 1% - 1%

Family < 1% - - - 1% -

People who are flexible < 1% 1% - - - -

People I know and who are suitable < 1% - - - - 1%

No recent experience of recruiting people 1% - 1% - - 1%

Do not employ staff/Don't recruit 31% 34% 27% 21% 30% 43%

Don't know/Unsure 2% - 2% 1% 2% 1%


Just under a third (31%) of those interviewed said that they would not consider employing people

from any of the list groups because they do not employ or recruit staff. This response was most

prominent in the Calstock, Gunnislake and Callington area where 43% of interviewees said thatthey do not employ or recruit staff.

The analysis indicates that in general terms businesses would consider recruiting individuals

from a wide range of diverse groups (Table 5.3). People returning to the labour market is the

preferred group, cited by 51% of all respondents. 39% said they would employ school leavers

and 38% would employ people with a disability. 33% said they would employ graduates and

the same percentage would employ overseas migrants.


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Does your company experience difficulties recruiting staff in general?

Table 5.4 Experiences Difficulties When Recruiting

TotalTorpoint/

Rame

Peninsula


Gunnislake/

Callington

Respondents 400 73 82 82 82 81

Often 5% 7% 5% 7% 6% 1%

Sometimes 14% 18% 17% 12% 15% 9%

Never 48% 51% 39% 61% 44% 44%

Do not employ staff 33% 25% 39% 20% 35% 46%


Table 5.4 presents the analysis of responses for those interviewees who commented upon

whether or not they experience skill shortages and/or labour shortages when recruiting new staff.

33% of businesses said that they do not employ staff. 48% said that they never experienced

difficulties when recruiting staff; 14% sometimes experienced difficulties and 5% often

experienced difficulties.

If [Often/Sometimes] In which areas do you have difficulties recruiting staff?

Table 5.5 Areas Where Difficulties Experienced

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 77 18 18 16 17 8

General workforce 49 12 14 9 11 3

Skilled workforce (e.g. guild training) 28 5 4 7 7 5

Administration 6 2 - - 4 -

Management 5 1 - 1 3 -

Other 7 4 1 2 - -

Base: Businesses Experiencing Recruitment Difficulties

The data presented in Table 5.5 relates to the areas where difficulties are experienced by those

interviewees who indicated that their businesses often or sometimes experienced difficulties

recruiting. The analysis shows the main area of difficulty experienced was in recruiting for the

general workforce, cited by 49 of the 77 businesses that experienced difficulties when recruiting.

28 businesses stated that they experienced difficulties related to the recruitment of skilled staff.

7 of those businesses experiencing problems recruiting staff gave examples of other areas

where they experience difficulties recruiting including: Voluntary staff/mostly elderly in village (1);

Not enough general applications (1); Dont know/no answer (5).


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If [Often/Sometimes] What difficulties does your company experience when recruiting staff?

Table 5.6 Nature Of Difficulties Experienced

TotalTorpoint/

Rame

Peninsula


Gunnislake/

Callington

Respondents 77 18 18 16 17 8

Lack of motivation to work 33 10 7 5 10 1

Shortage of people with the rightexperience

27 6 4 5 8 4

Shortage of people with the necessaryskills / qualifications

23 4 4 4 5 6

People not interested in the industry 13 2 3 7 1 -

Poor level of education 11 3 2 4 2 -

Other difficulty experienced 12 4 5 2 1 -

Base: Businesses Experiencing Recruitment Difficulties

Those who experienced difficulties when recruiting staff were asked as to the nature of the

difficulties they faced. 33 highlighted a lack of motivation to work amongst prospective

employees, 27 cited a shortage of people with the right experience and 23 said they

experienced difficulties finding people with the necessary skills and/or qualifications. 12 gave

examples of other difficulties they experienced (see Table 5.7).

Table 5.7 Other Difficulties

Other Difficulties Responses

Where the restaurant is located quite difficult 1

Unwilling to work unsociable hours. 1

Unsociable hours 1

Travel to get here is an issue 1

Too many applicants 1

Rates of pay 1

Only pay minimum wage 1

Location; we are very rural 1

It's on an Ad-hoc basis only so does not suit many people. 1

Finding somebody in general 1

Applicant shortage. 1

No answer 1


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If [Yes] In what ways have you given opportunities to graduates?

Table 5.10 Nature Of Graduate Opportunities Provided

TotalTorpoint/

Rame

Peninsula


Gunnislake/

Callington

Respondents 45 6 11 10 9 9

Work placement 35 5 9 8 8 5

Management training schemes 7 1 1 3 1 1

Regular employment - just happen to begraduates

3 - 1 - - 2

Placement through Unlocking CornishPotential (UCP)

1 - - - 1 -

Other graduate opportunity 8 - 2 1 - 5

Base: Businesses Providing Graduate Opportunities

Other included: We have a company scheme (2); We run graduate schemes (2); We are

supporting staff at Uni (1); We are only open half of the year, so therefore a graduate would not

want the money I could offer (1); Give opportunities to people who have completed NVQs,

apprenticeships and vocational courses, and people that have graduated from those types of

courses. (1); Initiatives to future study (1); In-house scheme (1).

If [No] Would your company consider providing opportunities for graduates in the future?

Table 5.11 Provide Future Graduate Opportunities

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 355 67 71 72 73 72

Yes 12% 16% 8% 15% 10% 10%

No 88% 84% 92% 85% 90% 90%

Base: Businesses Not Currently Providing Graduate Opportunities

12% of the 355 businesses not currently offering graduate opportunities would consider doing so

in the future (Table 5.11) When asked why they do not currently offer graduate opportunities 51%

of valid businesses stated that their business has no graduate level jobs; 13% said they cannot

afford to offer graduate opportunities and 9% cannot find suitable graduates (Table 5.12, Page

28).


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If [No] For what reasons does your company not provide opportunities for graduates?

Table 5.12 Reason For Not Providing Graduate Opportunities

TotalTorpoint/

Rame

Peninsula


Gunnislake/

Callington

Respondents 299 55 62 66 60 56

The business has no graduate level jobs 51% 53% 39% 56% 47% 61%

Cannot afford to offer graduateopportunities

13% 7% 16% 15% 18% 7%

Cannot find suitable graduates 9% 5% 10% 8% 15% 5%

No need at present/Do not employ staff/Notrelevant

9% 13% 8% 5% 3% 16%

We have in the past but it was not asuccess

8% 7% 10% 3% 18% 4%

Have never considered the option ofgraduate opportunities

4% 4% 8% 8% - 2%

Do not know what type of graduateschemes are available

3% 5% 3% 3% 2% 2%

Only a small company 3% 5% 2% 3% - 4%

Do not see any benefits of offering graduateopportunities

2% - 3% 2% 2% 2%

Do not have the skills/qualifications to teachthem

1% - - 2% - 2%

Bureaucracy/Red tape 1% - - 3% - 2%

No graduates have applied < 1% - 2% - - -

Intend to in the future < 1% - - 2% - -

Not practicable (e.g. not enough time, toobusy, etc)

< 1% 2% - - - -

Base: Businesses Not Currently Providing Graduate Opportunities


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How has the number of staff employed by your company in total changed over the previous 12months?

What are your expectations for the change in number of staff employed by your company overthe next 12 months?

Table 5.13 Change In Staffing Levels Past 12 Months

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 400 73 82 82 82 81

Large reduction 2% 1% - 4% 2% 1%

Small reduction 14% 18% 9% 12% 16% 16%

No change 71% 59% 83% 68% 70% 72%

Small increase 10% 16% 4% 11% 9% 9%

Large increase 1% 4% - - 2% -

Don't know / confidential 3% 1% 5% 5% 1% 2%


The analysis presented in Table 5.13 shows the majority (71%) of businesses have maintained

the same levels of staff over the previous 12 months. In terms of those businesses that have

changed the number of persons employed slightly more businesses have reduced their staff

levels than those who have taken on more staff; 16% and 11% respectively. There does however

appear to be some positive signs in relation to future intentions with 19% saying they expect asmall increase in their staff level compared to the 3% who expect there to be a small reduction

(Table 5.14.)

Table 5.14 Change In Staffing Levels Next 12 Months

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 400 73 82 82 82 81

Large reduction 0% - - - - -

Small reduction 3% 5% 2% 1% 5% -

No change 74% 62% 77% 71% 72% 86%

Small increase 19% 27% 16% 22% 17% 11%

Large increase < 1% - - 1% - -

Don't know / confidential 5% 5% 5% 5% 6% 2%


Further analysis of past and future changes in staff levels point to differences between rural and

urban-based businesses. The analysis indicates that a higher proportion of urban businesses

have reduced employee numbers over the past 12 months than businesses based in rural


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locations; with 21% of urban businesses cutting back on employees compared to 11% of rural

businesses. When asked about their expectations for changes in staffing levels over the next 12

months, 27% of urban businesses expected to see an increase in the number of people

employed compared to only 13% of rural businesses.

Possible explanations for this observed difference between urban and rural businesses may be

related to the size of business and the sector within which it is located. For example, 74% of rural

businesses have 4 employees or less compared to 65% of urban businesses. Similarly, 20

companies in the retail sector had reduced employee numbers over the past 12 months, with 16

of these being urban companies. The analysis on future employment levels indicates that 16

companies in the retail sector expect to take on more staff over the next 12 months, with 14 of

these companies located in an urban centre.

Further analysis by company size also indicates that this may be a factor on past and future

changes in staffing levels. Larger businesses are more likely to have experienced changes in

staffing levels over the last 12 months; with 26% of those with 10 or more employees havingincreased staffing levels; while 34% had made reductions. In comparison 24% of those with 5 9

employees had taken on staff, as had 7% of those with 1 4 employees. In terms of reductions,

16% of businesses with 5 9 employees and 19% of those with 1 4 employees had

experienced a reduction in staff over the last 12 months. When asked about their future

intentions 36% of businesses with 10 or more employees expect to take on more staff over the

next 12 months; as do 35% of those with 5 9 employees and 17% of those with 1 4

employees. 5% of those with 10 or more employees anticipate reducing staffing levels over the

next 12 months; the corresponding values for those with 5 9 employees and 1 - 4 employees

are 2% and 4% respectively.


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5.2 Skills and Training

The issues covered in this sub-section of the report presents relate to the training needs and

provision of support for staff training.

Has your company conducted a Training Needs Assessment?

Table 5.15 Training Needs Assessment

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 400 73 82 82 82 81

Yes 28% 34% 18% 37% 26% 25%

No 72% 66% 82% 63% 74% 75%


Just over a quarter (25%) of businesses had conducted a Training Needs Assessment [TNA]

possibly suggesting that training may not be a high priority issue for the majority, of businesses

who participated in the survey.

If [Yes] Which organisation helped you to carry out your TNA?

Table 5.16 Organisation Carrying Out TNA

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 111 25 15 30 21 20

Business Link / Train toGain

7 2 1 1 2 1

Cornwall College 4 1 1 - - 2

Truro College 1 - - - 1 -

Enterprise Cornwall 1 - - - - 1

None - we did it internally 79 17 11 26 14 11

Other organisation 19 5 2 3 4 5

Base: Businesses Having Undertaken A Training Needs Analysis

79 of the 111businesses who had undertaken a TNA had done so in-house. 7 had used the

services provided via Business Link/Train to Gain and 4 had used the service provided by

Cornwall College. 19 made other comments of who had undertaken the TNA for their business

(see Table 5.17, Page 32).


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Table 5.17 Other Organisations Used

Other Organisations Used Responses

Not sure / Don't know 10

We used an HR consultancy that helped us, possibly Tamar

recruitments but I'm not sure.1

Via post office 1

Private consultant 1

Investors in people 1

Develop Swindon 1

Cornwall Youth Service 1

Caradon education authority supplied courses 1

Agrippa 1

Advised by health /safety 1

Would you like to receive help in conducting a Training Needs Assessment?

Table 5.18 Like To Receive Help In Conducting TNA

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 289 48 67 52 61 61

Yes 11% 10% 9% 10% 10% 15%

No 89% 90% 91% 90% 90% 85%

Base: Businesses Not Having Undertaken A Training Needs Analysis

In terms of lifting the profile of the importance amongst businesses of undertaking a TNA the

analysis would seem to suggest that this could be a difficult proposition with only 11% of the 289

companies not currently having undertaken a TNA indicating that they would like help in doing so

(Table 5.18.)

Those 289 companies who had not undertaken a TNA were asked for their reasons for not doingso (Table 5.19, Page 33). A lack of need was given by 37% of those who had not undertaken a

TNA as the reason for not doing so; a further 36% stated that they had not done so because they

do not have employees. There is some evidence to suggest that there may be an issue related

to awareness and understanding of what a Training Needs Analysis actually is with 9% of those

not having undertaken one stating that they dont know what a TNA is.

Further analysis indicates that larger companies are more likely than smaller companies to have

conducted a TNA; with 67% of those with 10 or more employees having done so compared to

only 21% of those with 1 4 employees. 48% of those with 10 or more employees that have not

undertaken a TNA indicated that they would like help to do so; as did 17% of those with 5 9

employees and 9% of those with 1 4 employees.


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Table 5.19 Reason For Not Undertaking A TNA

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 288 48 67 52 60 61

Not relevant/No need 37% 40% 36% 40% 32% 38%

Do not have employees 36% 25% 42% 21% 47% 41%

Not thought about it/Not my area ofresponsibility

10% 6% 16% 10% 12% 5%

Don't know what a TNA is 9% 13% 6% 13% 7% 8%

Continual assessment of trainingneeds/Provide training as required

3% 2% 1% 8% 3% 3%

Do not know 3% 8% - 6% 2% 2%

Time considerations/Too much paperwork 1% 2% - 2% - 3%

Small company 1% - 1% 2% - 2%

Selling/Closing the business < 1% 2% - - - -

Have in previous organisation < 1% - 1% - - -

Just started the business < 1% 2% - - - -

No benefits < 1% 2% - - - -

Base: Businesses Not Having Undertaken A Training Needs Analysis

Does your company have higher skill level training needs?(NVQ Level 4 or above)

Table 5.20 High Skill Level Training Needs

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 400 73 82 82 82 81

Yes 12% 15% 6% 17% 6% 16%

No 88% 85% 94% 83% 94% 84%


12% of all interviewees stated that their company had higher skill level training needs of NVQ

Level 4 or above (Table 5.20.)


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Has your company supported staff and/or yourself in training leading to a recognisedqualification over the last 12 months?

Table 5.21 Supported Training To Recognised Qualification

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 400 73 82 82 82 81

Yes 17% 23% 15% 18% 9% 22%

No 83% 77% 85% 82% 91% 78%


Less than 1 in 5 (17%) of businesses interviewed had actively supported employees, including

themselves, with training leading to a recognised qualification within the last 12 months. Table

5.22, below, presents the analysis related to the subject areas where companies had provided

training leading to a recognised qualification. 25 interviewees indicated that they supported

employees towards qualifications linked to industry specific subjects (see Table 5.23, Page 34);

18 provided support for manual skills, while 14 gave support for training linked to service skills.

4 provided staff with support with other subject areas (see Table 5.24, Page 35).

If [Yes] In what subject areas?

Table 5.22 Subject Areas

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 69 17 12 15 7 18

Industry specific subjects 25 11 3 4 1 6

Manual skills (construction, engineering) 18 2 3 5 3 5

Service skills (childcare, care, customerservice)

14 2 3 3 2 4

General Business Management 13 4 3 2 1 3

Regulatory training, such as H&S and foodhygiene

12 1 4 2 2 3

Office skills (typing, administration) 6 2 - 1 1 2

IT 4 1 1 1 1 -

Basic skills (e.g. literacy/numeracy/English assecond language (ESL))

2 - 1 - - 1

Personal development (team management,confidence building, etc.)

2 1 - - - 1

Other subject area 4 1 - - - 3Base: Businesses Supporting Training To Recognised Qualifications

Table 5.23 Other Industry Specific Subject Areas


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Other Industry Specific Subject Areas Responses

Sales 1

Professional status 1

PGCE teaching training 1

Performing Engineering Operations in Polymer Processing. 1

National Certificate for Licensing Laws and Licence Holders. 1

Machine Training. 1

Level seven diploma 1

Hospitality Services. 1

Helping students through university at the moment, doing courses in journalism, webdesign, and programming

1

Financial Services 1

Energy Assessors. 1

Dentistry 1

Architectural 1

Don't know / can't remember 12

Table 5.24 Other Subject areas

Other Subject Areas Responses

We have done all sorts; some employees have done their workshop part p, stagequalifications. When I started working here I was doing a Business and AdministrationNVQ which they helped and supported me through.

1

Outdoor Education Qualifications 1

NVQs warehouse storage and distribution 1

Don't know / can't remember 1

A crosstabulation by urban/rural location indicates that 21% of urban businesses provided

support with training leading to a recognised qualification; compared to 14% of rural businesses.

Further analysis by sector suggests this may be a factor, with 11 of the 14 retail businesses

supporting staff with training leading to a recognised qualification classified as urban businesses.

Company size may also be an indicator of propensity to provide support for qualification based

training; with larger companies more likely to provide support for qualification based training than

their smaller counterparts. For example, 11% of those with 1 4 employees provided supportwith training leading to a recognised qualification; rising to 35% for those with 5 9 employees

and 43% for those with 10 or more employees.


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If [Yes] What benefits have you and/or your company gained from supporting staff with trainingleading to a recognised qualification?

Table 5.25 Benefits Derived From Supporting Training

TotalTorpoint/

RamePeninsula



Respondents 69 17 12 15 7 18

Helped staff development / attain new skills 35 9 5 7 5 9

Increased staff morale / motivation 32 7 7 9 5 4

Helped employees work better (work moreefficiently/faster/better conditions)

26 6 3 7 3 7

Increased efficiency (staff efficiency, productivity) 23 9 3 5 2 4

Added value to the product / service 15 2 2 8 1 2

Increased profitability / turnover 7 3 - 1 - 3

Helped grow the business 6 2 - 1 - 3

Increased customer satisfaction 4 1 - 1 - 2

Highlighted other training needs 2 1 - - - 1

Other benefit 19 4 4 4 1 6

Base: Businesses Supporting Training To Recognised Qualifications

Companies that support their staff with training leading to recognised qualifications appear to

derive real and observable benefits from this investment. 35 of the 69 companies supporting

employees towards a recognised qualification stated that their business had benefited from the

training through staff development and the acquisition of new skills. 32 stated that there had

been benefits in terms of increased staff morale and motivation, 26 said that as a result of the

training employees worked better and 23 said there were benefits of increased efficiency

amongst staff. 19 interviewees provided examples of other benefits to their organisation derived

from supporting staff training (see Table 5.26, Page 37.)


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Table 5.26 Other Benefits Derived

Other Benefits Derived Responses

None 3

They gain a deeper understanding in care for the elderly. 1

Their wage increases and they stay longer. 1

The staff become more focused. 1

Staff pass this knowledge onto other colleagues. 1

Pay them less when unqualified 1

Nothing 1

Need to do the qualifications to do my job 1

Met targets 1

Means they are able to sell alcoholic products. 1

Just meeting government standards 1

Job security. 1

It's a necessity to have health and safety qualifications 1

Helps to retain staff. 1

Can market myself better 1

By law we have to have a spraying certificate 1

Appreciation and understanding of regulatory laws 1

If [Yes] Was the staff training undertaken within the last 12 months funded?If [Yes] Who funded the training?

Table 5.27 Training Funded

Total

Torpoint/RamePeninsula Looe Saltash Liskeard

Calstock/Gunnislake/Callington

Respondents 69 17 12 15 7 18

Yes 33 7 6 2 5 13

No 36 10 6 13 2 5

Base: Businesses Supporting Training To Recognised Qualifications

33 of the 69 businesses that supported staff with training towards a recognised qualification had

received funding towards the training (Table 5.27). In terms of who provided the funding 9 of the


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interviewees made comments indicating that the training had been funded internally, 8 said they

had received funding via Business Link/Train to Gain and a further 3 received funding from the

Learning and Skills Council. A full list of responses as to who provided the funding for the training

is presented in verbatim in Table 5.28.

Table 5.28 Other Source Of Training Funding

Other Funding Source Responses

Funded by the company 3

Internal funding 2

We trained them in house 1

It was completed using Manchester Open Learning funded by the company. This is abranch of Travis Perkins.

1

Truro College. 1

St John Ambulance 1

South West Highways, Plymouth College. 1

Sometimes they have to be funded but we make them pay it back if they leave before 1

Skills for Care or Train to Gain? I'm not sure. 1

Saltash/Cornwall College 1

Peninsula Care 1

NVQ funded it 1

Local government schemes 1

Internally Funded (Delaware is linked to the Council) 1

Government 1

Focus Training 1

College of Further Education Plymouth 1

CITB helped initially it was us that funded it 1

Acacia. 1


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What types of training does your business need?(e.g. which you cant currently access)

Table 5.29 Types Of Training Required

TotalTorpoint /

RamePeninsula

Looe Saltash LiskeardCalstock /

Gunnislake/ Callington

Respondents 400 73 82 82 82 81

None/Not applicable/Already catered for 74% 68% 78% 66% 74% 81%

Industry specific subjects 10% 10% 4% 15% 11% 11%

Manual skills (construction, engineering) 5% 4% 6% 4% 7% 5%

Regulatory training, such as H&S and foodhygiene

3% 6% 1% 5% 1% 1%

Service skills (childcare, care, customerservice)

2% 4% 2% 4% 1% -

General Business Management 2% 4% 1% 5% - -

IT 2% 3% 4% - 2% 1%

Office skills (typing, administration) 2% 1% 2% 3% - 1%

Personal development (team management,confidence building, etc.)


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Table 5.30 Industry Specific Training

Other Industry Specific Training required Responses

Agricultural/Horticultural/Landscaping skills 4

Driving skills 3Hospitality and catering skills 3

Health skills (e.g. nursing, dentistry, nutrition, etc) 3

None at present/Not applicable/Already catered for 3

Non-specific responses 3

Post-schooling qualifications (e.g. BTEC, Degree, Post-graduate, NVQ4, etc) 2

Artistic skills 2

Financial skills 2

Updating of current sector skills 1

What barriers do you experience that prevent you from supporting staff with training leading to arecognised qualification?

Table 5.31 Barriers To Supporting Training Towards Recognised Qualifications

TotalTorpoint /

RamePeninsula

Looe Saltash LiskeardCalstock /

Gunnislake /Callington

Respondents 400 73 82 82 82 81

No need for training linked to formal qualifications 35% 42% 32% 26% 28% 47%

No barriers 28% 21% 26% 32% 30% 30%

No such training available locally 7% 11% 6% 5% 10% 5%

Training is too expensive 7% 7% 12% 2% 6% 6%

No funding available 7%

Documents

South East Cornwall Business Survey 2009